Export issues to Excel

Last updated: Jul 29, 2026

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If you export Jira issues (including issues created or updated through Fluid Attacks' Jira integration) to a CSV file and then open that file in Microsoft Excel, fields containing line breaks (for example, multi-line descriptions or comments) may not be rendered inside a single cell. Instead, each line is spread across separate cells or rows.

Cause

This behavior is caused by a limitation in Microsoft Excel, not by the CSV file itself or by Fluid Attacks' Jira integration. When a field in a CSV file contains line breaks, Excel's CSV import is unable to recognize that those lines belong to the same cell.

Solution 1: Use a different tool to open the CSV file

Opening the CSV file with a tool other than Excel avoids the issue entirely:

• Apple Numbers
• Google Sheets (import the CSV file directly)

Solution 2: Import the CSV with Excel's Power Query

If you must use Excel, import the file instead of opening it directly:

1. Open a new, empty Excel workbook.
2. Go to Data > Get Data (Power Query).
3. Select Text/CSV.
4. Select the CSV file you want to import.

For further detail, see Atlassian's article on this topic: Excel does not properly render line breaks when importing CSV files coming from the Jira application.