# \[IGN-14447\]system.dataset.toExcel not working after updating to 8.3

**URL:** <https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ign-14447-system-dataset-toexcel-not-working-after-updating-to-8-3/112749>\
**Category:** Ignition\
**Tags:** perspective\
**Created:** [December 10, 2025, 10:23pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ign-14447-system-dataset-toexcel-not-working-after-updating-to-8-3/112749 "2025-12-10T22:23:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jonathanf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@jonathanf](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/jonathanf)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 10:23pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ign-14447-system-dataset-toexcel-not-working-after-updating-to-8-3/112749/1 "2025-12-10T22:23:43Z")

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Hi Guys,

First post.

After updating to 8.3 I'm getting a can’t convert to common.dataset error on my system.dataset.toExcel scripts. It worked before updating.

The below screenshot is just an example I made to test, normally its a button with a script that downloads the excel file but it’s the exact same error.

If I change the script to system.dataset.toCSV it works fine.

Is this a bug in 8.3 or am I doing something wrong?

 ![Screenshot 2025-12-10 140915](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/f/2/f24cc8ac995823e3a658b972acab988273b2336e.png)

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**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 11:25pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ign-14447-system-dataset-toexcel-not-working-after-updating-to-8-3/112749/2 "2025-12-10T23:25:03Z")

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So, the short version is:  
Update your script to `system.dataset.toExcel(True, [value])` and everything will start working fine.

The medium version is that `toExcel` has _always_ been documented to accept a **list** of datasets (which will become 'sheets' in the final document, 1:1 with input datasets). That it accepts a single dataset is a convenience feature we're deliberately not documenting because the list form is "more correct".

The long version is that this broke with the transition to 8.3 because dataset instances now automatically appear as "PyDatasets" to scripting. PyDatasets are true Python "sequence" types, so the internal check inside `toExcel` follows the "this is a sequence" path (and fails when the inner objects are rows, not full datasets) instead of the previous "this is a single value" path (which would then get used as a single dataset).  
We're going to fix it internally, so that a single dataset is still allowed through `toExcel`, but it won't happen particularly quickly, so you'll want to go with a workaround for now. Luckily, it's trivial; by wrapping the (Py)Dataset you're passing in a list, you're guaranteeing you follow the "list of values" code path internally and get the right result.

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**Author:** ![Eric\_Meyer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/eric_meyer/32/72323_2.png) [@Eric\_Meyer](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Eric_Meyer)\
**Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ign-14447-system-dataset-toexcel-not-working-after-updating-to-8-3/112749/3 "2026-02-05T20:17:32Z")

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Hey Paul -

Ran into this same thing on an upgrade from 8.1 to 8.3. Do you know a time frame for this internal fix at IA? Probably best to use a list of datasets anyways going forward. Just asking due to upcoming upgrade projects with existing code like this.

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**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\
**Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/ign-14447-system-dataset-toexcel-not-working-after-updating-to-8-3/112749/4 "2026-02-05T23:18:14Z")

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No earlier than 8.3.5, estimated ~mid March, more likely 8.3.6 or even later (~May).

I'm hoping to get it worked on sooner, but despite being technically a regression it's such an easy workaround that it's just not at the top of the pile.