LpCSVExportable

LpCSVExportable makes it really easy to export your data into a CSV. It is easy to implement, but also highly extendable.

gem 'lp_csv_exportable'

bundle

Create a class that includes the module LpCSVExportable::CanExportAsCSV

class ExportUsers
  include LpCSVExportable::CanExportAsCSV

  column :first_name
  column :last_name
  column :email
  column 'User Role', model_methods: %i[membership name]
end

Note: the header argument can be either a symbol or a string.

And then to export, simply instantiate your class and pass in your collection, then call to_csv. For example, in a Rails controller action, you would do:

  def index
    users = User.all

    respond_to do |format|
      format.csv do
        export = ExportUsers.new
        export.collection = users
        send_data export.to_csv
      end
    end
  end

Every column in a CSV contains (1) a header, and (2) data for each row. The first argument to our column method is the header name. The second argument is an options hash which includes the following:

model_method
model_methods

model_method is used to determine how to access the data on the object. Let's say we are exporting a CSV of users and our User object has a first_name database column. In order to access the first name of a user, we need to call first_name on an instance of User. Therefore, the following would suffice:

column 'First Name', model_method: :first_name

When the first argument to column is a symbol and no value is passed for model_method or model_methods, we will assume it is both the header and the model method. That's why the following will work:

column :first_name

You can also chain methods by using model_methods like so:

column 'First Name', model_methods: [:names, :first]

Finally, you can use custom methods on your Export class like so:

class ExportUsers
  include LpCSVExportable::CanExportAsCSV

  column 'Full Name', model_method: :full_name

  def full_name(obj)
    [obj.first_name, obj.last_name].compact.join(' ')
  end
end

If you would like to default a column to a specific value if the model method returns nil, use the default_value key when defining the column.

column 'Email', model_method: :email, default_value: 'N/A'

• Readme: More complex examples
• Readme: Ways to extend