> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.pentaho.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.pentaho.com/pdia-data-integration/9.3-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/microsoft-excel-input/options-microsoft-excel-input/content-tab.md).

# Content tab

![Microsoft Excel Input step Content tab](https://3411831820-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FAYwCj9fPr1B2pjC11IOQ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-4f7494f6264e0b86354950985fb36311bf41dfaa%2FPDI_TransStep_Microsoft_Excel_Input_Content_Tab.png?alt=media)

Use **Content** tab to configure which data values to retrieve. The following options are available:

| Option                 | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Header**             | Select if the sheets specified in the **Sheets** tab contain a header row to skip.                                                                                                                            |
| **No empty rows**      | Select if you do not want empty rows to appear in the output of this step.                                                                                                                                    |
| **Stop on empty rows** | Select to stop reading the current sheet of a file when an empty line is encountered.                                                                                                                         |
| **Limit**              | Specify a limit on the number of records generated from this step. Results are not limited when set to zero.                                                                                                  |
| **Encoding**           | Specify which text file encoding to use. Leave this option blank to use the default system encoding. On first use, PDI searches your system for available encodings. To use Unicode, specify UTF-8 or UTF-16. |


---

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