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Understand Export Performance Factors

Export performance depends on multiple data structure characteristics: diagram Unlike initial page load performance (primarily driven by row count), export performance degrades most significantly with high linked-item column counts and formula-heavy configurations.
Before version 24.5.1, calculated column values could appear inconsistently in exports if work items were imported without saving calculated values to Polarion. The data synchronization feature introduced in 24.5.1 ensures formula values persist correctly between Nextedy RISKSHEET and Polarion for reliable exports.

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Diagnose Export Performance Bottlenecks

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Step 1: Measure Baseline Performance

Establish your current export performance:
Dataset SizeExpected Export Time (PDF)Expected Export Time (Excel)
< 100 items, 10 columns5-15 seconds2-5 seconds
100-500 items, 15 columns15-45 seconds5-15 seconds
500-1000 items, 20 columns45-120 seconds15-30 seconds
> 1000 items, 25+ columns120+ seconds30+ seconds
If your exports exceed these thresholds significantly, optimization is needed.

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Step 2: Identify High-Cost Column Types

Different column types impose varying export overhead:
Column TypeExport CostReason
Basic fields (text, enum)LowDirect value export
Calculated columnsMediumFormula re-evaluation
Item link columnsMediumProperty binding resolution
Multi-item link columnsHighJSON parsing + deduplication
Server render columnsVery HighHTML processing + text extraction
Nested linked item columnsVery HighRecursive property lookups
Support tickets show that linked-item column density (not raw data volume) is the primary driver of export performance degradation, especially with concurrent multi-user access during export operations.

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Step 3: Check Browser-Specific Issues

Some export functionality varies by browser:
  • Firefox: Export buttons may require troubleshooting in certain versions
  • Chrome/Edge: Generally best export performance
  • Safari: May show slower processing for large datasets
If Firefox export buttons are unresponsive, try Chrome or Edge as an alternative.

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Optimize Export Configuration

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Strategy 1: Hide Unnecessary Columns

Use column visibility configuration to exclude columns from exports: 
{
  "columns": [
    {
      "binding": "detailedDescription",
      "header": "Detailed Description",
      "visible": false,
      "includeInExport": false
    }
  ]
}
Alternatively, use saved views to control export column sets:
  1. Create a saved view named “Export View”
  2. Hide columns not needed in exports
  3. Load this view before exporting

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Strategy 2: Simplify Server Render Columns

Server render columns require HTML-to-text conversion during export. Simplify or remove these columns if export performance is critical: Before (Slow): 
{
  "binding": "complexRender",
  "serverRender": "$item.fields().description().render().htmlFor().forFrame()"
}
After (Faster): 
{
  "binding": "description",
  "header": "Description"
}
The plain text field exports faster than HTML-rendered content. Multi-item link columns parse JSON and resolve multiple linked items during export. Consolidate or remove redundant link columns: 
{
  "columns": [
    // Keep only essential linked item columns for export
    {"type": "multiItemLink:requirement", "binding": "requirements"},
    // Remove or hide secondary link columns:
    // {"type": "multiItemLink:testcase", "binding": "testcases"}
  ]
}
For migration scenarios where work items are imported without calculated field values, ensure you’re running version 24.5.1 or later. This version includes data synchronization that persists formula values to Polarion, ensuring consistent export behavior.

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Optimize PDF-Specific Performance

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Strategy 1: Disable Custom PDF Scripts

Custom PDF export scripts add processing overhead. Test export performance with custom scripts disabled:
  1. Open Configuration Editor
  2. Navigate to PDF Export Configuration
  3. Temporarily clear the custom script content
  4. Test export performance
  5. If faster, optimize or simplify your custom script

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Strategy 2: Reduce Page Layout Complexity

Complex page layouts with merged cells, multi-page items, and repeated headers increase PDF generation time: Baseline Configuration impacts PDF pagination: 
{
  "pdfExport": {
    "pageOrientation": "landscape",
    "includeBaselines": false
  }
}
Baselines are not automatically included in PDF exports. If you need baseline data in exports, configure baseline filtering in your risksheetPdfExport.vm Velocity template using document path or ID filters. Missing baseline configuration can cause export failures or timeouts.

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Strategy 3: Avoid Text Truncation Issues

PDF exports can truncate text in table columns. The development team prioritizes fixing truncation bugs, but you can work around this by:
  • Reducing column count to allow wider column widths
  • Shortening text content in cells prone to truncation
  • Using multi-line cells with word wrapping enabled

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Optimize Excel-Specific Performance

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Strategy 1: Disable Style Preservation

Excel export preserves cell background colors and text colors from Nextedy RISKSHEET. For very large exports, this styling overhead can be significant. Currently, there’s no configuration to disable style preservation, but you can simplify cell styling in your configuration to reduce export complexity: 
{
  "cellDecorators": {
    // Remove or simplify complex cell decorators
  }
}

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Strategy 2: Limit Multi-Enum Columns

Multi-enum columns require enum definition lookup during export to convert IDs to readable names: Optimized Approach:
  • Use single-select enums instead of multi-select where possible
  • Reduce number of multi-enum columns in export view

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Split Large Risksheets

When optimization strategies reach their limits, consider splitting monolithic risksheets into smaller, focused sheets:

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Multi-Risksheet Strategy

diagram Benefits:
  • Faster export times per sheet
  • Reduced concurrent user contention
  • Easier to manage and configure
  • Better scalability for large teams
Support engineers recommend splitting risksheets by FMEA type or subsystem to reduce column count and linked-item load rather than attempting to optimize a single monolithic sheet beyond ~500 items with high linked-item density.

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Investigate Server-Side Factors

If export performance remains slow after optimization:

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Check Polarion Server Health

  1. CPU Usage: Verify server CPU is not saturated (< 80% usage)
  2. Memory: Ensure sufficient free memory for Java heap
  3. Disk I/O: Check for slow disk operations during export
  4. Network Latency: Measure round-trip time between client and server

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Review Server Configuration

Polarion server misconfiguration can impact export performance. Contact Nextedy support with:
  • Polarion version and build number
  • JVM heap size settings
  • Concurrent user count during export
  • Export duration and dataset size metrics

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Verify Export Performance Improvements

  1. Measure Baseline: Record export duration before optimization
  2. Apply Changes: Implement column hiding, view simplification, or sheet splitting
  3. Re-Test Export: Measure new export duration for same dataset
  4. Calculate Improvement: Compare before/after times
  5. Verify Content: Ensure exported content remains complete and accurate
You should see export times reduced by 30-70% depending on optimization strategies applied. If performance remains unacceptable (> 2 minutes for < 500 items), contact Nextedy support with server configuration details and sample export data structure for investigation.

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See Also

Support TicketsSource Code
  • ExportToExcelCommand.ts
  • ExportToExcel.ts
  • ExportToPdfCommand.ts
  • ExportToPdf.ts