Exporting CSV can overwrite files without warning

Question

Warning about an undocumented, automatic deletion of files by Numbers.
Export a iWork'09 Numbers (Version 2.0.5 (368))  document (with 2+ sheets) as a CSV with the same name as a folder in the destination and WHAM!
Yes, WHAM - it deletes all files in that folder with no warning (and they are not sent to Trash, oh moan, on moan).
A scenario - MyData.numbers (with 2+ sheets) stored in a MyData folder on the Desktop. Open it, export as CSV to Desktop, it deletes everything in folder including itself and replaces them with Sheet 1-Table 1.csv, etc. There is no warning this will happen.
If there is only one sheet, it will create a MyData.csv on the Desktop and leave the folder alone.  If you do it again with one sheet, it will warn you the file exists.
If you repeat it with a 2+ sheet document again, there is not warning, this time csv files in the folder will be replaced.
This is horrid, unruly behaviour and cost me a huge amount of time repairing the damage.
There is nothing in the user guide to prepare me for this unhappy event.
You have been warned.  Apple please fix this.

Answer 1

I must say that you are right on one point.
Even if I feel that this format is the worst ever invented, I exported many times Numbers documents in csv format. I never go the described behavior.
So, as I am honest, I created a folder with the same name than the stripped document's one.
When I asked the app to export it, the save dialog displayed the default name : azertyuiop.csv
As the folder was named azertyuiop, I was sure that there will not be any kind of problem.
I was wrong and you were right.
The result was not a folder azertyuiop.csv but the folder azertyuiop.
Of course, I decided to check that I wasn't fooled by my memory.
I made an other attempt with the name azertyuio.csv.
This time, there was no existing folder. I was sure that I will get the object azertyuio.csv
It's what my memory was repeating me.
Alas, the result was a folder named azertyuio.
So, I stop this message here and enter the Bug Reporter area.
Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) mardi 14 juin 2011 17:25:01
As my Internet connection is in maintenancecr, I was unable to post it at the date_time used in my signature.
So I had time available to preparer a bug report.
Here it is :
Bug ID# 9608202.
Summary:
Awfull behavior of Numbers
Steps to Reproduce:
Create a Numbers document with several tables.
Export it as csv.
The Export dialog offer a name, say azertyuiop.csv
Expected Results:
Several users and myself assumed that we will get an object named azertyuiop.csv containing one csv file for every existing table.
Actual Results:
in fact, what we get is a folder named azertyuiop (without the name extension displayed in the dialog)
Worse, if a folder already exist with this name, THERE IS NO WARNING ISSUED.
So, the entire content of the existing folder is destroyed.
It’s really the worst kind of bug which I may imagine.
Regression:
Triple check that there is no existing folder with the same name than the document to export.
Or no longer use the dedicated menu when we want to export as csv but trigger this AppleScript which will take care to build a unique name.
--{code}
tell application "Numbers"
          tell document 1
                    set dName to name
                    set dPath to path
          end tell
end tell
if dPath ends with ".numbers" then
          set barePath to text 1 thru -9 of dPath
else
          set barePath to dPath
end if
set csvPath to barePath & (do shell script "date +_%Y%m%d_%H%M%S.csv")
tell application "Numbers"
  save document dName in csvPath
Yes, it's foolish but if the document contain several tables,
the result will be the folder azertyuiop_20110614_174726.
Only the enclosed files will be named table 1.csv, table 2.csv…
end tell
--{code}
Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) mardi 14 juin 2011 21:12:17
iMac 21”5, i7, 2.8 GHz, 4 Gbytes, 1 Tbytes, mac OS X 10.6.7
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