Export/Import Excel to SharePoint Issues

A SharePoint Online tutorial by Peter Kalmström

In the previous article we described how to export an Excel table to a SharePoint list using the Export to SharePoint button in Excel.

In the demo below Peter Kalmström, CEO and Systems Designer of kalmstrom.com Business Solutions, explains what you should be aware of when exporting from Excel to SharePoint using that Export button. The demo shows the classic list interface, but by default the exported data now opens in the modern interface - but still in the edit/grid mode.

A new SharePoint list will be created for your data. Excel does not push data into an existing list
The columns created in the new list are list columns, not site columns.
Generally you should use site columns as much as possible. Site columns belong to the entire site, while list columns only belong to one list.
The default view mode of the new list is Datasheet/Quick Edit/Grid, not Standard view. But having the Datasheet view as default creates problems when you want to show the list in a web part.

In the next demo, Peter shows how you can enhance the auto-created list and get rid of some of the issues. However, to get more control and synchronization both ways, you should use the Access method to import Excel data to SharePoint.