KB19291: When exporting a report to Excel as a .csv file format, the first object column in the report will not be exported surrounded by quotes, whereas all subsequent object columns are in MicroStrategy Web

SYMPTOM:
When a report is exported from Strategy Web as the .csv file format and opened in Excel, users will notice that the first object column is not surrounded by quotes the way all subsequent object columns are. This can cause concern if these .csv files are to be used in conjunction with scripts that look for quotations around objects.
STEPS TO REPRODUCE:
Use the following steps to reproduce this behavior in Strategy Web based on the Strategy Tutorial project:

• Create a report with the Year and Region attribute on rows, and the Revenue attribute on columns. Execute the report.
• From the File menu, choose to export the report using the .csv file format.
  

• Save the resulting .csv file and open it. By default, the file should open in Microsoft Excel.
  

• Notice that the Year attribute and all of its elements are not surrounded by quotes the way Region and Revenue and all of their elements and values are.
• Open the same .csv file using Wordpad.
  

• Notice that the Year attribute and all of its elements now are surrounded by quotes.

CAUSE:
This behavior is inherent to Microsoft Excel. Strategy passes the quotes as can be seen when the file is opened using Wordpad, but Microsoft Excel removes the first set of quotes when loading the .csv file. This can further be illustrated if another attribute is added to the left of Year.

Notice that now Year and all of its elements are surrounded by quotes, but the newly added Country attribute and all of its elements do not reflect the quotes.
 
ACTION:
If .csv files are to be passed to other applications using scripts, have the files passed using a text editor such as Notepad or Wordpad.