Amazon QuickSight offers flexible options for distributing dashboards and reports through scheduled email deliveries. Depending on the chosen file format, Excel, CSV, or PDF, the behavior of filenames, sheet/tab structures, and attachments can vary. Below is a detailed breakdown of how QuickSight handles each export type so you can anticipate exactly what your recipients will see.

Understanding QuickSight Scheduled Email Exports 1

The Problem

The Limits of Naming Control in QuickSight

Why This Matters

Emailing Excel Reports

Emailing CSV Reports

Emailing PDF Reports

Workarounds for Naming Limitations

Strategic Table and Sheet Naming

Post-Processing Scripts for Email Attachments

Snapshot Exports + Automated Renaming

PDF Naming Tricks

Document and Train Your Users

Conclusion

The Problem

The Limits of Naming Control in QuickSight

While QuickSight automates much of the export process, one of its biggest drawbacks is how little control you have over filenames and tab names. This lack of customization can create real-world problems:

1. Excel Tab Names Are Fixed
   • Tabs are always pulled from the underlying table title in QuickSight.
   • You can’t override them at schedule time. If your dashboard has “Table1” or “Untitled Visual,” that’s exactly what your recipient will see in their Excel file.
   • The only workaround is to go back into your dashboard, rename the tables to something descriptive, and republish.
2. CSV Filenames Are Auto-Generated
   • QuickSight always combines the sheet name and table title into the filename.
   • There’s no way to say, “Call this Finance_Report.csv.” Instead, you’re stuck with FinanceSheet_Table1.csv or whatever your visuals are named.
   • If your org has a file-naming standard (e.g., team_dataset_date.csv), QuickSight will not follow it without renaming your visuals to simulate it.
3. PDF Filenames Depend on the Email Header
   • Unlike Excel or CSV, the PDF filename comes from the email header text field in the schedule.
   • While this gives you some control, it also ties filename identity to the email subject line. That means you can’t have a friendly subject (“Weekly Board Pack”) and a technical filename (“Q3_Financials_2025-09-05.pdf”) at the same time. It’s one or the other.
     
     
4. No Dynamic Variables
   • QuickSight doesn’t allow macros or variables like ${date}, ${dashboard}, or ${team} in filenames.
   • The auto-generated timestamp is always appended in UTC, and you can’t choose your own format (2025-09-05 vs Sep_05_2025).
5. No Control Over Case or Separators
   • Filenames always use underscores (_) as separators. You can’t switch to hyphens or camelCase.
   • This can be frustrating if your downstream systems expect consistent naming styles.

Why This Matters

For casual users, this might seem like a minor nuisance. But for teams that:

• Archive reports in SharePoint or S3 buckets,
• Feed reports into automated ETL pipelines, or
• Have compliance rules around naming,

…the inability to enforce a predictable, human-designed filename convention is a real blocker. Many admins resort to renaming files with scripts after delivery, which adds operational overhead.

Emailing Excel Reports  

⚠️ Note: Exporting to Excel via scheduled email requires Pixel Perfect reporting in QuickSight. Without this feature, Excel exports are not available.  

When you schedule a QuickSight dashboard to be delivered as an Excel file, multiple sheets can be bundled into one consolidated workbook. This is particularly useful when your audience expects a single file with different perspectives side by side.  

• Tab Naming Logic
  Each worksheet tab in the exported Excel file is automatically named after the underlying table title in QuickSight, not the visual sheet name you see inside the dashboard editor. 
  
  
• Filename Format
  <QuickSight Dashboard Name>_<Auto Generated Timestamp>.xlsx
  
  
• Example

Emailing CSV Reports

⚠️ Note: Just like Excel, CSV exports require Pixel Perfect reporting to be enabled.  

CSV exports behave differently from Excel. Instead of combining data into a single file, QuickSight generates one CSV per selected sheet. This makes CSV delivery ideal when different teams or systems need discrete, lightweight files rather than a single workbook.

• CSV Naming Logic
  Each file uses both the sheet name and the table title to construct a clear, unique filename.
  
  
• Filename Format
  <QuickSight Sheet Name>_<QuickSight Table Title>.csv
  
  
• Example

Emailing PDF Reports

DFs are the simplest but also the most restrictive export option. Unlike Excel or CSV, a scheduled email can only attach one PDF at a time.

• Filename Source
  The filename doesn’t come from the dashboard or sheet. Instead, QuickSight uses the Email Header Text that you specify when setting up the schedule.
  
  
• Filename Format
  <Email Header Text>_<Auto Generated Timestamp>.pdf
  
  
• Example

Workarounds for Naming Limitations

Because QuickSight does not allow you to directly set filenames, most teams end up building small workarounds. These don’t solve the root limitation but can make exports far more predictable and usable.

Strategic Table and Sheet Naming

Since Excel tabs and CSV filenames inherit from table titles and sheet names, the simplest workaround is to rename them directly inside QuickSight before publishing schedules.

• Instead of leaving the default Table1, rename it to Revenue_By_Region.
• Keep sheet names short but descriptive, such as Finance_Q1 or Ops_Daily.
• If you want exported files to follow a loose naming convention (e.g., Team_Dataset_Date.csv), bake those values into the QuickSight sheet or table names themselves.

This requires discipline by dashboard authors but ensures recipients see consistent tab and file names without extra processing.

Post-Processing Scripts for Email Attachments

When reports are delivered by email, there is no option to rename attachments on the fly. The common workaround is to intercept the files once they are stored or forwarded:

• Mail rules + scripts: Forward attachments to a shared mailbox or service where a script renames and archives them.
• ETL processing: If reports are dropped into a file store or downstream process, insert a renaming step before ingestion.
• S3 relay: Route reports through Amazon SES then to S3, and trigger a Lambda function to rename the files on arrival.

Snapshot Exports + Automated Renaming

For automated workflows, the most reliable method is to use the QuickSight Snapshot Export API. This lets you generate Excel, CSV, or PDF snapshots into an S3 bucket. But even here, QuickSight enforces its own naming convention, you cannot specify a filename at export time.

The practical approach is to capture the object key returned in the API response and then rename the file yourself. For example, QuickSight may create Excel-Dashboard_2025-09-05T14_57_17.xlsx. Your process should then copy or move that file to a new key such as Finance_Report_2025-09-05.xlsx.

This ensures downstream systems or business users always receive clean, predictable filenames aligned with your company’s standards.

PDF Naming Tricks

Since PDF filenames are tied to the Email Header Text, you can use hybrid naming to cover both subject line and filename needs. For example:

• Header text: Weekly_Board_Pack (Board Meeting Report)
  Resulting filename: Weekly_Board_Pack_(Board_Meeting_Report)_2025-09-05.pdf
  
  

Recipients see a friendly subject line in their inbox, while the file itself still carries enough context to be archived or searched later.

Document and Train Your Users

In many cases, the simplest workaround is cultural, not technical. Publish a short internal guide explaining how QuickSight generates names and why files look the way they do. Encourage dashboard authors to use meaningful table titles, and train report recipients to recognize the patterns.

Conclusion

• Excel = multiple sheets: single workbook (tabs named after table titles).
• CSV = one file per sheet/table combination: multiple attachments.
• PDF = one file per schedule, filename tied to email header text.

By understanding these naming conventions and export structures, you can control the recipient experience more precisely and avoid confusion when distributing scheduled QuickSight reports.