Summary Report Export to Excel Displays Grouped Columns in LTR Layout When Org Language is Hebrew or Arabic (RTL)

This article explains why a Salesforce Summary Report exported to Excel shows grouped columns in Left-to-Right (LTR) layout even when the org language is Hebrew or Arabic, and how to fix the layout manually in Excel.

Why This Happens

Salesforce exports raw data and column structures to Excel but does not set worksheet direction metadata. Excel defaults all imported or exported sheets to Left-to-Right (LTR) layout regardless of the source org language or locale. Right-to-Left (RTL) worksheet direction is not currently implemented in the report export functionality.

This is Working As Designed (WAD).

Workaround: Manually Set RTL Direction in Excel

To display the exported report in RTL format, manually change the worksheet direction in Excel:

1. Open the exported Excel file.
2. Go to the Page Layout tab.
3. Under Sheet Right-to-Left, enable the RTL direction option.