3020432 - File Format/Extension Error When Trying to Open Downloaded Price/Discount List Excel File

When trying to open a Price List/Discount List Excel file downloaded from the system, you get the following error in Excel:

"The file format and extension of 'ABC.xls' don't match. The file could be corrupted or unsafe. Unless you trust its source, don't open it. Do you want to open it anyway?" (Where ABC.xls Represents the filename of the downloaded file).

Clicking "Yes" results in error: "The file is damaged and cannot be opened."

SAP Business ByDesign

1. Go to the Product and Service Portfolio work center.
2. Open the "Price List" or "Discount List" view.
3. Change the type of List (Pricing Assignment Group) in the dropdown below "Price Lists" or "Discount Lists" to the desired one.
4. Click the "Download" Button.

 The system will generate a file, which upon opening results in the previously mentioned errors.

 In some environments, it is also possible to see the following Error Description: "Whitespace is not allowed at this location. Location: Line: DEF, Column: GHI" (Where DEF and GHI Represent the Line and Column numbers, respectively).

This is caused by the usage of a special character in the name of the Pricing Assignment Group of the Price List or Discount List. Most likely the character "&" is being used, but it could also be caused by other special characters.

The reason for this is that Excel treats some special characters as symbols, which are then used in internal functionalities. So using any of those in the name of the Pricing Group Assignment results in a corrupted .xls file.

In order to avoid this issue, please make sure that no Pricing Group Assignments have "&" or any other special characters in their names. You can check this by following these steps:

1. Go to the Business Configuration work center.
2. Select the Overview view.
3. Search for Configure Price Strategy.
4. Select the activity Configure Price Strategy and click on Open.
5. Click the Pricing Group Assignments hyperlink.
6. Select "Prices" or "Discounts" under Pricing Group and Group Name.
7. Check the names created under Pricing Group Item Assignments.

Price List, Discount List, Excel, Error, Message, Dump, Fail, Failure, Symbol, Symbols, Special Character, Special Characters, Ampersand , KBA , AP-PMD-SPL , Sales Price List , How To