Datatables get raw data from table

Question

How can I get the raw data from my datatables table. The docs say to use

table.rows().data()

But this returns a complicated javascript object. I just want the raw data.

Answer 1

This might be the solution to your question.

table.rows().data().toArray();

Answer 2

table.rows().data() return ALL DataTable's data... But what you wish to have probably is what's visible in the rows only.

So delete the properties you do not want, which may be:

1. context ← This one is particularly big!
2. length
3. selector
4. ajax

And what will be left is what is displayed, row by row.

A CodePen to play with...

// Directly from the example found here: https://datatables.net/examples/data_sources/js_array.html

var dataSet = [
  [ "Tiger Nixon", "System Architect", "Edinburgh", "5421", "2011/04/25", "$320,800" ],
  [ "Garrett Winters", "Accountant", "Tokyo", "8422", "2011/07/25", "$170,750" ],
  [ "Ashton Cox", "Junior Technical Author", "San Francisco", "1562", "2009/01/12", "$86,000" ],
  [ "Cedric Kelly", "Senior Javascript Developer", "Edinburgh", "6224", "2012/03/29", "$433,060" ],
  [ "Airi Satou", "Accountant", "Tokyo", "5407", "2008/11/28", "$162,700" ],
  [ "Brielle Williamson", "Integration Specialist", "New York", "4804", "2012/12/02", "$372,000" ],
  [ "Herrod Chandler", "Sales Assistant", "San Francisco", "9608", "2012/08/06", "$137,500" ],
  [ "Rhona Davidson", "Integration Specialist", "Tokyo", "6200", "2010/10/14", "$327,900" ],
  [ "Colleen Hurst", "Javascript Developer", "San Francisco", "2360", "2009/09/15", "$205,500" ],
  [ "Sonya Frost", "Software Engineer", "Edinburgh", "1667", "2008/12/13", "$103,600" ],
  [ "Jena Gaines", "Office Manager", "London", "3814", "2008/12/19", "$90,560" ],
  [ "Quinn Flynn", "Support Lead", "Edinburgh", "9497", "2013/03/03", "$342,000" ],
  [ "Charde Marshall", "Regional Director", "San Francisco", "6741", "2008/10/16", "$470,600" ],
  [ "Haley Kennedy", "Senior Marketing Designer", "London", "3597", "2012/12/18", "$313,500" ],
  [ "Tatyana Fitzpatrick", "Regional Director", "London", "1965", "2010/03/17", "$385,750" ],
  [ "Michael Silva", "Marketing Designer", "London", "1581", "2012/11/27", "$198,500" ],
  [ "Paul Byrd", "Chief Financial Officer (CFO)", "New York", "3059", "2010/06/09", "$725,000" ],
  [ "Gloria Little", "Systems Administrator", "New York", "1721", "2009/04/10", "$237,500" ],
  [ "Bradley Greer", "Software Engineer", "London", "2558", "2012/10/13", "$132,000" ],
  [ "Dai Rios", "Personnel Lead", "Edinburgh", "2290", "2012/09/26", "$217,500" ],
  [ "Jenette Caldwell", "Development Lead", "New York", "1937", "2011/09/03", "$345,000" ],
  [ "Yuri Berry", "Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)", "New York", "6154", "2009/06/25", "$675,000" ],
  [ "Caesar Vance", "Pre-Sales Support", "New York", "8330", "2011/12/12", "$106,450" ],
  [ "Doris Wilder", "Sales Assistant", "Sidney", "3023", "2010/09/20", "$85,600" ],
  [ "Angelica Ramos", "Chief Executive Officer (CEO)", "London", "5797", "2009/10/09", "$1,200,000" ],
  [ "Gavin Joyce", "Developer", "Edinburgh", "8822", "2010/12/22", "$92,575" ],
  [ "Jennifer Chang", "Regional Director", "Singapore", "9239", "2010/11/14", "$357,650" ],
  [ "Brenden Wagner", "Software Engineer", "San Francisco", "1314", "2011/06/07", "$206,850" ],
  [ "Fiona Green", "Chief Operating Officer (COO)", "San Francisco", "2947", "2010/03/11", "$850,000" ],
  [ "Shou Itou", "Regional Marketing", "Tokyo", "8899", "2011/08/14", "$163,000" ],
  [ "Michelle House", "Integration Specialist", "Sidney", "2769", "2011/06/02", "$95,400" ],
  [ "Suki Burks", "Developer", "London", "6832", "2009/10/22", "$114,500" ],
  [ "Prescott Bartlett", "Technical Author", "London", "3606", "2011/05/07", "$145,000" ],
  [ "Gavin Cortez", "Team Leader", "San Francisco", "2860", "2008/10/26", "$235,500" ],
  [ "Martena Mccray", "Post-Sales support", "Edinburgh", "8240", "2011/03/09", "$324,050" ],
  [ "Unity Butler", "Marketing Designer", "San Francisco", "5384", "2009/12/09", "$85,675" ]
];

$(document).ready(function() {
  var table = $('#example').DataTable( {
    data: dataSet,
    columns: [
      { title: "Name" },
      { title: "Position" },
      { title: "Office" },
      { title: "Extn." },
      { title: "Start date" },
      { title: "Salary" }
    ]
  } );
  
  //======================================================== END copy paste from the example.
  
  
  var data = table.rows().data();
  delete data.context;
  //delete data.length;   // Do not delete this one! Needed for the loop below.
  delete data.selector;
  delete data.ajax;
  
  console.log( JSON.stringify(data) );
  
  // Make the resulting "striped" object an array.
  var dataAsArray = [];
  console.log(data.length);
  
  for(i=0;i<data.length;i++){
    dataAsArray.push(data[i]);
  }
  
  console.log(JSON.stringify(dataAsArray));
});

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.2.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="//cdn.datatables.net/1.10.16/js/jquery.dataTables.min.js"></script>
<link href="//cdn.datatables.net/1.10.16/css/jquery.dataTables.min.css" rel="stylesheet"/>

<table id="example" class="display" width="100%"></table>