Detailed Technical Documentation

?? Overview

Universal Export Engine is a .NET Extension Service designed for the OutSystems Platform.
It enables exporting any data type to Excel (.xlsx), PDF, or CSV formats with extensive customization, safety features, and full localization support.

Core Principle

Export once – use everywhere – handle everything

?? Architecture & Components

Class Structure

public class CssUniversal_Export_Engine 
    : IssUniversal_Export_Engine

• Implements: IssUniversal_Export_Engine

• Namespace: OutSystems.NssUniversal_Export_Engine

• Type: .NET Class Library (DLL)

• Framework: .NET Framework 4.8

• Integration: OutSystems Extension

?? Constants & Enum Values

Export Formats

• EXPORT_FORMAT_EXCEL = 1 ? Excel (.xlsx)

• EXPORT_FORMAT_PDF   = 2 ? PDF

• EXPORT_FORMAT_CSV   = 3 ? CSV

Delivery Types

• DELIVERY_TYPE_DOWNLOAD = 1 ? Return file to caller

• DELIVERY_TYPE_EMAIL    = 2 ? Send via Email

• DELIVERY_TYPE_STORAGE = 3 ? Save to server storage

Page Configuration

• Orientation

  • PAGE_ORIENTATION_PORTRAIT  = 1

  • PAGE_ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE = 2

• Page Size

  • PAGE_SIZE_A4     = 1

  • PAGE_SIZE_LETTER = 2

Text Alignment

• TEXT_ALIGNMENT_LEFT   = 1

• TEXT_ALIGNMENT_CENTER = 2

• TEXT_ALIGNMENT_RIGHT  = 3

Column Data Types

• COLUMN_DATA_TYPE_TEXT     = 1

• COLUMN_DATA_TYPE_NUMBER   = 2

• COLUMN_DATA_TYPE_DATE     = 3

• COLUMN_DATA_TYPE_CURRENCY = 4

• COLUMN_DATA_TYPE_BOOLEAN  = 5

??? Helper Methods – Data Conversion

ConvertRLStringListToList(...)

Purpose
Converts OutSystems RLStringListRecordList to .NET List<string>

Process

• Iterate through records

• Extract ssValue

• Return List<string>

Usage

• Email recipients extraction

?? Default Configuration Methods

Used when configuration objects are null.

• GetDefaultExportOptions()

• GetDefaultLayoutConfig()

• GetDefaultLocalizationConfig()

• GetDefaultSecurityConfig()

• GetDefaultPerformanceConfig()

• GetDefaultOutputConfig()

Default values are defined in Structures.cs

?? Data Processing

ProcessData(...)

Purpose
Converts any OutSystems data into a unified structure.

Input

• Any object (Entity, Structure, JSON, Aggregate result, etc.)

• Export options

Process Flow

1. Serialize to JSON

2. Parse as JArray / JObject

3. Reflection fallback

4. Optional flattening

5. Graceful null handling

Output

List<Dictionary<string, object>>

Handled Edge Cases

• Empty data

• Mixed types

• Nested objects

• Arrays

• Null values

ProcessJsonObject(...)

• Recursive JSON traversal

• Optional flattening

• Array ? comma-separated string

• Maintains hierarchy via prefixes

ConvertObjectToDictionary(...)

• Reflection-based conversion

• Flattens complex types (optional)

• Skips unreadable properties safely

IsSimpleType(...)

Checks if a type is:

• Primitive

• string

• DateTime

• decimal

• Guid

• Nullable<T>

?? Column Processing

CleanColumnName(...)

Removes OutSystems prefixes and normalizes names.

Examples

• ssENEmployee._ssName ? Name

• Customer.Address.Street ? Street

• _Status ? Status

ShouldExcludeColumn(...)

Automatically excludes system attributes:

• ChangedAttributes

• OptimizedAttributes

ProcessColumns(...)

Modes

1. Auto-detect

2. Manual configuration

Features

• Column ordering

• Data type detection

• Display name cleanup

• Width & alignment defaults

DetectDataType(...)

Samples first non-null values and detects:

• Number

• Date

• Boolean

• Text (default)

FormatValue(...)

Applies formatting based on:

• Data type

• Culture

• Time zone

• Column overrides

Defaults

• Date: yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss

• Boolean: Yes / No

• Null: Empty string

? Validation

MssValidateExportDefinition(...)

Performs full pre-execution validation.

Validates

• Data existence

• Export format

• Column config

• Layout config

• Security rules

• Performance limits

• Output delivery requirements

Returns

• Errors (blocking)

• Warnings (non-blocking)

?? Export Implementations

?? Excel Export

Library: ClosedXML
Features

• Multi-sheet ready

• Auto-fit columns

• Custom widths

• Alignment & wrap

• Type-aware formatting

?? CSV Export

Features

• UTF-8 encoding

• Culture-aware formatting

• Full CSV escaping

• Header support

?? PDF Export

Library: iTextSharp

Features

• A4 / Letter

• Portrait / Landscape

• RTL support

• Headers & footers

• Page numbers

• Watermark (opacity)

• Print / Copy restrictions

• Font fallback handling

?? Main Public APIs

MssExportData(...)

Primary export entry point

• Applies defaults

• Processes data

• Applies limits

• Routes to exporter

• Generates filename

• Returns ExportResult

MssPreviewExport(...)

• Limited rows

• Prefixed filename

• Ideal for testing & UAT

MssValidateExportDefinition(...)

• Validation-only execution

• No file generation

?? Internal Helper Class

ColumnInfo (Private)

Holds processed column metadata:

• Key

• Display name

• Visibility

• Order

• Data type

• Format

• Width

• Alignment

• Wrap text

• Default value

?? Dependencies

NuGet

• ClosedXML (MIT)

• DocumentFormat.OpenXml (MIT)

• iTextSharp (AGPL)

• Newtonsoft.Json (MIT)

OutSystems Runtime

• RuntimePlatform

• DatabaseAbstractionLayer

• RuntimeCommon

• REST / SOAP APIs

? Key Capabilities

? Dynamic Data

• Any structure

• No assumptions

• Flattening support

? Smart Columns

• Auto-detect

• Clean names

• System attribute exclusion

? Advanced Formatting

• Culture-aware

• Timezone-safe

• Per-column overrides

? Localization

• Arabic & English

• RTL PDF

• Custom fonts

? Security (PDF)

• Watermark

• Restrictions

• Audit trail

• Expiry date

? Performance

• MaxRows

• Chunking ready

• Streaming ready

• Large dataset safe

?? Important Notes

• All configurations are optional

• Defaults always applied

• Designed for 1M+ rows

• Fully extensible

• Production-safe

• Forge-ready documentation