List of the File Formats

Choosing the correct format for your export in Advanced Order Export for WooCommerce is about more than just file extensions. It’s about ensuring the data fits perfectly into its target destination, whether that’s an accountant’s spreadsheet, an ERP system’s API, or a custom internal tool.

The Advanced Order Export for WooCommerce plugin provides seven powerful output formats, each with its own strengths:

CSV (Comma-Separated Values): The universal standard for maximum compatibility.
XLS / XLSX (Microsoft Excel): Ideal for analysis, formatting, and reports.
XML (eXtensible Markup Language): The go-to choice for system-to-system data exchange.
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation): The de facto standard for modern web APIs and JavaScript apps.
TSV (Tab-Separated Values): A specialized format for databases and inventory systems.
PDF (Portable Document Format): Perfect for sharing, printing, and permanent archiving.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language): An incredibly easy way to create shareable web pages from your data.

Let’s dive into the specific settings for each format, so you can build the perfect export for any job.

1. CSV (Comma-Separated Values)

CSV is often the best choice. It’s a lightweight, machine-readable, plain-text format that is version-control friendly. The plugin offers several settings to overcome any formatting quirks.

Key CSV Settings

Setting	What it does	When to use it
Output UTF-8 BOM	Adds a special marker so Excel can read special characters (e.g., `José`).	Enable if your data has accents, emojis, or non-Latin scripts and will be opened in Excel. Disable for older UNIX tools.
Output Column Titles as First Line	The first row of your file will contain column headers (e.g., `Order ID`, `Total`).	Enable for human-readable reports and systems that map columns by header. Disable when appending data to an existing file.
Force Enclosure for All Values	Wraps every field in double quotes, even if not needed.	Enable only if your receiving system requires this. Disable for smaller file sizes.
Convert Line Breaks to Literals	Converts line breaks in notes or addresses to `\n`, keeping each order on a single row.	Enable if you use multi-line text fields to prevent your CSV from breaking.
Product Rows Start with a New Line	Adds a blank line before each product row in an order for visual grouping.	Enable for human readability. Disable for any automated processing, as blank lines will cause errors.
Enclosure Character	The character used to wrap fields (default is `"`).	Change only if your receiving system requires a single quote (`'`).
Field Delimiter	The character separating columns (default is a comma: `,`).	Crucial for international teams. Set to `;` for locales where comma is a decimal separator (e.g., Germany, France).
Character Encoding	Overrides the default UTF-8 encoding.	Change only if a legacy system requires, e.g., `ISO-8859-1` (Latin-1).

2. XLS / XLSX (Microsoft Excel)

For human analysis and deep data manipulation, there’s nothing better than an Excel file. The Advanced Order Export for WooCommerce plugin provides powerful settings to make your reports look professional.

Key XLS / XLSX Settings

Setting	What it does
Export as .xls (Binary)	Creates the older binary .xls format, useful only for MS Office before 2007. For all other situations, use the default .xlsx format.
Sheet Name	Give your worksheet a clear, descriptive name inside the Excel file.
Output Column Titles as First Line	Makes the first row your column headers, a must for any readable report.
Auto Column Width	Automatically adjusts column widths to fit your data, saving you a manual step.
Force General Format	Applies a general cell format to all cells, overriding any automatic formatting.
Images Width / Height	If you’re exporting product images, you can set their exact dimensions in pixels.
Right-to-Left Direction	Enables RTL display for languages like Arabic or Hebrew.

3. XML (eXtensible Markup Language)

XML is a structured, hierarchical format often required for robust system-to-system integrations. It’s not for human reading but for software.

Key XML Settings

Setting	What it does
Root Tag	Specifies the main tag that wraps your entire document (e.g., `<Orders>`).
Order Tag	The tag that will contain each individual order (e.g., `<Order>`).
Product / Coupon Tag	Defines the tags for nested products and coupons inside an order.
Prepend / Append XML	Add custom text (like an XML declaration `<?xml version="1.0"?>`) at the start or end of the file.
Self Closing Tags	Enabling this formats empty fields as self-closing tags (e.g., `<Note/>`).
Format Output	Adds indents and line breaks, making the XML manually readable for debugging.

4. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

JSON is the lightweight, human-readable format that powers modern web APIs. If you’re sending data to a custom web app, this is your best friend.

Key JSON Settings

Setting	What it does
Start Tag / End Tag	Allows you to wrap your JSON, e.g., with `callbackFunction(` and `)` to create JSONP format.
Don’t Escape /	Prevents the JSON encoder from adding backslashes before forward slashes.
Encode Numeric Strings as Numbers	Converts text fields (like `billing_phone`) to JSON numbers if they contain only digits. Useful for certain API expectations with phone numbers.
Don’t Encode Unicode Chars	Leaves Unicode characters (like emojis) as is, rather than converting them to `\uXXXX` format.

5. TSV (Tab-Separated Values)

TSV is a specialized cousin of CSV. Instead of a comma, it uses a tab character (\t) as its delimiter. This makes it more robust for data that may contain commas, like product descriptions.

The TSV settings are very similar to CSV. You have controls for:

UTF-8 BOM
Column Titles
Product Row Grouping
Line Break Character
and Character Encoding.

6. PDF (Portable Document Format)

The PDF format is perfect for delivering a report to a client, attaching it to an email for an executive summary, or archiving it for a legal record.

Key PDF Settings

Setting	What it does
Orientation	Choose between `Portrait` for standard documents or `Landscape` for reports with many columns.
Page Size	Select from standard sizes like A4, Letter, A3, or Legal.
Fit Table to Page Width	Forces your entire table to fit within the page margins, preventing horizontal scrolling.
Page Header / Footer Text	Add custom text to appear on every page, like a “Confidential” watermark or a page number.
Style / Logo Blocks	Customize the text and background colors of your report elements and place your brand’s logo on it.

7. HTML (HyperText Markup Language)

The HTML export format is an incredibly underrated feature. It lets you instantly turn your order data into a shareable web page, perfect for internal dashboards or quick visual checks.

Key HTML Settings

Setting	What it does
Custom CSS	This is the most powerful feature. You can style the report with your own CSS rules for the perfect look.
Header / Footer Text	Add text to the top and bottom of the generated web page.
Style Block	Choose colors for text and backgrounds without writing code.
Repeat on each page	Useful for printing or viewing long HTML reports; this keeps headers on every printed page.

Comparative Analysis: Choosing Your Champion

Here’s a quick guide to help you pick the right format for the job.

Use Case	Recommended Format	Why?
Sending a report to a client	XLSX or PDF	These are professional, readable, and can be branded.
Sharing data with a developer	JSON or XML	These are the structured, standard languages for software.
One-time analysis in Excel	CSV or XLSX	CSV is fastest for export, while XLSX offers more formatting power.
Integrating with an ERP system	XML or JSON	These are the universal languages of system integration.
Feeding data to a custom script	JSON or TSV	JSON is great for modern web scripts, and TSV is good for legacy databases.
Printing an order summary	PDF	PDFs are designed to be printed and archived perfectly.
Creating a shareable web dashboard	HTML	Generates a styled page you can share a link to, requiring no special software to view.
Legacy database import	TSV	Tab separators are often better for databases that struggle with commas in data.

Best Practices for Professional Exports

From years of supporting enterprise workflows, here are my top tips:

Always Define Your Columns: Don’t just export everything. Use the Setup Fields tab to select only the columns you need. This makes your files cleaner and your exports faster.
Name Your Files Intelligently: Click into the Export Filename field. Use dynamic tags like {from_date} and {to_date} to create self-documenting files, turning a generic orders.xlsxinto the much more useful orders-from-2024-04-01-to-2024-04-30.xlsx.
Test, Then Test Again: Before you run a massive export, use the Preview button. This runs your export on a small sample of orders, letting you verify your settings and formatting without any waste.
Use the Bulk Actions Export: For a quick, one-off export of specific orders, you don’t need to create a full profile. Go to WooCommerce > Orders, check the boxes for the orders you want, open the Bulk Actions dropdown, and select “Export as CSV” or your preferred format. It’s lightning fast.

Note: You can also export the report directly from the “Orders” section. Follow next steps:

select the export format in the “Format” section;
specify all the necessary settings and click “Save settings” button at the bottom of the page;
check the orders you want to export in “WooCommerce” > “Orders” tab;
open the “Bulk Actions” drop-down and find “Export as [chosen format]”. For example, if you select XML format, there is “Export as XML” variation appears in the “Bulk Actions” drop-down. Look at the screenshot below.