1Spreadsheet::WriteExcelU(s3e)r Contributed Perl DocumentaStpiroenadsheet::WriteExcel(3)
2
6 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel - Write to a cross-platform Excel binary file.
7
9 This document refers to version 2.40 of Spreadsheet::WriteExcel,
10 released November 6, 2013.
11
13 To write a string, a formatted string, a number and a formula to the
14 first worksheet in an Excel workbook called perl.xls:
15 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
17 # Create a new Excel workbook
19 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('perl.xls');
20 # Add a worksheet
22 $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
23 # Add and define a format
25 $format = $workbook->add_format(); # Add a format
26 $format->set_bold();
27 $format->set_color('red');
28 $format->set_align('center');
29 # Write a formatted and unformatted string, row and column notation.
31 $col = $row = 0;
32 $worksheet->write($row, $col, 'Hi Excel!', $format);
33 $worksheet->write(1, $col, 'Hi Excel!');
34 # Write a number and a formula using A1 notation
36 $worksheet->write('A3', 1.2345);
37 $worksheet->write('A4', '=SIN(PI()/4)');
38
40 The Spreadsheet::WriteExcel Perl module can be used to create a cross-
41 platform Excel binary file. Multiple worksheets can be added to a
42 workbook and formatting can be applied to cells. Text, numbers,
43 formulas, hyperlinks, images and charts can be written to the cells.
44 The file produced by this module is compatible with Excel 97, 2000,
46 2002, 2003 and 2007.
47 The module will work on the majority of Windows, UNIX and Mac
49 platforms. Generated files are also compatible with the Linux/UNIX
50 spreadsheet applications Gnumeric and OpenOffice.org.
51 This module cannot be used to write to an existing Excel file (See
53 "MODIFYING AND REWRITING EXCEL FILES").
54 Note: This module is in maintenance only mode and in future will only
56 be updated with bug fixes. The newer, more feature rich and API
57 compatible Excel::Writer::XLSX module is recommended instead. See,
58 "Migrating to Excel::Writer::XLSX".
59
61 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel tries to provide an interface to as many of
62 Excel's features as possible. As a result there is a lot of
63 documentation to accompany the interface and it can be difficult at
64 first glance to see what it important and what is not. So for those of
65 you who prefer to assemble Ikea furniture first and then read the
66 instructions, here are three easy steps:
67 1. Create a new Excel workbook (i.e. file) using new().
69 2. Add a worksheet to the new workbook using add_worksheet().
71 3. Write to the worksheet using write().
73 Like this:
75 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel; # Step 0
77 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('perl.xls'); # Step 1
79 $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet(); # Step 2
80 $worksheet->write('A1', 'Hi Excel!'); # Step 3
81 This will create an Excel file called "perl.xls" with a single
83 worksheet and the text 'Hi Excel!' in the relevant cell. And that's it.
84 Okay, so there is actually a zeroth step as well, but "use module" goes
85 without saying. There are also more than 80 examples that come with the
86 distribution and which you can use to get you started. See "EXAMPLES".
87 Those of you who read the instructions first and assemble the furniture
89 afterwards will know how to proceed. ;-)
90
92 The Spreadsheet::WriteExcel module provides an object oriented
93 interface to a new Excel workbook. The following methods are available
94 through a new workbook.
95 new()
97 add_worksheet()
98 add_format()
99 add_chart()
100 add_chart_ext()
101 close()
102 compatibility_mode()
103 set_properties()
104 define_name()
105 set_tempdir()
106 set_custom_color()
107 sheets()
108 set_1904()
109 set_codepage()
110 If you are unfamiliar with object oriented interfaces or the way that
112 they are implemented in Perl have a look at "perlobj" and "perltoot" in
113 the main Perl documentation.
114 new()
116 A new Excel workbook is created using the new() constructor which
117 accepts either a filename or a filehandle as a parameter. The following
118 example creates a new Excel file based on a filename:
119 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('filename.xls');
121 my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
122 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'Hi Excel!');
123 Here are some other examples of using new() with filenames:
125 my $workbook1 = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new($filename);
127 my $workbook2 = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('/tmp/filename.xls');
128 my $workbook3 = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new("c:\\tmp\\filename.xls");
129 my $workbook4 = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('c:\tmp\filename.xls');
130 The last two examples demonstrates how to create a file on DOS or
132 Windows where it is necessary to either escape the directory separator
133 "\" or to use single quotes to ensure that it isn't interpolated. For
134 more information see "perlfaq5: Why can't I use "C:\temp\foo" in DOS
135 paths?".
136 The new() constructor returns a Spreadsheet::WriteExcel object that you
138 can use to add worksheets and store data. It should be noted that
139 although "my" is not specifically required it defines the scope of the
140 new workbook variable and, in the majority of cases, ensures that the
141 workbook is closed properly without explicitly calling the close()
142 method.
143 If the file cannot be created, due to file permissions or some other
145 reason, "new" will return "undef". Therefore, it is good practice to
146 check the return value of "new" before proceeding. As usual the Perl
147 variable $! will be set if there is a file creation error. You will
148 also see one of the warning messages detailed in "DIAGNOSTICS":
149 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('protected.xls');
151 die "Problems creating new Excel file: $!" unless defined $workbook;
152 You can also pass a valid filehandle to the new() constructor. For
154 example in a CGI program you could do something like this:
155 binmode(STDOUT);
157 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new(\*STDOUT);
158 The requirement for binmode() is explained below.
160 See also, the "cgi.pl" program in the "examples" directory of the
162 distro.
163 However, this special case will not work in "mod_perl" programs where
165 you will have to do something like the following:
166 # mod_perl 1
168 ...
169 tie *XLS, 'Apache';
170 binmode(XLS);
171 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new(\*XLS);
172 ...
173 # mod_perl 2
175 ...
176 tie *XLS => $r; # Tie to the Apache::RequestRec object
177 binmode(*XLS);
178 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new(\*XLS);
179 ...
180 See also, the "mod_perl1.pl" and "mod_perl2.pl" programs in the
182 "examples" directory of the distro.
183 Filehandles can also be useful if you want to stream an Excel file over
185 a socket or if you want to store an Excel file in a scalar.
186 For example here is a way to write an Excel file to a scalar with "perl
188 5.8":
189 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
191 use strict;
193 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
194 # Requires perl 5.8 or later
196 open my $fh, '>', \my $str or die "Failed to open filehandle: $!";
197 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new($fh);
199 my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
200 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'Hi Excel!');
202 $workbook->close();
204 # The Excel file in now in $str. Remember to binmode() the output
206 # filehandle before printing it.
207 binmode STDOUT;
208 print $str;
209 See also the "write_to_scalar.pl" and "filehandle.pl" programs in the
211 "examples" directory of the distro.
212 Note about the requirement for binmode(). An Excel file is comprised of
214 binary data. Therefore, if you are using a filehandle you should ensure
215 that you binmode() it prior to passing it to new().You should do this
216 regardless of whether you are on a Windows platform or not. This
217 applies especially to users of perl 5.8 on systems where "UTF-8" is
218 likely to be in operation such as RedHat Linux 9. If your program,
219 either intentionally or not, writes "UTF-8" data to a filehandle that
220 is passed to new() it will corrupt the Excel file that is created.
221 You don't have to worry about binmode() if you are using filenames
223 instead of filehandles. Spreadsheet::WriteExcel performs the binmode()
224 internally when it converts the filename to a filehandle. For more
225 information about binmode() see "perlfunc" and "perlopentut" in the
226 main Perl documentation.
227 add_worksheet($sheetname, $utf_16_be)
229 At least one worksheet should be added to a new workbook. A worksheet
230 is used to write data into cells:
231 $worksheet1 = $workbook->add_worksheet(); # Sheet1
233 $worksheet2 = $workbook->add_worksheet('Foglio2'); # Foglio2
234 $worksheet3 = $workbook->add_worksheet('Data'); # Data
235 $worksheet4 = $workbook->add_worksheet(); # Sheet4
236 If $sheetname is not specified the default Excel convention will be
238 followed, i.e. Sheet1, Sheet2, etc. The $utf_16_be parameter is
239 optional, see below.
240 The worksheet name must be a valid Excel worksheet name, i.e. it cannot
242 contain any of the following characters, "[ ] : * ? / \" and it must be
243 less than 32 characters. In addition, you cannot use the same, case
244 insensitive, $sheetname for more than one worksheet.
245 On systems with "perl 5.8" and later the add_worksheet() method will
247 also handle strings in "UTF-8" format.
248 $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet("\x{263a}"); # Smiley
250 On earlier Perl systems your can specify "UTF-16BE" worksheet names
252 using an additional optional parameter:
253 my $name = pack 'n', 0x263a;
255 $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet($name, 1); # Smiley
256 add_format(%properties)
258 The add_format() method can be used to create new Format objects which
259 are used to apply formatting to a cell. You can either define the
260 properties at creation time via a hash of property values or later via
261 method calls.
262 $format1 = $workbook->add_format(%props); # Set properties at creation
264 $format2 = $workbook->add_format(); # Set properties later
265 See the "CELL FORMATTING" section for more details about Format
267 properties and how to set them.
268 add_chart(%properties)
270 This method is use to create a new chart either as a standalone
271 worksheet (the default) or as an embeddable object that can be inserted
272 into a worksheet via the insert_chart() Worksheet method.
273 my $chart = $workbook->add_chart( type => 'column' );
275 The properties that can be set are:
277 type (required)
279 name (optional)
280 embedded (optional)
281 • "type"
283 This is a required parameter. It defines the type of chart that
285 will be created.
286 my $chart = $workbook->add_chart( type => 'line' );
288 The available types are:
290 area
292 bar
293 column
294 line
295 pie
296 scatter
297 stock
298 • "name"
300 Set the name for the chart sheet. The name property is optional and
302 if it isn't supplied will default to "Chart1 .. n". The name must
303 be a valid Excel worksheet name. See add_worksheet() for more
304 details on valid sheet names. The "name" property can be omitted
305 for embedded charts.
306 my $chart = $workbook->add_chart( type => 'line', name => 'Results Chart' );
308 • "embedded"
310 Specifies that the Chart object will be inserted in a worksheet via
312 the insert_chart() Worksheet method. It is an error to try insert a
313 Chart that doesn't have this flag set.
314 my $chart = $workbook->add_chart( type => 'line', embedded => 1 );
316 # Configure the chart.
318 ...
319 # Insert the chart into the a worksheet.
321 $worksheet->insert_chart( 'E2', $chart );
322 See Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Chart for details on how to configure the
324 chart object once it is created. See also the "chart_*.pl" programs in
325 the examples directory of the distro.
326 add_chart_ext($chart_data, $chartname)
328 This method is use to include externally generated charts in a
329 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel file.
330 my $chart = $workbook->add_chart_ext('chart01.bin', 'Chart1');
332 This feature is semi-deprecated in favour of the "native" charts
334 created using add_chart(). Read "external_charts.txt" (or ".pod") in
335 the external_charts directory of the distro for a full explanation.
336 close()
338 In general your Excel file will be closed automatically when your
339 program ends or when the Workbook object goes out of scope, however the
340 close() method can be used to explicitly close an Excel file.
341 $workbook->close();
343 An explicit close() is required if the file must be closed prior to
345 performing some external action on it such as copying it, reading its
346 size or attaching it to an email.
347 In addition, close() may be required to prevent perl's garbage
349 collector from disposing of the Workbook, Worksheet and Format objects
350 in the wrong order. Situations where this can occur are:
351 • If my() was not used to declare the scope of a workbook variable
353 created using new().
354 • If the new(), add_worksheet() or add_format() methods are called in
356 subroutines.
357 The reason for this is that Spreadsheet::WriteExcel relies on Perl's
359 "DESTROY" mechanism to trigger destructor methods in a specific
360 sequence. This may not happen in cases where the Workbook, Worksheet
361 and Format variables are not lexically scoped or where they have
362 different lexical scopes.
363 In general, if you create a file with a size of 0 bytes or you fail to
365 create a file you need to call close().
366 The return value of close() is the same as that returned by perl when
368 it closes the file created by new(). This allows you to handle error
369 conditions in the usual way:
370 $workbook->close() or die "Error closing file: $!";
372 compatibility_mode()
374 This method is used to improve compatibility with third party
375 applications that read Excel files.
376 $workbook->compatibility_mode();
378 An Excel file is comprised of binary records that describe properties
380 of a spreadsheet. Excel is reasonably liberal about this and, outside
381 of a core subset, it doesn't require every possible record to be
382 present when it reads a file. This is also true of Gnumeric and
383 OpenOffice.Org Calc.
384 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel takes advantage of this fact to omit some
386 records in order to minimise the amount of data stored in memory and to
387 simplify and speed up the writing of files. However, some third party
388 applications that read Excel files often expect certain records to be
389 present. In "compatibility mode" Spreadsheet::WriteExcel writes these
390 records and tries to be as close to an Excel generated file as
391 possible.
392 Applications that require compatibility_mode() are Apache POI, Apple
394 Numbers, and Quickoffice on Nokia, Palm and other devices. You should
395 also use compatibility_mode() if your Excel file will be used as an
396 external data source by another Excel file.
397 If you encounter other situations that require compatibility_mode(),
399 please let me know.
400 It should be noted that compatibility_mode() requires additional data
402 to be stored in memory and additional processing. This incurs a memory
403 and speed penalty and may not be suitable for very large files (>20MB).
404 You must call compatibility_mode() before calling add_worksheet().
406 set_properties()
408 The "set_properties" method can be used to set the document properties
409 of the Excel file created by "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel". These
410 properties are visible when you use the "File->Properties" menu option
411 in Excel and are also available to external applications that read or
412 index windows files.
413 The properties should be passed as a hash of values as follows:
415 $workbook->set_properties(
417 title => 'This is an example spreadsheet',
418 author => 'John McNamara',
419 comments => 'Created with Perl and Spreadsheet::WriteExcel',
420 );
421 The properties that can be set are:
423 title
425 subject
426 author
427 manager
428 company
429 category
430 keywords
431 comments
432 User defined properties are not supported due to effort required.
434 In perl 5.8+ you can also pass UTF-8 strings as properties. See
436 "UNICODE IN EXCEL".
437 my $smiley = chr 0x263A;
439 $workbook->set_properties(
441 subject => "Happy now? $smiley",
442 );
443 With older versions of perl you can use a module to convert a non-ASCII
445 string to a binary representation of UTF-8 and then pass an additional
446 "utf8" flag to set_properties():
447 my $smiley = pack 'H*', 'E298BA';
449 $workbook->set_properties(
451 subject => "Happy now? $smiley",
452 utf8 => 1,
453 );
454 Usually Spreadsheet::WriteExcel allows you to use UTF-16 with pre 5.8
456 versions of perl. However, document properties don't support UTF-16 for
457 these type of strings.
458 In order to promote the usefulness of Perl and the
460 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel module consider adding a comment such as the
461 following when using document properties:
462 $workbook->set_properties(
464 ...,
465 comments => 'Created with Perl and Spreadsheet::WriteExcel',
466 ...,
467 );
468 This feature requires that the "OLE::Storage_Lite" module is installed
470 (which is usually the case for a standard Spreadsheet::WriteExcel
471 installation). However, this also means that the resulting OLE document
472 may possibly be buggy for files less than 7MB since it hasn't been as
473 rigorously tested in that domain. As a result of this "set_properties"
474 is currently incompatible with Gnumeric for files less than 7MB. This
475 is being investigated. If you encounter any problems with this features
476 let me know.
477 For convenience it is possible to pass either a hash or hash ref of
479 arguments to this method.
480 See also the "properties.pl" program in the examples directory of the
482 distro.
483 define_name()
485 This method is used to defined a name that can be used to represent a
486 value, a single cell or a range of cells in a workbook.
487 $workbook->define_name('Exchange_rate', '=0.96');
489 $workbook->define_name('Sales', '=Sheet1!$G$1:$H$10');
490 $workbook->define_name('Sheet2!Sales', '=Sheet2!$G$1:$G$10');
491 See the defined_name.pl program in the examples dir of the distro.
493 Note: This currently a beta feature. More documentation and examples
495 will be added.
496 set_tempdir()
498 For speed and efficiency "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel" stores worksheet
499 data in temporary files prior to assembling the final workbook.
500 If Spreadsheet::WriteExcel is unable to create these temporary files it
502 will store the required data in memory. This can be slow for large
503 files.
504 The problem occurs mainly with IIS on Windows although it could
506 feasibly occur on Unix systems as well. The problem generally occurs
507 because the default temp file directory is defined as "C:/" or some
508 other directory that IIS doesn't provide write access to.
509 To check if this might be a problem on a particular system you can run
511 a simple test program with "-w" or "use warnings". This will generate a
512 warning if the module cannot create the required temporary files:
513 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
515 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
517 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('test.xls');
519 my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
520 To avoid this problem the set_tempdir() method can be used to specify a
522 directory that is accessible for the creation of temporary files.
523 The "File::Temp" module is used to create the temporary files.
525 File::Temp uses "File::Spec" to determine an appropriate location for
526 these files such as "/tmp" or "c:\windows\temp". You can find out which
527 directory is used on your system as follows:
528 perl -MFile::Spec -le "print File::Spec->tmpdir"
530 Even if the default temporary file directory is accessible you may wish
532 to specify an alternative location for security or maintenance reasons:
533 $workbook->set_tempdir('/tmp/writeexcel');
535 $workbook->set_tempdir('c:\windows\temp\writeexcel');
536 The directory for the temporary file must exist, set_tempdir() will not
538 create a new directory.
539 One disadvantage of using the set_tempdir() method is that on some
541 Windows systems it will limit you to approximately 800 concurrent
542 tempfiles. This means that a single program running on one of these
543 systems will be limited to creating a total of 800 workbook and
544 worksheet objects. You can run multiple, non-concurrent programs to
545 work around this if necessary.
546 set_custom_color($index, $red, $green, $blue)
548 The set_custom_color() method can be used to override one of the built-
549 in palette values with a more suitable colour.
550 The value for $index should be in the range 8..63, see "COLOURS IN
552 EXCEL".
553 The default named colours use the following indices:
555 8 => black
557 9 => white
558 10 => red
559 11 => lime
560 12 => blue
561 13 => yellow
562 14 => magenta
563 15 => cyan
564 16 => brown
565 17 => green
566 18 => navy
567 20 => purple
568 22 => silver
569 23 => gray
570 33 => pink
571 53 => orange
572 A new colour is set using its RGB (red green blue) components. The
574 $red, $green and $blue values must be in the range 0..255. You can
575 determine the required values in Excel using the
576 "Tools->Options->Colors->Modify" dialog.
577 The set_custom_color() workbook method can also be used with a HTML
579 style "#rrggbb" hex value:
580 $workbook->set_custom_color(40, 255, 102, 0 ); # Orange
582 $workbook->set_custom_color(40, 0xFF, 0x66, 0x00); # Same thing
583 $workbook->set_custom_color(40, '#FF6600' ); # Same thing
584 my $font = $workbook->add_format(color => 40); # Use the modified colour
586 The return value from set_custom_color() is the index of the colour
588 that was changed:
589 my $ferrari = $workbook->set_custom_color(40, 216, 12, 12);
591 my $format = $workbook->add_format(
593 bg_color => $ferrari,
594 pattern => 1,
595 border => 1
596 );
597 sheets(0, 1, ...)
599 The sheets() method returns a list, or a sliced list, of the worksheets
600 in a workbook.
601 If no arguments are passed the method returns a list of all the
603 worksheets in the workbook. This is useful if you want to repeat an
604 operation on each worksheet:
605 foreach $worksheet ($workbook->sheets()) {
607 print $worksheet->get_name();
608 }
609 You can also specify a slice list to return one or more worksheet
611 objects:
612 $worksheet = $workbook->sheets(0);
614 $worksheet->write('A1', 'Hello');
615 Or since return value from sheets() is a reference to a worksheet
617 object you can write the above example as:
618 $workbook->sheets(0)->write('A1', 'Hello');
620 The following example returns the first and last worksheet in a
622 workbook:
623 foreach $worksheet ($workbook->sheets(0, -1)) {
625 # Do something
626 }
627 Array slices are explained in the perldata manpage.
629 set_1904()
631 Excel stores dates as real numbers where the integer part stores the
632 number of days since the epoch and the fractional part stores the
633 percentage of the day. The epoch can be either 1900 or 1904. Excel for
634 Windows uses 1900 and Excel for Macintosh uses 1904. However, Excel on
635 either platform will convert automatically between one system and the
636 other.
637 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel stores dates in the 1900 format by default. If
639 you wish to change this you can call the set_1904() workbook method.
640 You can query the current value by calling the get_1904() workbook
641 method. This returns 0 for 1900 and 1 for 1904.
642 See also "DATES AND TIME IN EXCEL" for more information about working
644 with Excel's date system.
645 In general you probably won't need to use set_1904().
647 set_codepage($codepage)
649 The default code page or character set used by Spreadsheet::WriteExcel
650 is ANSI. This is also the default used by Excel for Windows.
651 Occasionally however it may be necessary to change the code page via
652 the set_codepage() method.
653 Changing the code page may be required if your are using
655 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel on the Macintosh and you are using characters
656 outside the ASCII 128 character set:
657 $workbook->set_codepage(1); # ANSI, MS Windows
659 $workbook->set_codepage(2); # Apple Macintosh
660 The set_codepage() method is rarely required.
662
664 A new worksheet is created by calling the add_worksheet() method from a
665 workbook object:
666 $worksheet1 = $workbook->add_worksheet();
668 $worksheet2 = $workbook->add_worksheet();
669 The following methods are available through a new worksheet:
671 write()
673 write_number()
674 write_string()
675 write_utf16be_string()
676 write_utf16le_string()
677 keep_leading_zeros()
678 write_blank()
679 write_row()
680 write_col()
681 write_date_time()
682 write_url()
683 write_url_range()
684 write_formula()
685 store_formula()
686 repeat_formula()
687 write_comment()
688 show_comments()
689 add_write_handler()
690 insert_image()
691 insert_chart()
692 data_validation()
693 get_name()
694 activate()
695 select()
696 hide()
697 set_first_sheet()
698 protect()
699 set_selection()
700 set_row()
701 set_column()
702 outline_settings()
703 freeze_panes()
704 split_panes()
705 merge_range()
706 set_zoom()
707 right_to_left()
708 hide_zero()
709 set_tab_color()
710 autofilter()
711 Cell notation
713 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel supports two forms of notation to designate the
714 position of cells: Row-column notation and A1 notation.
715 Row-column notation uses a zero based index for both row and column
717 while A1 notation uses the standard Excel alphanumeric sequence of
718 column letter and 1-based row. For example:
719 (0, 0) # The top left cell in row-column notation.
721 ('A1') # The top left cell in A1 notation.
722 (1999, 29) # Row-column notation.
724 ('AD2000') # The same cell in A1 notation.
725 Row-column notation is useful if you are referring to cells
727 programmatically:
728 for my $i (0 .. 9) {
730 $worksheet->write($i, 0, 'Hello'); # Cells A1 to A10
731 }
732 A1 notation is useful for setting up a worksheet manually and for
734 working with formulas:
735 $worksheet->write('H1', 200);
737 $worksheet->write('H2', '=H1+1');
738 In formulas and applicable methods you can also use the "A:A" column
740 notation:
741 $worksheet->write('A1', '=SUM(B:B)');
743 The "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility" module that is included in the
745 distro contains helper functions for dealing with A1 notation, for
746 example:
747 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility;
749 ($row, $col) = xl_cell_to_rowcol('C2'); # (1, 2)
751 $str = xl_rowcol_to_cell(1, 2); # C2
752 For simplicity, the parameter lists for the worksheet method calls in
754 the following sections are given in terms of row-column notation. In
755 all cases it is also possible to use A1 notation.
756 Note: in Excel it is also possible to use a R1C1 notation. This is not
758 supported by Spreadsheet::WriteExcel.
759 write($row, $column, $token, $format)
761 Excel makes a distinction between data types such as strings, numbers,
762 blanks, formulas and hyperlinks. To simplify the process of writing
763 data the write() method acts as a general alias for several more
764 specific methods:
765 write_string()
767 write_number()
768 write_blank()
769 write_formula()
770 write_url()
771 write_row()
772 write_col()
773 The general rule is that if the data looks like a something then a
775 something is written. Here are some examples in both row-column and A1
776 notation:
777 # Same as:
779 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'Hello' ); # write_string()
780 $worksheet->write(1, 0, 'One' ); # write_string()
781 $worksheet->write(2, 0, 2 ); # write_number()
782 $worksheet->write(3, 0, 3.00001 ); # write_number()
783 $worksheet->write(4, 0, "" ); # write_blank()
784 $worksheet->write(5, 0, '' ); # write_blank()
785 $worksheet->write(6, 0, undef ); # write_blank()
786 $worksheet->write(7, 0 ); # write_blank()
787 $worksheet->write(8, 0, 'http://www.perl.com/'); # write_url()
788 $worksheet->write('A9', 'ftp://ftp.cpan.org/' ); # write_url()
789 $worksheet->write('A10', 'internal:Sheet1!A1' ); # write_url()
790 $worksheet->write('A11', 'external:c:\foo.xls' ); # write_url()
791 $worksheet->write('A12', '=A3 + 3*A4' ); # write_formula()
792 $worksheet->write('A13', '=SIN(PI()/4)' ); # write_formula()
793 $worksheet->write('A14', \@array ); # write_row()
794 $worksheet->write('A15', [\@array] ); # write_col()
795 # And if the keep_leading_zeros property is set:
797 $worksheet->write('A16', '2' ); # write_number()
798 $worksheet->write('A17', '02' ); # write_string()
799 $worksheet->write('A18', '00002' ); # write_string()
800 The "looks like" rule is defined by regular expressions:
802 write_number() if $token is a number based on the following regex:
804 "$token =~ /^([+-]?)(?=\d|\.\d)\d*(\.\d*)?([Ee]([+-]?\d+))?$/".
805 write_string() if keep_leading_zeros() is set and $token is an integer
807 with leading zeros based on the following regex: "$token =~ /^0\d+$/".
808 write_blank() if $token is undef or a blank string: "undef", "" or ''.
810 write_url() if $token is a http, https, ftp or mailto URL based on the
812 following regexes: "$token =~ m|^[fh]tt?ps?://|" or "$token =~
813 m|^mailto:|".
814 write_url() if $token is an internal or external sheet reference based
816 on the following regex: "$token =~ m[^(in|ex)ternal:]".
817 write_formula() if the first character of $token is "=".
819 write_row() if $token is an array ref.
821 write_col() if $token is an array ref of array refs.
823 write_string() if none of the previous conditions apply.
825 The $format parameter is optional. It should be a valid Format object,
827 see "CELL FORMATTING":
828 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
830 $format->set_bold();
831 $format->set_color('red');
832 $format->set_align('center');
833 $worksheet->write(4, 0, 'Hello', $format); # Formatted string
835 The write() method will ignore empty strings or "undef" tokens unless a
837 format is also supplied. As such you needn't worry about special
838 handling for empty or "undef" values in your data. See also the
839 write_blank() method.
840 One problem with the write() method is that occasionally data looks
842 like a number but you don't want it treated as a number. For example,
843 zip codes or ID numbers often start with a leading zero. If you write
844 this data as a number then the leading zero(s) will be stripped. You
845 can change this default behaviour by using the keep_leading_zeros()
846 method. While this property is in place any integers with leading zeros
847 will be treated as strings and the zeros will be preserved. See the
848 keep_leading_zeros() section for a full discussion of this issue.
849 You can also add your own data handlers to the write() method using
851 add_write_handler().
852 On systems with "perl 5.8" and later the write() method will also
854 handle Unicode strings in "UTF-8" format.
855 The "write" methods return:
857 0 for success.
859 -1 for insufficient number of arguments.
860 -2 for row or column out of bounds.
861 -3 for string too long.
862 write_number($row, $column, $number, $format)
864 Write an integer or a float to the cell specified by $row and $column:
865 $worksheet->write_number(0, 0, 123456);
867 $worksheet->write_number('A2', 2.3451);
868 See the note about "Cell notation". The $format parameter is optional.
870 In general it is sufficient to use the write() method.
872 write_string($row, $column, $string, $format)
874 Write a string to the cell specified by $row and $column:
875 $worksheet->write_string(0, 0, 'Your text here' );
877 $worksheet->write_string('A2', 'or here' );
878 The maximum string size is 32767 characters. However the maximum string
880 segment that Excel can display in a cell is 1000. All 32767 characters
881 can be displayed in the formula bar.
882 The $format parameter is optional.
884 On systems with "perl 5.8" and later the write() method will also
886 handle strings in "UTF-8" format. With older perls you can also write
887 Unicode in "UTF16" format via the write_utf16be_string() method. See
888 also the "unicode_*.pl" programs in the examples directory of the
889 distro.
890 In general it is sufficient to use the write() method. However, you may
892 sometimes wish to use the write_string() method to write data that
893 looks like a number but that you don't want treated as a number. For
894 example, zip codes or phone numbers:
895 # Write as a plain string
897 $worksheet->write_string('A1', '01209');
898 However, if the user edits this string Excel may convert it back to a
900 number. To get around this you can use the Excel text format "@":
901 # Format as a string. Doesn't change to a number when edited
903 my $format1 = $workbook->add_format(num_format => '@');
904 $worksheet->write_string('A2', '01209', $format1);
905 See also the note about "Cell notation".
907 write_utf16be_string($row, $column, $string, $format)
909 This method is used to write "UTF-16BE" strings to a cell in Excel. It
910 is functionally the same as the write_string() method except that the
911 string should be in "UTF-16BE" Unicode format. It is generally easier,
912 when using Spreadsheet::WriteExcel, to write unicode strings in "UTF-8"
913 format, see "UNICODE IN EXCEL". The write_utf16be_string() method is
914 mainly of use in versions of perl prior to 5.8.
915 The following is a simple example showing how to write some Unicode
917 strings in "UTF-16BE" format:
918 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
920 use strict;
923 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
924 use Unicode::Map();
925 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('utf_16_be.xls');
927 my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
928 # Increase the column width for clarity
930 $worksheet->set_column('A:A', 25);
931 # Write a Unicode character
934 #
935 my $smiley = pack 'n', 0x263a;
936 # Increase the font size for legibility.
938 my $big_font = $workbook->add_format(size => 72);
939 $worksheet->write_utf16be_string('A3', $smiley, $big_font);
941 # Write a phrase in Cyrillic using a hex-encoded string
945 #
946 my $str = pack 'H*', '042d0442043e0020044404400430043704300020043d' .
947 '043000200440044304410441043a043e043c0021';
948 $worksheet->write_utf16be_string('A5', $str);
950 # Map a string to UTF-16BE using an external module.
954 #
955 my $map = Unicode::Map->new('ISO-8859-1');
956 my $utf16 = $map->to_unicode('Hello world!');
957 $worksheet->write_utf16be_string('A7', $utf16);
959 You can convert ASCII encodings to the required "UTF-16BE" format using
961 one of the many Unicode modules on CPAN. For example "Unicode::Map" and
962 "Unicode::String":
963 <http://search.cpan.org/author/MSCHWARTZ/Unicode-Map/Map.pm> and
964 <http://search.cpan.org/author/GAAS/Unicode-String/String.pm>.
965 For a full list of the Perl Unicode modules see:
967 <http://search.cpan.org/search?query=unicode&mode=all>.
968 "UTF-16BE" is the format most often returned by "Perl" modules that
970 generate "UTF-16". To write "UTF-16" strings in little-endian format
971 use the write_utf16be_string_le() method below.
972 The write_utf16be_string() method was previously called
974 write_unicode(). That, overly general, name is still supported but
975 deprecated.
976 See also the "unicode_*.pl" programs in the examples directory of the
978 distro.
979 write_utf16le_string($row, $column, $string, $format)
981 This method is the same as write_utf16be() except that the string
982 should be 16-bit characters in little-endian format. This is generally
983 referred to as "UTF-16LE". See "UNICODE IN EXCEL".
984 "UTF-16" data can be changed from little-endian to big-endian format
986 (and vice-versa) as follows:
987 $utf16be = pack 'n*', unpack 'v*', $utf16le;
989 keep_leading_zeros()
991 This method changes the default handling of integers with leading zeros
992 when using the write() method.
993 The write() method uses regular expressions to determine what type of
995 data to write to an Excel worksheet. If the data looks like a number it
996 writes a number using write_number(). One problem with this approach is
997 that occasionally data looks like a number but you don't want it
998 treated as a number.
999 Zip codes and ID numbers, for example, often start with a leading zero.
1001 If you write this data as a number then the leading zero(s) will be
1002 stripped. This is the also the default behaviour when you enter data
1003 manually in Excel.
1004 To get around this you can use one of three options. Write a formatted
1006 number, write the number as a string or use the keep_leading_zeros()
1007 method to change the default behaviour of write():
1008 # Implicitly write a number, the leading zero is removed: 1209
1010 $worksheet->write('A1', '01209');
1011 # Write a zero padded number using a format: 01209
1013 my $format1 = $workbook->add_format(num_format => '00000');
1014 $worksheet->write('A2', '01209', $format1);
1015 # Write explicitly as a string: 01209
1017 $worksheet->write_string('A3', '01209');
1018 # Write implicitly as a string: 01209
1020 $worksheet->keep_leading_zeros();
1021 $worksheet->write('A4', '01209');
1022 The above code would generate a worksheet that looked like the
1024 following:
1025 -----------------------------------------------------------
1027 | | A | B | C | D | ...
1028 -----------------------------------------------------------
1029 | 1 | 1209 | | | | ...
1030 | 2 | 01209 | | | | ...
1031 | 3 | 01209 | | | | ...
1032 | 4 | 01209 | | | | ...
1033 The examples are on different sides of the cells due to the fact that
1035 Excel displays strings with a left justification and numbers with a
1036 right justification by default. You can change this by using a format
1037 to justify the data, see "CELL FORMATTING".
1038 It should be noted that if the user edits the data in examples "A3" and
1040 "A4" the strings will revert back to numbers. Again this is Excel's
1041 default behaviour. To avoid this you can use the text format "@":
1042 # Format as a string (01209)
1044 my $format2 = $workbook->add_format(num_format => '@');
1045 $worksheet->write_string('A5', '01209', $format2);
1046 The keep_leading_zeros() property is off by default. The
1048 keep_leading_zeros() method takes 0 or 1 as an argument. It defaults to
1049 1 if an argument isn't specified:
1050 $worksheet->keep_leading_zeros(); # Set on
1052 $worksheet->keep_leading_zeros(1); # Set on
1053 $worksheet->keep_leading_zeros(0); # Set off
1054 See also the add_write_handler() method.
1056 write_blank($row, $column, $format)
1058 Write a blank cell specified by $row and $column:
1059 $worksheet->write_blank(0, 0, $format);
1061 This method is used to add formatting to a cell which doesn't contain a
1063 string or number value.
1064 Excel differentiates between an "Empty" cell and a "Blank" cell. An
1066 "Empty" cell is a cell which doesn't contain data whilst a "Blank" cell
1067 is a cell which doesn't contain data but does contain formatting. Excel
1068 stores "Blank" cells but ignores "Empty" cells.
1069 As such, if you write an empty cell without formatting it is ignored:
1071 $worksheet->write('A1', undef, $format); # write_blank()
1073 $worksheet->write('A2', undef ); # Ignored
1074 This seemingly uninteresting fact means that you can write arrays of
1076 data without special treatment for undef or empty string values.
1077 See the note about "Cell notation".
1079 write_row($row, $column, $array_ref, $format)
1081 The write_row() method can be used to write a 1D or 2D array of data in
1082 one go. This is useful for converting the results of a database query
1083 into an Excel worksheet. You must pass a reference to the array of data
1084 rather than the array itself. The write() method is then called for
1085 each element of the data. For example:
1086 @array = ('awk', 'gawk', 'mawk');
1088 $array_ref = \@array;
1089 $worksheet->write_row(0, 0, $array_ref);
1091 # The above example is equivalent to:
1093 $worksheet->write(0, 0, $array[0]);
1094 $worksheet->write(0, 1, $array[1]);
1095 $worksheet->write(0, 2, $array[2]);
1096 Note: For convenience the write() method behaves in the same way as
1098 write_row() if it is passed an array reference. Therefore the following
1099 two method calls are equivalent:
1100 $worksheet->write_row('A1', $array_ref); # Write a row of data
1102 $worksheet->write( 'A1', $array_ref); # Same thing
1103 As with all of the write methods the $format parameter is optional. If
1105 a format is specified it is applied to all the elements of the data
1106 array.
1107 Array references within the data will be treated as columns. This
1109 allows you to write 2D arrays of data in one go. For example:
1110 @eec = (
1112 ['maggie', 'milly', 'molly', 'may' ],
1113 [13, 14, 15, 16 ],
1114 ['shell', 'star', 'crab', 'stone']
1115 );
1116 $worksheet->write_row('A1', \@eec);
1118 Would produce a worksheet as follows:
1120 -----------------------------------------------------------
1122 | | A | B | C | D | E | ...
1123 -----------------------------------------------------------
1124 | 1 | maggie | 13 | shell | ... | ... | ...
1125 | 2 | milly | 14 | star | ... | ... | ...
1126 | 3 | molly | 15 | crab | ... | ... | ...
1127 | 4 | may | 16 | stone | ... | ... | ...
1128 | 5 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
1129 | 6 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
1130 To write the data in a row-column order refer to the write_col() method
1132 below.
1133 Any "undef" values in the data will be ignored unless a format is
1135 applied to the data, in which case a formatted blank cell will be
1136 written. In either case the appropriate row or column value will still
1137 be incremented.
1138 To find out more about array references refer to "perlref" and
1140 "perlreftut" in the main Perl documentation. To find out more about 2D
1141 arrays or "lists of lists" refer to "perllol".
1142 The write_row() method returns the first error encountered when writing
1144 the elements of the data or zero if no errors were encountered. See the
1145 return values described for the write() method above.
1146 See also the "write_arrays.pl" program in the "examples" directory of
1148 the distro.
1149 The write_row() method allows the following idiomatic conversion of a
1151 text file to an Excel file:
1152 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
1154 use strict;
1156 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
1157 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('file.xls');
1159 my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
1160 open INPUT, 'file.txt' or die "Couldn't open file: $!";
1162 $worksheet->write($.-1, 0, [split]) while <INPUT>;
1164 write_col($row, $column, $array_ref, $format)
1166 The write_col() method can be used to write a 1D or 2D array of data in
1167 one go. This is useful for converting the results of a database query
1168 into an Excel worksheet. You must pass a reference to the array of data
1169 rather than the array itself. The write() method is then called for
1170 each element of the data. For example:
1171 @array = ('awk', 'gawk', 'mawk');
1173 $array_ref = \@array;
1174 $worksheet->write_col(0, 0, $array_ref);
1176 # The above example is equivalent to:
1178 $worksheet->write(0, 0, $array[0]);
1179 $worksheet->write(1, 0, $array[1]);
1180 $worksheet->write(2, 0, $array[2]);
1181 As with all of the write methods the $format parameter is optional. If
1183 a format is specified it is applied to all the elements of the data
1184 array.
1185 Array references within the data will be treated as rows. This allows
1187 you to write 2D arrays of data in one go. For example:
1188 @eec = (
1190 ['maggie', 'milly', 'molly', 'may' ],
1191 [13, 14, 15, 16 ],
1192 ['shell', 'star', 'crab', 'stone']
1193 );
1194 $worksheet->write_col('A1', \@eec);
1196 Would produce a worksheet as follows:
1198 -----------------------------------------------------------
1200 | | A | B | C | D | E | ...
1201 -----------------------------------------------------------
1202 | 1 | maggie | milly | molly | may | ... | ...
1203 | 2 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ... | ...
1204 | 3 | shell | star | crab | stone | ... | ...
1205 | 4 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
1206 | 5 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
1207 | 6 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
1208 To write the data in a column-row order refer to the write_row() method
1210 above.
1211 Any "undef" values in the data will be ignored unless a format is
1213 applied to the data, in which case a formatted blank cell will be
1214 written. In either case the appropriate row or column value will still
1215 be incremented.
1216 As noted above the write() method can be used as a synonym for
1218 write_row() and write_row() handles nested array refs as columns.
1219 Therefore, the following two method calls are equivalent although the
1220 more explicit call to write_col() would be preferable for
1221 maintainability:
1222 $worksheet->write_col('A1', $array_ref ); # Write a column of data
1224 $worksheet->write( 'A1', [ $array_ref ]); # Same thing
1225 To find out more about array references refer to "perlref" and
1227 "perlreftut" in the main Perl documentation. To find out more about 2D
1228 arrays or "lists of lists" refer to "perllol".
1229 The write_col() method returns the first error encountered when writing
1231 the elements of the data or zero if no errors were encountered. See the
1232 return values described for the write() method above.
1233 See also the "write_arrays.pl" program in the "examples" directory of
1235 the distro.
1236 write_date_time($row, $col, $date_string, $format)
1238 The write_date_time() method can be used to write a date or time to the
1239 cell specified by $row and $column:
1240 $worksheet->write_date_time('A1', '2004-05-13T23:20', $date_format);
1242 The $date_string should be in the following format:
1244 yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss.sss
1246 This conforms to an ISO8601 date but it should be noted that the full
1248 range of ISO8601 formats are not supported.
1249 The following variations on the $date_string parameter are permitted:
1251 yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss.sss # Standard format
1253 yyyy-mm-ddT # No time
1254 Thh:mm:ss.sss # No date
1255 yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss.sssZ # Additional Z (but not time zones)
1256 yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss # No fractional seconds
1257 yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm # No seconds
1258 Note that the "T" is required in all cases.
1260 A date should always have a $format, otherwise it will appear as a
1262 number, see "DATES AND TIME IN EXCEL" and "CELL FORMATTING". Here is a
1263 typical example:
1264 my $date_format = $workbook->add_format(num_format => 'mm/dd/yy');
1266 $worksheet->write_date_time('A1', '2004-05-13T23:20', $date_format);
1267 Valid dates should be in the range 1900-01-01 to 9999-12-31, for the
1269 1900 epoch and 1904-01-01 to 9999-12-31, for the 1904 epoch. As with
1270 Excel, dates outside these ranges will be written as a string.
1271 See also the date_time.pl program in the "examples" directory of the
1273 distro.
1274 write_url($row, $col, $url, $label, $format)
1276 Write a hyperlink to a URL in the cell specified by $row and $column.
1277 The hyperlink is comprised of two elements: the visible label and the
1278 invisible link. The visible label is the same as the link unless an
1279 alternative label is specified. The parameters $label and the $format
1280 are optional and their position is interchangeable.
1281 The label is written using the write() method. Therefore it is possible
1283 to write strings, numbers or formulas as labels.
1284 There are four web style URI's supported: "http://", "https://",
1286 "ftp://" and "mailto:":
1287 $worksheet->write_url(0, 0, 'ftp://www.perl.org/' );
1289 $worksheet->write_url(1, 0, 'http://www.perl.com/', 'Perl home' );
1290 $worksheet->write_url('A3', 'http://www.perl.com/', $format );
1291 $worksheet->write_url('A4', 'http://www.perl.com/', 'Perl', $format);
1292 $worksheet->write_url('A5', 'mailto:jmcnamara@cpan.org' );
1293 There are two local URIs supported: "internal:" and "external:". These
1295 are used for hyperlinks to internal worksheet references or external
1296 workbook and worksheet references:
1297 $worksheet->write_url('A6', 'internal:Sheet2!A1' );
1299 $worksheet->write_url('A7', 'internal:Sheet2!A1', $format );
1300 $worksheet->write_url('A8', 'internal:Sheet2!A1:B2' );
1301 $worksheet->write_url('A9', q{internal:'Sales Data'!A1} );
1302 $worksheet->write_url('A10', 'external:c:\temp\foo.xls' );
1303 $worksheet->write_url('A11', 'external:c:\temp\foo.xls#Sheet2!A1' );
1304 $worksheet->write_url('A12', 'external:..\..\..\foo.xls' );
1305 $worksheet->write_url('A13', 'external:..\..\..\foo.xls#Sheet2!A1' );
1306 $worksheet->write_url('A13', 'external:\\\\NETWORK\share\foo.xls' );
1307 All of the these URI types are recognised by the write() method, see
1309 above.
1310 Worksheet references are typically of the form "Sheet1!A1". You can
1312 also refer to a worksheet range using the standard Excel notation:
1313 "Sheet1!A1:B2".
1314 In external links the workbook and worksheet name must be separated by
1316 the "#" character: "external:Workbook.xls#Sheet1!A1'".
1317 You can also link to a named range in the target worksheet. For example
1319 say you have a named range called "my_name" in the workbook
1320 "c:\temp\foo.xls" you could link to it as follows:
1321 $worksheet->write_url('A14', 'external:c:\temp\foo.xls#my_name');
1323 Note, you cannot currently create named ranges with
1325 "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel".
1326 Excel requires that worksheet names containing spaces or non
1328 alphanumeric characters are single quoted as follows "'Sales Data'!A1".
1329 If you need to do this in a single quoted string then you can either
1330 escape the single quotes "\'" or use the quote operator "q{}" as
1331 described in "perlop" in the main Perl documentation.
1332 Links to network files are also supported. MS/Novell Network files
1334 normally begin with two back slashes as follows "\\NETWORK\etc". In
1335 order to generate this in a single or double quoted string you will
1336 have to escape the backslashes, '\\\\NETWORK\etc'.
1337 If you are using double quote strings then you should be careful to
1339 escape anything that looks like a metacharacter. For more information
1340 see "perlfaq5: Why can't I use "C:\temp\foo" in DOS paths?".
1341 Finally, you can avoid most of these quoting problems by using forward
1343 slashes. These are translated internally to backslashes:
1344 $worksheet->write_url('A14', "external:c:/temp/foo.xls" );
1346 $worksheet->write_url('A15', 'external://NETWORK/share/foo.xls' );
1347 See also, the note about "Cell notation".
1349 write_url_range($row1, $col1, $row2, $col2, $url, $string, $format)
1351 This method is essentially the same as the write_url() method described
1352 above. The main difference is that you can specify a link for a range
1353 of cells:
1354 $worksheet->write_url(0, 0, 0, 3, 'ftp://www.perl.org/' );
1356 $worksheet->write_url(1, 0, 0, 3, 'http://www.perl.com/', 'Perl home');
1357 $worksheet->write_url('A3:D3', 'internal:Sheet2!A1' );
1358 $worksheet->write_url('A4:D4', 'external:c:\temp\foo.xls' );
1359 This method is generally only required when used in conjunction with
1361 merged cells. See the merge_range() method and the "merge" property of
1362 a Format object, "CELL FORMATTING".
1363 There is no way to force this behaviour through the write() method.
1365 The parameters $string and the $format are optional and their position
1367 is interchangeable. However, they are applied only to the first cell in
1368 the range.
1369 See also, the note about "Cell notation".
1371 write_formula($row, $column, $formula, $format, $value)
1373 Write a formula or function to the cell specified by $row and $column:
1374 $worksheet->write_formula(0, 0, '=$B$3 + B4' );
1376 $worksheet->write_formula(1, 0, '=SIN(PI()/4)');
1377 $worksheet->write_formula(2, 0, '=SUM(B1:B5)' );
1378 $worksheet->write_formula('A4', '=IF(A3>1,"Yes", "No")' );
1379 $worksheet->write_formula('A5', '=AVERAGE(1, 2, 3, 4)' );
1380 $worksheet->write_formula('A6', '=DATEVALUE("1-Jan-2001")');
1381 See the note about "Cell notation". For more information about writing
1383 Excel formulas see "FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS IN EXCEL"
1384 See also the section "Improving performance when working with formulas"
1386 and the store_formula() and repeat_formula() methods.
1387 If required, it is also possible to specify the calculated value of the
1389 formula. This is occasionally necessary when working with non-Excel
1390 applications that don't calculate the value of the formula. The
1391 calculated $value is added at the end of the argument list:
1392 $worksheet->write('A1', '=2+2', $format, 4);
1394 However, this probably isn't something that will ever need to do. If
1396 you do use this feature then do so with care.
1397 store_formula($formula)
1399 The store_formula() method is used in conjunction with repeat_formula()
1400 to speed up the generation of repeated formulas. See "Improving
1401 performance when working with formulas" in "FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS IN
1402 EXCEL".
1403 The store_formula() method pre-parses a textual representation of a
1405 formula and stores it for use at a later stage by the repeat_formula()
1406 method.
1407 store_formula() carries the same speed penalty as write_formula().
1409 However, in practice it will be used less frequently.
1410 The return value of this method is a scalar that can be thought of as a
1412 reference to a formula.
1413 my $sin = $worksheet->store_formula('=SIN(A1)');
1415 my $cos = $worksheet->store_formula('=COS(A1)');
1416 $worksheet->repeat_formula('B1', $sin, $format, 'A1', 'A2');
1418 $worksheet->repeat_formula('C1', $cos, $format, 'A1', 'A2');
1419 Although store_formula() is a worksheet method the return value can be
1421 used in any worksheet:
1422 my $now = $worksheet->store_formula('=NOW()');
1424 $worksheet1->repeat_formula('B1', $now);
1426 $worksheet2->repeat_formula('B1', $now);
1427 $worksheet3->repeat_formula('B1', $now);
1428 repeat_formula($row, $col, $formula, $format, ($pattern => $replace, ...))
1430 The repeat_formula() method is used in conjunction with store_formula()
1431 to speed up the generation of repeated formulas. See "Improving
1432 performance when working with formulas" in "FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS IN
1433 EXCEL".
1434 In many respects repeat_formula() behaves like write_formula() except
1436 that it is significantly faster.
1437 The repeat_formula() method creates a new formula based on the pre-
1439 parsed tokens returned by store_formula(). The new formula is generated
1440 by substituting $pattern, $replace pairs in the stored formula:
1441 my $formula = $worksheet->store_formula('=A1 * 3 + 50');
1443 for my $row (0..99) {
1445 $worksheet->repeat_formula($row, 1, $formula, $format, 'A1', 'A'.($row +1));
1446 }
1447 It should be noted that repeat_formula() doesn't modify the tokens. In
1449 the above example the substitution is always made against the original
1450 token, "A1", which doesn't change.
1451 As usual, you can use "undef" if you don't wish to specify a $format:
1453 $worksheet->repeat_formula('B2', $formula, $format, 'A1', 'A2');
1455 $worksheet->repeat_formula('B3', $formula, undef, 'A1', 'A3');
1456 The substitutions are made from left to right and you can use as many
1458 $pattern, $replace pairs as you need. However, each substitution is
1459 made only once:
1460 my $formula = $worksheet->store_formula('=A1 + A1');
1462 # Gives '=B1 + A1'
1464 $worksheet->repeat_formula('B1', $formula, undef, 'A1', 'B1');
1465 # Gives '=B1 + B1'
1467 $worksheet->repeat_formula('B2', $formula, undef, ('A1', 'B1') x 2);
1468 Since the $pattern is interpolated each time that it is used it is
1470 worth using the "qr" operator to quote the pattern. The "qr" operator
1471 is explained in the "perlop" man page.
1472 $worksheet->repeat_formula('B1', $formula, $format, qr/A1/, 'A2');
1474 Care should be taken with the values that are substituted. The formula
1476 returned by repeat_formula() contains several other tokens in addition
1477 to those in the formula and these might also match the pattern that
1478 you are trying to replace. In particular you should avoid substituting
1479 a single 0, 1, 2 or 3.
1480 You should also be careful to avoid false matches. For example the
1482 following snippet is meant to change the stored formula in steps from
1483 "=A1 + SIN(A1)" to "=A10 + SIN(A10)".
1484 my $formula = $worksheet->store_formula('=A1 + SIN(A1)');
1486 for my $row (1 .. 10) {
1488 $worksheet->repeat_formula($row -1, 1, $formula, undef,
1489 qw/A1/, 'A' . $row, #! Bad.
1490 qw/A1/, 'A' . $row #! Bad.
1491 );
1492 }
1493 However it contains a bug. In the last iteration of the loop when $row
1495 is 10 the following substitutions will occur:
1496 s/A1/A10/; changes =A1 + SIN(A1) to =A10 + SIN(A1)
1498 s/A1/A10/; changes =A10 + SIN(A1) to =A100 + SIN(A1) # !!
1499 The solution in this case is to use a more explicit match such as
1501 "qw/^A1$/":
1502 $worksheet->repeat_formula($row -1, 1, $formula, undef,
1504 qw/^A1$/, 'A' . $row,
1505 qw/^A1$/, 'A' . $row
1506 );
1507 Another similar problem occurs due to the fact that substitutions are
1509 made in order. For example the following snippet is meant to change the
1510 stored formula from "=A10 + A11" to "=A11 + A12":
1511 my $formula = $worksheet->store_formula('=A10 + A11');
1513 $worksheet->repeat_formula('A1', $formula, undef,
1515 qw/A10/, 'A11', #! Bad.
1516 qw/A11/, 'A12' #! Bad.
1517 );
1518 However, the actual substitution yields "=A12 + A11":
1520 s/A10/A11/; changes =A10 + A11 to =A11 + A11
1522 s/A11/A12/; changes =A11 + A11 to =A12 + A11 # !!
1523 The solution here would be to reverse the order of the substitutions or
1525 to start with a stored formula that won't yield a false match such as
1526 "=X10 + Y11":
1527 my $formula = $worksheet->store_formula('=X10 + Y11');
1529 $worksheet->repeat_formula('A1', $formula, undef,
1531 qw/X10/, 'A11',
1532 qw/Y11/, 'A12'
1533 );
1534 If you think that you have a problem related to a false match you can
1536 check the tokens that you are substituting against as follows.
1537 my $formula = $worksheet->store_formula('=A1*5+4');
1539 print "@$formula\n";
1540 See also the "repeat.pl" program in the "examples" directory of the
1542 distro.
1543 write_comment($row, $column, $string, ...)
1545 The write_comment() method is used to add a comment to a cell. A cell
1546 comment is indicated in Excel by a small red triangle in the upper
1547 right-hand corner of the cell. Moving the cursor over the red triangle
1548 will reveal the comment.
1549 The following example shows how to add a comment to a cell:
1551 $worksheet->write (2, 2, 'Hello');
1553 $worksheet->write_comment(2, 2, 'This is a comment.');
1554 As usual you can replace the $row and $column parameters with an "A1"
1556 cell reference. See the note about "Cell notation".
1557 $worksheet->write ('C3', 'Hello');
1559 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'This is a comment.');
1560 On systems with "perl 5.8" and later the write_comment() method will
1562 also handle strings in "UTF-8" format.
1563 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', "\x{263a}"); # Smiley
1565 $worksheet->write_comment('C4', 'Comment ca va?');
1566 In addition to the basic 3 argument form of write_comment() you can
1568 pass in several optional key/value pairs to control the format of the
1569 comment. For example:
1570 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', visible => 1, author => 'Perl');
1572 Most of these options are quite specific and in general the default
1574 comment behaviour will be all that you need. However, should you need
1575 greater control over the format of the cell comment the following
1576 options are available:
1577 encoding
1579 author
1580 author_encoding
1581 visible
1582 x_scale
1583 width
1584 y_scale
1585 height
1586 color
1587 start_cell
1588 start_row
1589 start_col
1590 x_offset
1591 y_offset
1592 Option: encoding
1594 This option is used to indicate that the comment string is encoded
1595 as "UTF-16BE".
1596 my $comment = pack 'n', 0x263a; # UTF-16BE Smiley symbol
1598 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', $comment, encoding => 1);
1600 If you wish to use Unicode characters in the comment string then
1602 the preferred method is to use perl 5.8 and "UTF-8" strings, see
1603 "UNICODE IN EXCEL".
1604 Option: author
1606 This option is used to indicate who the author of the comment is.
1607 Excel displays the author of the comment in the status bar at the
1608 bottom of the worksheet. This is usually of interest in corporate
1609 environments where several people might review and provide comments
1610 to a workbook.
1611 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Atonement', author => 'Ian McEwan');
1613 Option: author_encoding
1615 This option is used to indicate that the author string is encoded
1616 as "UTF-16BE".
1617 Option: visible
1619 This option is used to make a cell comment visible when the
1620 worksheet is opened. The default behaviour in Excel is that
1621 comments are initially hidden. However, it is also possible in
1622 Excel to make individual or all comments visible. In
1623 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel individual comments can be made visible as
1624 follows:
1625 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', visible => 1);
1627 It is possible to make all comments in a worksheet visible using
1629 the show_comments() worksheet method (see below). Alternatively, if
1630 all of the cell comments have been made visible you can hide
1631 individual comments:
1632 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', visible => 0);
1634 Option: x_scale
1636 This option is used to set the width of the cell comment box as a
1637 factor of the default width.
1638 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', x_scale => 2);
1640 $worksheet->write_comment('C4', 'Hello', x_scale => 4.2);
1641 Option: width
1643 This option is used to set the width of the cell comment box
1644 explicitly in pixels.
1645 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', width => 200);
1647 Option: y_scale
1649 This option is used to set the height of the cell comment box as a
1650 factor of the default height.
1651 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', y_scale => 2);
1653 $worksheet->write_comment('C4', 'Hello', y_scale => 4.2);
1654 Option: height
1656 This option is used to set the height of the cell comment box
1657 explicitly in pixels.
1658 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', height => 200);
1660 Option: color
1662 This option is used to set the background colour of cell comment
1663 box. You can use one of the named colours recognised by
1664 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel or a colour index. See "COLOURS IN EXCEL".
1665 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', color => 'green');
1667 $worksheet->write_comment('C4', 'Hello', color => 0x35); # Orange
1668 Option: start_cell
1670 This option is used to set the cell in which the comment will
1671 appear. By default Excel displays comments one cell to the right
1672 and one cell above the cell to which the comment relates. However,
1673 you can change this behaviour if you wish. In the following example
1674 the comment which would appear by default in cell "D2" is moved to
1675 "E2".
1676 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', start_cell => 'E2');
1678 Option: start_row
1680 This option is used to set the row in which the comment will
1681 appear. See the "start_cell" option above. The row is zero indexed.
1682 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', start_row => 0);
1684 Option: start_col
1686 This option is used to set the column in which the comment will
1687 appear. See the "start_cell" option above. The column is zero
1688 indexed.
1689 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', start_col => 4);
1691 Option: x_offset
1693 This option is used to change the x offset, in pixels, of a comment
1694 within a cell:
1695 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', $comment, x_offset => 30);
1697 Option: y_offset
1699 This option is used to change the y offset, in pixels, of a comment
1700 within a cell:
1701 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', $comment, x_offset => 30);
1703 You can apply as many of these options as you require.
1705 See also "ROW HEIGHTS AND WORKSHEET OBJECTS".
1707 show_comments()
1709 This method is used to make all cell comments visible when a worksheet
1710 is opened.
1711 Individual comments can be made visible using the "visible" parameter
1713 of the "write_comment" method (see above):
1714 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', visible => 1);
1716 If all of the cell comments have been made visible you can hide
1718 individual comments as follows:
1719 $worksheet->write_comment('C3', 'Hello', visible => 0);
1721 add_write_handler($re, $code_ref)
1723 This method is used to extend the Spreadsheet::WriteExcel write()
1724 method to handle user defined data.
1725 If you refer to the section on write() above you will see that it acts
1727 as an alias for several more specific "write_*" methods. However, it
1728 doesn't always act in exactly the way that you would like it to.
1729 One solution is to filter the input data yourself and call the
1731 appropriate "write_*" method. Another approach is to use the
1732 add_write_handler() method to add your own automated behaviour to
1733 write().
1734 The add_write_handler() method take two arguments, $re, a regular
1736 expression to match incoming data and $code_ref a callback function to
1737 handle the matched data:
1738 $worksheet->add_write_handler(qr/^\d\d\d\d$/, \&my_write);
1740 (In the these examples the "qr" operator is used to quote the regular
1742 expression strings, see perlop for more details).
1743 The method is used as follows. say you wished to write 7 digit ID
1745 numbers as a string so that any leading zeros were preserved*, you
1746 could do something like the following:
1747 $worksheet->add_write_handler(qr/^\d{7}$/, \&write_my_id);
1749 sub write_my_id {
1752 my $worksheet = shift;
1753 return $worksheet->write_string(@_);
1754 }
1755 * You could also use the keep_leading_zeros() method for this.
1757 Then if you call write() with an appropriate string it will be handled
1759 automatically:
1760 # Writes 0000000. It would normally be written as a number; 0.
1762 $worksheet->write('A1', '0000000');
1763 The callback function will receive a reference to the calling worksheet
1765 and all of the other arguments that were passed to write(). The
1766 callback will see an @_ argument list that looks like the following:
1767 $_[0] A ref to the calling worksheet. *
1769 $_[1] Zero based row number.
1770 $_[2] Zero based column number.
1771 $_[3] A number or string or token.
1772 $_[4] A format ref if any.
1773 $_[5] Any other arguments.
1774 ...
1775 * It is good style to shift this off the list so the @_ is the same
1777 as the argument list seen by write().
1778 Your callback should return() the return value of the "write_*" method
1780 that was called or "undef" to indicate that you rejected the match and
1781 want write() to continue as normal.
1782 So for example if you wished to apply the previous filter only to ID
1784 values that occur in the first column you could modify your callback
1785 function as follows:
1786 sub write_my_id {
1788 my $worksheet = shift;
1789 my $col = $_[1];
1790 if ($col == 0) {
1792 return $worksheet->write_string(@_);
1793 }
1794 else {
1795 # Reject the match and return control to write()
1796 return undef;
1797 }
1798 }
1799 Now, you will get different behaviour for the first column and other
1801 columns:
1802 $worksheet->write('A1', '0000000'); # Writes 0000000
1804 $worksheet->write('B1', '0000000'); # Writes 0
1805 You may add more than one handler in which case they will be called in
1807 the order that they were added.
1808 Note, the add_write_handler() method is particularly suited for
1810 handling dates.
1811 See the "write_handler 1-4" programs in the "examples" directory for
1813 further examples.
1814 insert_image($row, $col, $filename, $x, $y, $scale_x, $scale_y)
1816 This method can be used to insert a image into a worksheet. The image
1817 can be in PNG, JPEG or BMP format. The $x, $y, $scale_x and $scale_y
1818 parameters are optional.
1819 $worksheet1->insert_image('A1', 'perl.bmp');
1821 $worksheet2->insert_image('A1', '../images/perl.bmp');
1822 $worksheet3->insert_image('A1', '.c:\images\perl.bmp');
1823 The parameters $x and $y can be used to specify an offset from the top
1825 left hand corner of the cell specified by $row and $col. The offset
1826 values are in pixels.
1827 $worksheet1->insert_image('A1', 'perl.bmp', 32, 10);
1829 The default width of a cell is 63 pixels. The default height of a cell
1831 is 17 pixels. The pixels offsets can be calculated using the following
1832 relationships:
1833 Wp = int(12We) if We < 1
1835 Wp = int(7We +5) if We >= 1
1836 Hp = int(4/3He)
1837 where:
1839 We is the cell width in Excels units
1840 Wp is width in pixels
1841 He is the cell height in Excels units
1842 Hp is height in pixels
1843 The offsets can be greater than the width or height of the underlying
1845 cell. This can be occasionally useful if you wish to align two or more
1846 images relative to the same cell.
1847 The parameters $scale_x and $scale_y can be used to scale the inserted
1849 image horizontally and vertically:
1850 # Scale the inserted image: width x 2.0, height x 0.8
1852 $worksheet->insert_image('A1', 'perl.bmp', 0, 0, 2, 0.8);
1853 See also the "images.pl" program in the "examples" directory of the
1855 distro.
1856 BMP images must be 24 bit, true colour, bitmaps. In general it is best
1858 to avoid BMP images since they aren't compressed. The older
1859 insert_bitmap() method is still supported but deprecated.
1860 See also "ROW HEIGHTS AND WORKSHEET OBJECTS".
1862 insert_chart($row, $col, $chart, $x, $y, $scale_x, $scale_y)
1864 This method can be used to insert a Chart object into a worksheet. The
1865 Chart must be created by the add_chart() Workbook method and it must
1866 have the "embedded" option set.
1867 my $chart = $workbook->add_chart( type => 'line', embedded => 1 );
1869 # Configure the chart.
1871 ...
1872 # Insert the chart into the a worksheet.
1874 $worksheet->insert_chart('E2', $chart);
1875 See add_chart() for details on how to create the Chart object and
1877 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Chart for details on how to configure it. See
1878 also the "chart_*.pl" programs in the examples directory of the distro.
1879 The $x, $y, $scale_x and $scale_y parameters are optional.
1881 The parameters $x and $y can be used to specify an offset from the top
1883 left hand corner of the cell specified by $row and $col. The offset
1884 values are in pixels. See the "insert_image" method above for more
1885 information on sizes.
1886 $worksheet1->insert_chart('E2', $chart, 3, 3);
1888 The parameters $scale_x and $scale_y can be used to scale the inserted
1890 image horizontally and vertically:
1891 # Scale the width by 120% and the height by 150%
1893 $worksheet->insert_chart('E2', $chart, 0, 0, 1.2, 1.5);
1894 The easiest way to calculate the required scaling is to create a test
1896 chart worksheet with Spreadsheet::WriteExcel. Then open the file,
1897 select the chart and drag the corner to get the required size. While
1898 holding down the mouse the scale of the resized chart is shown to the
1899 left of the formula bar.
1900 See also "ROW HEIGHTS AND WORKSHEET OBJECTS".
1902 embed_chart($row, $col, $filename, $x, $y, $scale_x, $scale_y)
1904 This method can be used to insert a externally generated chart into a
1905 worksheet. The chart must first be extracted from an existing Excel
1906 file. This feature is semi-deprecated in favour of the "native" charts
1907 created using add_chart(). Read "external_charts.txt" (or ".pod") in
1908 the external_charts directory of the distro for a full explanation.
1909 Here is an example:
1911 $worksheet->embed_chart('B2', 'sales_chart.bin');
1913 The $x, $y, $scale_x and $scale_y parameters are optional. See
1915 insert_chart() above for details.
1916 data_validation()
1918 The data_validation() method is used to construct an Excel data
1919 validation or to limit the user input to a dropdown list of values.
1920 $worksheet->data_validation('B3',
1922 {
1923 validate => 'integer',
1924 criteria => '>',
1925 value => 100,
1926 });
1927 $worksheet->data_validation('B5:B9',
1929 {
1930 validate => 'list',
1931 value => ['open', 'high', 'close'],
1932 });
1933 This method contains a lot of parameters and is described in detail in
1935 a separate section "DATA VALIDATION IN EXCEL".
1936 See also the "data_validate.pl" program in the examples directory of
1938 the distro
1939 get_name()
1941 The get_name() method is used to retrieve the name of a worksheet. For
1942 example:
1943 foreach my $sheet ($workbook->sheets()) {
1945 print $sheet->get_name();
1946 }
1947 For reasons related to the design of Spreadsheet::WriteExcel and to the
1949 internals of Excel there is no set_name() method. The only way to set
1950 the worksheet name is via the add_worksheet() method.
1951 activate()
1953 The activate() method is used to specify which worksheet is initially
1954 visible in a multi-sheet workbook:
1955 $worksheet1 = $workbook->add_worksheet('To');
1957 $worksheet2 = $workbook->add_worksheet('the');
1958 $worksheet3 = $workbook->add_worksheet('wind');
1959 $worksheet3->activate();
1961 This is similar to the Excel VBA activate method. More than one
1963 worksheet can be selected via the select() method, see below, however
1964 only one worksheet can be active.
1965 The default active worksheet is the first worksheet.
1967 select()
1969 The select() method is used to indicate that a worksheet is selected in
1970 a multi-sheet workbook:
1971 $worksheet1->activate();
1973 $worksheet2->select();
1974 $worksheet3->select();
1975 A selected worksheet has its tab highlighted. Selecting worksheets is a
1977 way of grouping them together so that, for example, several worksheets
1978 could be printed in one go. A worksheet that has been activated via the
1979 activate() method will also appear as selected.
1980 hide()
1982 The hide() method is used to hide a worksheet:
1983 $worksheet2->hide();
1985 You may wish to hide a worksheet in order to avoid confusing a user
1987 with intermediate data or calculations.
1988 A hidden worksheet can not be activated or selected so this method is
1990 mutually exclusive with the activate() and select() methods. In
1991 addition, since the first worksheet will default to being the active
1992 worksheet, you cannot hide the first worksheet without activating
1993 another sheet:
1994 $worksheet2->activate();
1996 $worksheet1->hide();
1997 set_first_sheet()
1999 The activate() method determines which worksheet is initially selected.
2000 However, if there are a large number of worksheets the selected
2001 worksheet may not appear on the screen. To avoid this you can select
2002 which is the leftmost visible worksheet using set_first_sheet():
2003 for (1..20) {
2005 $workbook->add_worksheet;
2006 }
2007 $worksheet21 = $workbook->add_worksheet();
2009 $worksheet22 = $workbook->add_worksheet();
2010 $worksheet21->set_first_sheet();
2012 $worksheet22->activate();
2013 This method is not required very often. The default value is the first
2015 worksheet.
2016 protect($password)
2018 The protect() method is used to protect a worksheet from modification:
2019 $worksheet->protect();
2021 It can be turned off in Excel via the "Tools->Protection->Unprotect
2023 Sheet" menu command.
2024 The protect() method also has the effect of enabling a cell's "locked"
2026 and "hidden" properties if they have been set. A "locked" cell cannot
2027 be edited. A "hidden" cell will display the results of a formula but
2028 not the formula itself. In Excel a cell's locked property is on by
2029 default.
2030 # Set some format properties
2032 my $unlocked = $workbook->add_format(locked => 0);
2033 my $hidden = $workbook->add_format(hidden => 1);
2034 # Enable worksheet protection
2036 $worksheet->protect();
2037 # This cell cannot be edited, it is locked by default
2039 $worksheet->write('A1', '=1+2');
2040 # This cell can be edited
2042 $worksheet->write('A2', '=1+2', $unlocked);
2043 # The formula in this cell isn't visible
2045 $worksheet->write('A3', '=1+2', $hidden);
2046 See also the "set_locked" and "set_hidden" format methods in "CELL
2048 FORMATTING".
2049 You can optionally add a password to the worksheet protection:
2051 $worksheet->protect('drowssap');
2053 Note, the worksheet level password in Excel provides very weak
2055 protection. It does not encrypt your data in any way and it is very
2056 easy to deactivate. Therefore, do not use the above method if you wish
2057 to protect sensitive data or calculations. However, before you get
2058 worried, Excel's own workbook level password protection does provide
2059 strong encryption in Excel 97+. For technical reasons this will never
2060 be supported by "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel".
2061 set_selection($first_row, $first_col, $last_row, $last_col)
2063 This method can be used to specify which cell or cells are selected in
2064 a worksheet. The most common requirement is to select a single cell, in
2065 which case $last_row and $last_col can be omitted. The active cell
2066 within a selected range is determined by the order in which $first and
2067 $last are specified. It is also possible to specify a cell or a range
2068 using A1 notation. See the note about "Cell notation".
2069 Examples:
2071 $worksheet1->set_selection(3, 3); # 1. Cell D4.
2073 $worksheet2->set_selection(3, 3, 6, 6); # 2. Cells D4 to G7.
2074 $worksheet3->set_selection(6, 6, 3, 3); # 3. Cells G7 to D4.
2075 $worksheet4->set_selection('D4'); # Same as 1.
2076 $worksheet5->set_selection('D4:G7'); # Same as 2.
2077 $worksheet6->set_selection('G7:D4'); # Same as 3.
2078 The default cell selections is (0, 0), 'A1'.
2080 set_row($row, $height, $format, $hidden, $level, $collapsed)
2082 This method can be used to change the default properties of a row. All
2083 parameters apart from $row are optional.
2084 The most common use for this method is to change the height of a row:
2086 $worksheet->set_row(0, 20); # Row 1 height set to 20
2088 If you wish to set the format without changing the height you can pass
2090 "undef" as the height parameter:
2091 $worksheet->set_row(0, undef, $format);
2093 The $format parameter will be applied to any cells in the row that
2095 don't have a format. For example
2096 $worksheet->set_row(0, undef, $format1); # Set the format for row 1
2098 $worksheet->write('A1', 'Hello'); # Defaults to $format1
2099 $worksheet->write('B1', 'Hello', $format2); # Keeps $format2
2100 If you wish to define a row format in this way you should call the
2102 method before any calls to write(). Calling it afterwards will
2103 overwrite any format that was previously specified.
2104 The $hidden parameter should be set to 1 if you wish to hide a row.
2106 This can be used, for example, to hide intermediary steps in a
2107 complicated calculation:
2108 $worksheet->set_row(0, 20, $format, 1);
2110 $worksheet->set_row(1, undef, undef, 1);
2111 The $level parameter is used to set the outline level of the row.
2113 Outlines are described in "OUTLINES AND GROUPING IN EXCEL". Adjacent
2114 rows with the same outline level are grouped together into a single
2115 outline.
2116 The following example sets an outline level of 1 for rows 1 and 2
2118 (zero-indexed):
2119 $worksheet->set_row(1, undef, undef, 0, 1);
2121 $worksheet->set_row(2, undef, undef, 0, 1);
2122 The $hidden parameter can also be used to hide collapsed outlined rows
2124 when used in conjunction with the $level parameter.
2125 $worksheet->set_row(1, undef, undef, 1, 1);
2127 $worksheet->set_row(2, undef, undef, 1, 1);
2128 For collapsed outlines you should also indicate which row has the
2130 collapsed "+" symbol using the optional $collapsed parameter.
2131 $worksheet->set_row(3, undef, undef, 0, 0, 1);
2133 For a more complete example see the "outline.pl" and
2135 "outline_collapsed.pl" programs in the examples directory of the
2136 distro.
2137 Excel allows up to 7 outline levels. Therefore the $level parameter
2139 should be in the range "0 <= $level <= 7".
2140 set_column($first_col, $last_col, $width, $format, $hidden, $level,
2142 $collapsed)
2143 This method can be used to change the default properties of a single
2144 column or a range of columns. All parameters apart from $first_col and
2145 $last_col are optional.
2146 If set_column() is applied to a single column the value of $first_col
2148 and $last_col should be the same. In the case where $last_col is zero
2149 it is set to the same value as $first_col.
2150 It is also possible, and generally clearer, to specify a column range
2152 using the form of A1 notation used for columns. See the note about
2153 "Cell notation".
2154 Examples:
2156 $worksheet->set_column(0, 0, 20); # Column A width set to 20
2158 $worksheet->set_column(1, 3, 30); # Columns B-D width set to 30
2159 $worksheet->set_column('E:E', 20); # Column E width set to 20
2160 $worksheet->set_column('F:H', 30); # Columns F-H width set to 30
2161 The width corresponds to the column width value that is specified in
2163 Excel. It is approximately equal to the length of a string in the
2164 default font of Arial 10. Unfortunately, there is no way to specify
2165 "AutoFit" for a column in the Excel file format. This feature is only
2166 available at runtime from within Excel.
2167 As usual the $format parameter is optional, for additional information,
2169 see "CELL FORMATTING". If you wish to set the format without changing
2170 the width you can pass "undef" as the width parameter:
2171 $worksheet->set_column(0, 0, undef, $format);
2173 The $format parameter will be applied to any cells in the column that
2175 don't have a format. For example
2176 $worksheet->set_column('A:A', undef, $format1); # Set format for col 1
2178 $worksheet->write('A1', 'Hello'); # Defaults to $format1
2179 $worksheet->write('A2', 'Hello', $format2); # Keeps $format2
2180 If you wish to define a column format in this way you should call the
2182 method before any calls to write(). If you call it afterwards it won't
2183 have any effect.
2184 A default row format takes precedence over a default column format
2186 $worksheet->set_row(0, undef, $format1); # Set format for row 1
2188 $worksheet->set_column('A:A', undef, $format2); # Set format for col 1
2189 $worksheet->write('A1', 'Hello'); # Defaults to $format1
2190 $worksheet->write('A2', 'Hello'); # Defaults to $format2
2191 The $hidden parameter should be set to 1 if you wish to hide a column.
2193 This can be used, for example, to hide intermediary steps in a
2194 complicated calculation:
2195 $worksheet->set_column('D:D', 20, $format, 1);
2197 $worksheet->set_column('E:E', undef, undef, 1);
2198 The $level parameter is used to set the outline level of the column.
2200 Outlines are described in "OUTLINES AND GROUPING IN EXCEL". Adjacent
2201 columns with the same outline level are grouped together into a single
2202 outline.
2203 The following example sets an outline level of 1 for columns B to G:
2205 $worksheet->set_column('B:G', undef, undef, 0, 1);
2207 The $hidden parameter can also be used to hide collapsed outlined
2209 columns when used in conjunction with the $level parameter.
2210 $worksheet->set_column('B:G', undef, undef, 1, 1);
2212 For collapsed outlines you should also indicate which row has the
2214 collapsed "+" symbol using the optional $collapsed parameter.
2215 $worksheet->set_column('H:H', undef, undef, 0, 0, 1);
2217 For a more complete example see the "outline.pl" and
2219 "outline_collapsed.pl" programs in the examples directory of the
2220 distro.
2221 Excel allows up to 7 outline levels. Therefore the $level parameter
2223 should be in the range "0 <= $level <= 7".
2224 outline_settings($visible, $symbols_below, $symbols_right, $auto_style)
2226 The outline_settings() method is used to control the appearance of
2227 outlines in Excel. Outlines are described in "OUTLINES AND GROUPING IN
2228 EXCEL".
2229 The $visible parameter is used to control whether or not outlines are
2231 visible. Setting this parameter to 0 will cause all outlines on the
2232 worksheet to be hidden. They can be unhidden in Excel by means of the
2233 "Show Outline Symbols" command button. The default setting is 1 for
2234 visible outlines.
2235 $worksheet->outline_settings(0);
2237 The $symbols_below parameter is used to control whether the row outline
2239 symbol will appear above or below the outline level bar. The default
2240 setting is 1 for symbols to appear below the outline level bar.
2241 The "symbols_right" parameter is used to control whether the column
2243 outline symbol will appear to the left or the right of the outline
2244 level bar. The default setting is 1 for symbols to appear to the right
2245 of the outline level bar.
2246 The $auto_style parameter is used to control whether the automatic
2248 outline generator in Excel uses automatic styles when creating an
2249 outline. This has no effect on a file generated by
2250 "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel" but it does have an effect on how the
2251 worksheet behaves after it is created. The default setting is 0 for
2252 "Automatic Styles" to be turned off.
2253 The default settings for all of these parameters correspond to Excel's
2255 default parameters.
2256 The worksheet parameters controlled by outline_settings() are rarely
2258 used.
2259 freeze_panes($row, $col, $top_row, $left_col)
2261 This method can be used to divide a worksheet into horizontal or
2262 vertical regions known as panes and to also "freeze" these panes so
2263 that the splitter bars are not visible. This is the same as the
2264 "Window->Freeze Panes" menu command in Excel
2265 The parameters $row and $col are used to specify the location of the
2267 split. It should be noted that the split is specified at the top or
2268 left of a cell and that the method uses zero based indexing. Therefore
2269 to freeze the first row of a worksheet it is necessary to specify the
2270 split at row 2 (which is 1 as the zero-based index). This might lead
2271 you to think that you are using a 1 based index but this is not the
2272 case.
2273 You can set one of the $row and $col parameters as zero if you do not
2275 want either a vertical or horizontal split.
2276 Examples:
2278 $worksheet->freeze_panes(1, 0); # Freeze the first row
2280 $worksheet->freeze_panes('A2'); # Same using A1 notation
2281 $worksheet->freeze_panes(0, 1); # Freeze the first column
2282 $worksheet->freeze_panes('B1'); # Same using A1 notation
2283 $worksheet->freeze_panes(1, 2); # Freeze first row and first 2 columns
2284 $worksheet->freeze_panes('C2'); # Same using A1 notation
2285 The parameters $top_row and $left_col are optional. They are used to
2287 specify the top-most or left-most visible row or column in the
2288 scrolling region of the panes. For example to freeze the first row and
2289 to have the scrolling region begin at row twenty:
2290 $worksheet->freeze_panes(1, 0, 20, 0);
2292 You cannot use A1 notation for the $top_row and $left_col parameters.
2294 See also the "panes.pl" program in the "examples" directory of the
2296 distribution.
2297 split_panes($y, $x, $top_row, $left_col)
2299 This method can be used to divide a worksheet into horizontal or
2300 vertical regions known as panes. This method is different from the
2301 freeze_panes() method in that the splits between the panes will be
2302 visible to the user and each pane will have its own scroll bars.
2303 The parameters $y and $x are used to specify the vertical and
2305 horizontal position of the split. The units for $y and $x are the same
2306 as those used by Excel to specify row height and column width. However,
2307 the vertical and horizontal units are different from each other.
2308 Therefore you must specify the $y and $x parameters in terms of the row
2309 heights and column widths that you have set or the default values which
2310 are 12.75 for a row and 8.43 for a column.
2311 You can set one of the $y and $x parameters as zero if you do not want
2313 either a vertical or horizontal split. The parameters $top_row and
2314 $left_col are optional. They are used to specify the top-most or left-
2315 most visible row or column in the bottom-right pane.
2316 Example:
2318 $worksheet->split_panes(12.75, 0, 1, 0); # First row
2320 $worksheet->split_panes(0, 8.43, 0, 1); # First column
2321 $worksheet->split_panes(12.75, 8.43, 1, 1); # First row and column
2322 You cannot use A1 notation with this method.
2324 See also the freeze_panes() method and the "panes.pl" program in the
2326 "examples" directory of the distribution.
2327 Note: This split_panes() method was called thaw_panes() in older
2329 versions. The older name is still available for backwards
2330 compatibility.
2331 merge_range($first_row, $first_col, $last_row, $last_col, $token, $format,
2333 $utf_16_be)
2334 Merging cells can be achieved by setting the "merge" property of a
2335 Format object, see "CELL FORMATTING". However, this only allows simple
2336 Excel5 style horizontal merging which Excel refers to as "center across
2337 selection".
2338 The merge_range() method allows you to do Excel97+ style formatting
2340 where the cells can contain other types of alignment in addition to the
2341 merging:
2342 my $format = $workbook->add_format(
2344 border => 6,
2345 valign => 'vcenter',
2346 align => 'center',
2347 );
2348 $worksheet->merge_range('B3:D4', 'Vertical and horizontal', $format);
2350 WARNING. The format object that is used with a merge_range() method
2352 call is marked internally as being associated with a merged range. It
2353 is a fatal error to use a merged format in a non-merged cell. Instead
2354 you should use separate formats for merged and non-merged cells. This
2355 restriction will be removed in a future release.
2356 The $utf_16_be parameter is optional, see below.
2358 merge_range() writes its $token argument using the worksheet write()
2360 method. Therefore it will handle numbers, strings, formulas or urls as
2361 required.
2362 Setting the "merge" property of the format isn't required when you are
2364 using merge_range(). In fact using it will exclude the use of any other
2365 horizontal alignment option.
2366 On systems with "perl 5.8" and later the merge_range() method will also
2368 handle strings in "UTF-8" format.
2369 $worksheet->merge_range('B3:D4', "\x{263a}", $format); # Smiley
2371 On earlier Perl systems your can specify "UTF-16BE" worksheet names
2373 using an additional optional parameter:
2374 my $str = pack 'n', 0x263a;
2376 $worksheet->merge_range('B3:D4', $str, $format, 1); # Smiley
2377 The full possibilities of this method are shown in the "merge3.pl" to
2379 "merge6.pl" programs in the "examples" directory of the distribution.
2380 set_zoom($scale)
2382 Set the worksheet zoom factor in the range "10 <= $scale <= 400":
2383 $worksheet1->set_zoom(50);
2385 $worksheet2->set_zoom(75);
2386 $worksheet3->set_zoom(300);
2387 $worksheet4->set_zoom(400);
2388 The default zoom factor is 100. You cannot zoom to "Selection" because
2390 it is calculated by Excel at run-time.
2391 Note, set_zoom() does not affect the scale of the printed page. For
2393 that you should use set_print_scale().
2394 right_to_left()
2396 The right_to_left() method is used to change the default direction of
2397 the worksheet from left-to-right, with the A1 cell in the top left, to
2398 right-to-left, with the he A1 cell in the top right.
2399 $worksheet->right_to_left();
2401 This is useful when creating Arabic, Hebrew or other near or far
2403 eastern worksheets that use right-to-left as the default direction.
2404 hide_zero()
2406 The hide_zero() method is used to hide any zero values that appear in
2407 cells.
2408 $worksheet->hide_zero();
2410 In Excel this option is found under Tools->Options->View.
2412 set_tab_color()
2414 The set_tab_color() method is used to change the colour of the
2415 worksheet tab. This feature is only available in Excel 2002 and later.
2416 You can use one of the standard colour names provided by the Format
2417 object or a colour index. See "COLOURS IN EXCEL" and the
2418 set_custom_color() method.
2419 $worksheet1->set_tab_color('red');
2421 $worksheet2->set_tab_color(0x0C);
2422 See the "tab_colors.pl" program in the examples directory of the
2424 distro.
2425 autofilter($first_row, $first_col, $last_row, $last_col)
2427 This method allows an autofilter to be added to a worksheet. An
2428 autofilter is a way of adding drop down lists to the headers of a 2D
2429 range of worksheet data. This in turn allow users to filter the data
2430 based on simple criteria so that some data is shown and some is hidden.
2431 To add an autofilter to a worksheet:
2433 $worksheet->autofilter(0, 0, 10, 3);
2435 $worksheet->autofilter('A1:D11'); # Same as above in A1 notation.
2436 Filter conditions can be applied using the filter_column() method.
2438 See the "autofilter.pl" program in the examples directory of the distro
2440 for a more detailed example.
2441 filter_column($column, $expression)
2443 The "filter_column" method can be used to filter columns in a
2444 autofilter range based on simple conditions.
2445 NOTE: It isn't sufficient to just specify the filter condition. You
2447 must also hide any rows that don't match the filter condition. Rows are
2448 hidden using the set_row() "visible" parameter.
2449 "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel" cannot do this automatically since it isn't
2450 part of the file format. See the "autofilter.pl" program in the
2451 examples directory of the distro for an example.
2452 The conditions for the filter are specified using simple expressions:
2454 $worksheet->filter_column('A', 'x > 2000');
2456 $worksheet->filter_column('B', 'x > 2000 and x < 5000');
2457 The $column parameter can either be a zero indexed column number or a
2459 string column name.
2460 The following operators are available:
2462 Operator Synonyms
2464 == = eq =~
2465 != <> ne !=
2466 >
2467 <
2468 >=
2469 <=
2470 and &&
2472 or ||
2473 The operator synonyms are just syntactic sugar to make you more
2475 comfortable using the expressions. It is important to remember that the
2476 expressions will be interpreted by Excel and not by perl.
2477 An expression can comprise a single statement or two statements
2479 separated by the "and" and "or" operators. For example:
2480 'x < 2000'
2482 'x > 2000'
2483 'x == 2000'
2484 'x > 2000 and x < 5000'
2485 'x == 2000 or x == 5000'
2486 Filtering of blank or non-blank data can be achieved by using a value
2488 of "Blanks" or "NonBlanks" in the expression:
2489 'x == Blanks'
2491 'x == NonBlanks'
2492 Top 10 style filters can be specified using a expression like the
2494 following:
2495 Top|Bottom 1-500 Items|%
2497 For example:
2499 'Top 10 Items'
2501 'Bottom 5 Items'
2502 'Top 25 %'
2503 'Bottom 50 %'
2504 Excel also allows some simple string matching operations:
2506 'x =~ b*' # begins with b
2508 'x !~ b*' # doesn't begin with b
2509 'x =~ *b' # ends with b
2510 'x !~ *b' # doesn't end with b
2511 'x =~ *b*' # contains b
2512 'x !~ *b*' # doesn't contains b
2513 You can also use "*" to match any character or number and "?" to match
2515 any single character or number. No other regular expression quantifier
2516 is supported by Excel's filters. Excel's regular expression characters
2517 can be escaped using "~".
2518 The placeholder variable "x" in the above examples can be replaced by
2520 any simple string. The actual placeholder name is ignored internally so
2521 the following are all equivalent:
2522 'x < 2000'
2524 'col < 2000'
2525 'Price < 2000'
2526 Also, note that a filter condition can only be applied to a column in a
2528 range specified by the autofilter() Worksheet method.
2529 See the "autofilter.pl" program in the examples directory of the distro
2531 for a more detailed example.
2532
2534 Page set-up methods affect the way that a worksheet looks when it is
2535 printed. They control features such as page headers and footers and
2536 margins. These methods are really just standard worksheet methods. They
2537 are documented here in a separate section for the sake of clarity.
2538 The following methods are available for page set-up:
2540 set_landscape()
2542 set_portrait()
2543 set_page_view()
2544 set_paper()
2545 center_horizontally()
2546 center_vertically()
2547 set_margins()
2548 set_header()
2549 set_footer()
2550 repeat_rows()
2551 repeat_columns()
2552 hide_gridlines()
2553 print_row_col_headers()
2554 print_area()
2555 print_across()
2556 fit_to_pages()
2557 set_start_page()
2558 set_print_scale()
2559 set_h_pagebreaks()
2560 set_v_pagebreaks()
2561 A common requirement when working with Spreadsheet::WriteExcel is to
2563 apply the same page set-up features to all of the worksheets in a
2564 workbook. To do this you can use the sheets() method of the "workbook"
2565 class to access the array of worksheets in a workbook:
2566 foreach $worksheet ($workbook->sheets()) {
2568 $worksheet->set_landscape();
2569 }
2570 set_landscape()
2572 This method is used to set the orientation of a worksheet's printed
2573 page to landscape:
2574 $worksheet->set_landscape(); # Landscape mode
2576 set_portrait()
2578 This method is used to set the orientation of a worksheet's printed
2579 page to portrait. The default worksheet orientation is portrait, so you
2580 won't generally need to call this method.
2581 $worksheet->set_portrait(); # Portrait mode
2583 set_page_view()
2585 This method is used to display the worksheet in "Page View" mode. This
2586 is currently only supported by Mac Excel, where it is the default.
2587 $worksheet->set_page_view();
2589 set_paper($index)
2591 This method is used to set the paper format for the printed output of a
2592 worksheet. The following paper styles are available:
2593 Index Paper format Paper size
2595 ===== ============ ==========
2596 0 Printer default -
2597 1 Letter 8 1/2 x 11 in
2598 2 Letter Small 8 1/2 x 11 in
2599 3 Tabloid 11 x 17 in
2600 4 Ledger 17 x 11 in
2601 5 Legal 8 1/2 x 14 in
2602 6 Statement 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 in
2603 7 Executive 7 1/4 x 10 1/2 in
2604 8 A3 297 x 420 mm
2605 9 A4 210 x 297 mm
2606 10 A4 Small 210 x 297 mm
2607 11 A5 148 x 210 mm
2608 12 B4 250 x 354 mm
2609 13 B5 182 x 257 mm
2610 14 Folio 8 1/2 x 13 in
2611 15 Quarto 215 x 275 mm
2612 16 - 10x14 in
2613 17 - 11x17 in
2614 18 Note 8 1/2 x 11 in
2615 19 Envelope 9 3 7/8 x 8 7/8
2616 20 Envelope 10 4 1/8 x 9 1/2
2617 21 Envelope 11 4 1/2 x 10 3/8
2618 22 Envelope 12 4 3/4 x 11
2619 23 Envelope 14 5 x 11 1/2
2620 24 C size sheet -
2621 25 D size sheet -
2622 26 E size sheet -
2623 27 Envelope DL 110 x 220 mm
2624 28 Envelope C3 324 x 458 mm
2625 29 Envelope C4 229 x 324 mm
2626 30 Envelope C5 162 x 229 mm
2627 31 Envelope C6 114 x 162 mm
2628 32 Envelope C65 114 x 229 mm
2629 33 Envelope B4 250 x 353 mm
2630 34 Envelope B5 176 x 250 mm
2631 35 Envelope B6 176 x 125 mm
2632 36 Envelope 110 x 230 mm
2633 37 Monarch 3.875 x 7.5 in
2634 38 Envelope 3 5/8 x 6 1/2 in
2635 39 Fanfold 14 7/8 x 11 in
2636 40 German Std Fanfold 8 1/2 x 12 in
2637 41 German Legal Fanfold 8 1/2 x 13 in
2638 Note, it is likely that not all of these paper types will be available
2640 to the end user since it will depend on the paper formats that the
2641 user's printer supports. Therefore, it is best to stick to standard
2642 paper types.
2643 $worksheet->set_paper(1); # US Letter
2645 $worksheet->set_paper(9); # A4
2646 If you do not specify a paper type the worksheet will print using the
2648 printer's default paper.
2649 center_horizontally()
2651 Center the worksheet data horizontally between the margins on the
2652 printed page:
2653 $worksheet->center_horizontally();
2655 center_vertically()
2657 Center the worksheet data vertically between the margins on the printed
2658 page:
2659 $worksheet->center_vertically();
2661 set_margins($inches)
2663 There are several methods available for setting the worksheet margins
2664 on the printed page:
2665 set_margins() # Set all margins to the same value
2667 set_margins_LR() # Set left and right margins to the same value
2668 set_margins_TB() # Set top and bottom margins to the same value
2669 set_margin_left(); # Set left margin
2670 set_margin_right(); # Set right margin
2671 set_margin_top(); # Set top margin
2672 set_margin_bottom(); # Set bottom margin
2673 All of these methods take a distance in inches as a parameter. Note: 1
2675 inch = 25.4mm. ;-) The default left and right margin is 0.75 inch. The
2676 default top and bottom margin is 1.00 inch.
2677 set_header($string, $margin)
2679 Headers and footers are generated using a $string which is a
2680 combination of plain text and control characters. The $margin parameter
2681 is optional.
2682 The available control character are:
2684 Control Category Description
2686 ======= ======== ===========
2687 &L Justification Left
2688 &C Center
2689 &R Right
2690 &P Information Page number
2692 &N Total number of pages
2693 &D Date
2694 &T Time
2695 &F File name
2696 &A Worksheet name
2697 &Z Workbook path
2698 &fontsize Font Font size
2700 &"font,style" Font name and style
2701 &U Single underline
2702 &E Double underline
2703 &S Strikethrough
2704 &X Superscript
2705 &Y Subscript
2706 && Miscellaneous Literal ampersand &
2708 Text in headers and footers can be justified (aligned) to the left,
2710 center and right by prefixing the text with the control characters &L,
2711 &C and &R.
2712 For example (with ASCII art representation of the results):
2714 $worksheet->set_header('&LHello');
2716 ---------------------------------------------------------------
2718 | |
2719 | Hello |
2720 | |
2721 $worksheet->set_header('&CHello');
2724 ---------------------------------------------------------------
2726 | |
2727 | Hello |
2728 | |
2729 $worksheet->set_header('&RHello');
2732 ---------------------------------------------------------------
2734 | |
2735 | Hello |
2736 | |
2737 For simple text, if you do not specify any justification the text will
2739 be centred. However, you must prefix the text with &C if you specify a
2740 font name or any other formatting:
2741 $worksheet->set_header('Hello');
2743 ---------------------------------------------------------------
2745 | |
2746 | Hello |
2747 | |
2748 You can have text in each of the justification regions:
2750 $worksheet->set_header('&LCiao&CBello&RCielo');
2752 ---------------------------------------------------------------
2754 | |
2755 | Ciao Bello Cielo |
2756 | |
2757 The information control characters act as variables that Excel will
2759 update as the workbook or worksheet changes. Times and dates are in the
2760 users default format:
2761 $worksheet->set_header('&CPage &P of &N');
2763 ---------------------------------------------------------------
2765 | |
2766 | Page 1 of 6 |
2767 | |
2768 $worksheet->set_header('&CUpdated at &T');
2771 ---------------------------------------------------------------
2773 | |
2774 | Updated at 12:30 PM |
2775 | |
2776 You can specify the font size of a section of the text by prefixing it
2778 with the control character &n where "n" is the font size:
2779 $worksheet1->set_header('&C&30Hello Big' );
2781 $worksheet2->set_header('&C&10Hello Small');
2782 You can specify the font of a section of the text by prefixing it with
2784 the control sequence "&"font,style"" where "fontname" is a font name
2785 such as "Courier New" or "Times New Roman" and "style" is one of the
2786 standard Windows font descriptions: "Regular", "Italic", "Bold" or
2787 "Bold Italic":
2788 $worksheet1->set_header('&C&"Courier New,Italic"Hello');
2790 $worksheet2->set_header('&C&"Courier New,Bold Italic"Hello');
2791 $worksheet3->set_header('&C&"Times New Roman,Regular"Hello');
2792 It is possible to combine all of these features together to create
2794 sophisticated headers and footers. As an aid to setting up complicated
2795 headers and footers you can record a page set-up as a macro in Excel
2796 and look at the format strings that VBA produces. Remember however that
2797 VBA uses two double quotes "" to indicate a single double quote. For
2798 the last example above the equivalent VBA code looks like this:
2799 .LeftHeader = ""
2801 .CenterHeader = "&""Times New Roman,Regular""Hello"
2802 .RightHeader = ""
2803 To include a single literal ampersand "&" in a header or footer you
2805 should use a double ampersand "&&":
2806 $worksheet1->set_header('&CCuriouser && Curiouser - Attorneys at Law');
2808 As stated above the margin parameter is optional. As with the other
2810 margins the value should be in inches. The default header and footer
2811 margin is 0.50 inch. The header and footer margin size can be set as
2812 follows:
2813 $worksheet->set_header('&CHello', 0.75);
2815 The header and footer margins are independent of the top and bottom
2817 margins.
2818 Note, the header or footer string must be less than 255 characters.
2820 Strings longer than this will not be written and a warning will be
2821 generated.
2822 On systems with "perl 5.8" and later the set_header() method can also
2824 handle Unicode strings in "UTF-8" format.
2825 $worksheet->set_header("&C\x{263a}")
2827 See, also the "headers.pl" program in the "examples" directory of the
2829 distribution.
2830 set_footer()
2832 The syntax of the set_footer() method is the same as set_header(), see
2833 above.
2834 repeat_rows($first_row, $last_row)
2836 Set the number of rows to repeat at the top of each printed page.
2837 For large Excel documents it is often desirable to have the first row
2839 or rows of the worksheet print out at the top of each page. This can be
2840 achieved by using the repeat_rows() method. The parameters $first_row
2841 and $last_row are zero based. The $last_row parameter is optional if
2842 you only wish to specify one row:
2843 $worksheet1->repeat_rows(0); # Repeat the first row
2845 $worksheet2->repeat_rows(0, 1); # Repeat the first two rows
2846 repeat_columns($first_col, $last_col)
2848 Set the columns to repeat at the left hand side of each printed page.
2849 For large Excel documents it is often desirable to have the first
2851 column or columns of the worksheet print out at the left hand side of
2852 each page. This can be achieved by using the repeat_columns() method.
2853 The parameters $first_column and $last_column are zero based. The
2854 $last_column parameter is optional if you only wish to specify one
2855 column. You can also specify the columns using A1 column notation, see
2856 the note about "Cell notation".
2857 $worksheet1->repeat_columns(0); # Repeat the first column
2859 $worksheet2->repeat_columns(0, 1); # Repeat the first two columns
2860 $worksheet3->repeat_columns('A:A'); # Repeat the first column
2861 $worksheet4->repeat_columns('A:B'); # Repeat the first two columns
2862 hide_gridlines($option)
2864 This method is used to hide the gridlines on the screen and printed
2865 page. Gridlines are the lines that divide the cells on a worksheet.
2866 Screen and printed gridlines are turned on by default in an Excel
2867 worksheet. If you have defined your own cell borders you may wish to
2868 hide the default gridlines.
2869 $worksheet->hide_gridlines();
2871 The following values of $option are valid:
2873 0 : Don't hide gridlines
2875 1 : Hide printed gridlines only
2876 2 : Hide screen and printed gridlines
2877 If you don't supply an argument or use "undef" the default option is 1,
2879 i.e. only the printed gridlines are hidden.
2880 print_row_col_headers()
2882 Set the option to print the row and column headers on the printed page.
2883 An Excel worksheet looks something like the following;
2885 ------------------------------------------
2887 | | A | B | C | D | ...
2888 ------------------------------------------
2889 | 1 | | | | | ...
2890 | 2 | | | | | ...
2891 | 3 | | | | | ...
2892 | 4 | | | | | ...
2893 |...| ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
2894 The headers are the letters and numbers at the top and the left of the
2896 worksheet. Since these headers serve mainly as a indication of position
2897 on the worksheet they generally do not appear on the printed page. If
2898 you wish to have them printed you can use the print_row_col_headers()
2899 method :
2900 $worksheet->print_row_col_headers();
2902 Do not confuse these headers with page headers as described in the
2904 set_header() section above.
2905 print_area($first_row, $first_col, $last_row, $last_col)
2907 This method is used to specify the area of the worksheet that will be
2908 printed. All four parameters must be specified. You can also use A1
2909 notation, see the note about "Cell notation".
2910 $worksheet1->print_area('A1:H20'); # Cells A1 to H20
2912 $worksheet2->print_area(0, 0, 19, 7); # The same
2913 $worksheet2->print_area('A:H'); # Columns A to H if rows have data
2914 print_across()
2916 The "print_across" method is used to change the default print
2917 direction. This is referred to by Excel as the sheet "page order".
2918 $worksheet->print_across();
2920 The default page order is shown below for a worksheet that extends over
2922 4 pages. The order is called "down then across":
2923 [1] [3]
2925 [2] [4]
2926 However, by using the "print_across" method the print order will be
2928 changed to "across then down":
2929 [1] [2]
2931 [3] [4]
2932 fit_to_pages($width, $height)
2934 The fit_to_pages() method is used to fit the printed area to a specific
2935 number of pages both vertically and horizontally. If the printed area
2936 exceeds the specified number of pages it will be scaled down to fit.
2937 This guarantees that the printed area will always appear on the
2938 specified number of pages even if the page size or margins change.
2939 $worksheet1->fit_to_pages(1, 1); # Fit to 1x1 pages
2941 $worksheet2->fit_to_pages(2, 1); # Fit to 2x1 pages
2942 $worksheet3->fit_to_pages(1, 2); # Fit to 1x2 pages
2943 The print area can be defined using the print_area() method as
2945 described above.
2946 A common requirement is to fit the printed output to n pages wide but
2948 have the height be as long as necessary. To achieve this set the
2949 $height to zero or leave it blank:
2950 $worksheet1->fit_to_pages(1, 0); # 1 page wide and as long as necessary
2952 $worksheet2->fit_to_pages(1); # The same
2953 Note that although it is valid to use both fit_to_pages() and
2955 set_print_scale() on the same worksheet only one of these options can
2956 be active at a time. The last method call made will set the active
2957 option.
2958 Note that fit_to_pages() will override any manual page breaks that are
2960 defined in the worksheet.
2961 set_start_page($start_page)
2963 The set_start_page() method is used to set the number of the starting
2964 page when the worksheet is printed out. The default value is 1.
2965 $worksheet->set_start_page(2);
2967 set_print_scale($scale)
2969 Set the scale factor of the printed page. Scale factors in the range
2970 "10 <= $scale <= 400" are valid:
2971 $worksheet1->set_print_scale(50);
2973 $worksheet2->set_print_scale(75);
2974 $worksheet3->set_print_scale(300);
2975 $worksheet4->set_print_scale(400);
2976 The default scale factor is 100. Note, set_print_scale() does not
2978 affect the scale of the visible page in Excel. For that you should use
2979 set_zoom().
2980 Note also that although it is valid to use both fit_to_pages() and
2982 set_print_scale() on the same worksheet only one of these options can
2983 be active at a time. The last method call made will set the active
2984 option.
2985 set_h_pagebreaks(@breaks)
2987 Add horizontal page breaks to a worksheet. A page break causes all the
2988 data that follows it to be printed on the next page. Horizontal page
2989 breaks act between rows. To create a page break between rows 20 and 21
2990 you must specify the break at row 21. However in zero index notation
2991 this is actually row 20. So you can pretend for a small while that you
2992 are using 1 index notation:
2993 $worksheet1->set_h_pagebreaks(20); # Break between row 20 and 21
2995 The set_h_pagebreaks() method will accept a list of page breaks and you
2997 can call it more than once:
2998 $worksheet2->set_h_pagebreaks( 20, 40, 60, 80, 100); # Add breaks
3000 $worksheet2->set_h_pagebreaks(120, 140, 160, 180, 200); # Add some more
3001 Note: If you specify the "fit to page" option via the fit_to_pages()
3003 method it will override all manual page breaks.
3004 There is a silent limitation of about 1000 horizontal page breaks per
3006 worksheet in line with an Excel internal limitation.
3007 set_v_pagebreaks(@breaks)
3009 Add vertical page breaks to a worksheet. A page break causes all the
3010 data that follows it to be printed on the next page. Vertical page
3011 breaks act between columns. To create a page break between columns 20
3012 and 21 you must specify the break at column 21. However in zero index
3013 notation this is actually column 20. So you can pretend for a small
3014 while that you are using 1 index notation:
3015 $worksheet1->set_v_pagebreaks(20); # Break between column 20 and 21
3017 The set_v_pagebreaks() method will accept a list of page breaks and you
3019 can call it more than once:
3020 $worksheet2->set_v_pagebreaks( 20, 40, 60, 80, 100); # Add breaks
3022 $worksheet2->set_v_pagebreaks(120, 140, 160, 180, 200); # Add some more
3023 Note: If you specify the "fit to page" option via the fit_to_pages()
3025 method it will override all manual page breaks.
3026
3028 This section describes the methods and properties that are available
3029 for formatting cells in Excel. The properties of a cell that can be
3030 formatted include: fonts, colours, patterns, borders, alignment and
3031 number formatting.
3032 Creating and using a Format object
3034 Cell formatting is defined through a Format object. Format objects are
3035 created by calling the workbook add_format() method as follows:
3036 my $format1 = $workbook->add_format(); # Set properties later
3038 my $format2 = $workbook->add_format(%props); # Set at creation
3039 The format object holds all the formatting properties that can be
3041 applied to a cell, a row or a column. The process of setting these
3042 properties is discussed in the next section.
3043 Once a Format object has been constructed and its properties have been
3045 set it can be passed as an argument to the worksheet "write" methods as
3046 follows:
3047 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'One', $format);
3049 $worksheet->write_string(1, 0, 'Two', $format);
3050 $worksheet->write_number(2, 0, 3, $format);
3051 $worksheet->write_blank(3, 0, $format);
3052 Formats can also be passed to the worksheet set_row() and set_column()
3054 methods to define the default property for a row or column.
3055 $worksheet->set_row(0, 15, $format);
3057 $worksheet->set_column(0, 0, 15, $format);
3058 Format methods and Format properties
3060 The following table shows the Excel format categories, the formatting
3061 properties that can be applied and the equivalent object method:
3062 Category Description Property Method Name
3064 -------- ----------- -------- -----------
3065 Font Font type font set_font()
3066 Font size size set_size()
3067 Font color color set_color()
3068 Bold bold set_bold()
3069 Italic italic set_italic()
3070 Underline underline set_underline()
3071 Strikeout font_strikeout set_font_strikeout()
3072 Super/Subscript font_script set_font_script()
3073 Outline font_outline set_font_outline()
3074 Shadow font_shadow set_font_shadow()
3075 Number Numeric format num_format set_num_format()
3077 Protection Lock cells locked set_locked()
3079 Hide formulas hidden set_hidden()
3080 Alignment Horizontal align align set_align()
3082 Vertical align valign set_align()
3083 Rotation rotation set_rotation()
3084 Text wrap text_wrap set_text_wrap()
3085 Justify last text_justlast set_text_justlast()
3086 Center across center_across set_center_across()
3087 Indentation indent set_indent()
3088 Shrink to fit shrink set_shrink()
3089 Pattern Cell pattern pattern set_pattern()
3091 Background color bg_color set_bg_color()
3092 Foreground color fg_color set_fg_color()
3093 Border Cell border border set_border()
3095 Bottom border bottom set_bottom()
3096 Top border top set_top()
3097 Left border left set_left()
3098 Right border right set_right()
3099 Border color border_color set_border_color()
3100 Bottom color bottom_color set_bottom_color()
3101 Top color top_color set_top_color()
3102 Left color left_color set_left_color()
3103 Right color right_color set_right_color()
3104 There are two ways of setting Format properties: by using the object
3106 method interface or by setting the property directly. For example, a
3107 typical use of the method interface would be as follows:
3108 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3110 $format->set_bold();
3111 $format->set_color('red');
3112 By comparison the properties can be set directly by passing a hash of
3114 properties to the Format constructor:
3115 my $format = $workbook->add_format(bold => 1, color => 'red');
3117 or after the Format has been constructed by means of the
3119 set_format_properties() method as follows:
3120 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3122 $format->set_format_properties(bold => 1, color => 'red');
3123 You can also store the properties in one or more named hashes and pass
3125 them to the required method:
3126 my %font = (
3128 font => 'Arial',
3129 size => 12,
3130 color => 'blue',
3131 bold => 1,
3132 );
3133 my %shading = (
3135 bg_color => 'green',
3136 pattern => 1,
3137 );
3138 my $format1 = $workbook->add_format(%font); # Font only
3141 my $format2 = $workbook->add_format(%font, %shading); # Font and shading
3142 The provision of two ways of setting properties might lead you to
3144 wonder which is the best way. The method mechanism may be better is you
3145 prefer setting properties via method calls (which the author did when
3146 the code was first written) otherwise passing properties to the
3147 constructor has proved to be a little more flexible and self
3148 documenting in practice. An additional advantage of working with
3149 property hashes is that it allows you to share formatting between
3150 workbook objects as shown in the example above.
3151 The Perl/Tk style of adding properties is also supported:
3153 my %font = (
3155 -font => 'Arial',
3156 -size => 12,
3157 -color => 'blue',
3158 -bold => 1,
3159 );
3160 Working with formats
3162 The default format is Arial 10 with all other properties off.
3163 Each unique format in Spreadsheet::WriteExcel must have a corresponding
3165 Format object. It isn't possible to use a Format with a write() method
3166 and then redefine the Format for use at a later stage. This is because
3167 a Format is applied to a cell not in its current state but in its final
3168 state. Consider the following example:
3169 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3171 $format->set_bold();
3172 $format->set_color('red');
3173 $worksheet->write('A1', 'Cell A1', $format);
3174 $format->set_color('green');
3175 $worksheet->write('B1', 'Cell B1', $format);
3176 Cell A1 is assigned the Format $format which is initially set to the
3178 colour red. However, the colour is subsequently set to green. When
3179 Excel displays Cell A1 it will display the final state of the Format
3180 which in this case will be the colour green.
3181 In general a method call without an argument will turn a property on,
3183 for example:
3184 my $format1 = $workbook->add_format();
3186 $format1->set_bold(); # Turns bold on
3187 $format1->set_bold(1); # Also turns bold on
3188 $format1->set_bold(0); # Turns bold off
3189
3191 The Format object methods are described in more detail in the following
3192 sections. In addition, there is a Perl program called "formats.pl" in
3193 the "examples" directory of the WriteExcel distribution. This program
3194 creates an Excel workbook called "formats.xls" which contains examples
3195 of almost all the format types.
3196 The following Format methods are available:
3198 set_font()
3200 set_size()
3201 set_color()
3202 set_bold()
3203 set_italic()
3204 set_underline()
3205 set_font_strikeout()
3206 set_font_script()
3207 set_font_outline()
3208 set_font_shadow()
3209 set_num_format()
3210 set_locked()
3211 set_hidden()
3212 set_align()
3213 set_rotation()
3214 set_text_wrap()
3215 set_text_justlast()
3216 set_center_across()
3217 set_indent()
3218 set_shrink()
3219 set_pattern()
3220 set_bg_color()
3221 set_fg_color()
3222 set_border()
3223 set_bottom()
3224 set_top()
3225 set_left()
3226 set_right()
3227 set_border_color()
3228 set_bottom_color()
3229 set_top_color()
3230 set_left_color()
3231 set_right_color()
3232 The above methods can also be applied directly as properties. For
3234 example "$format->set_bold()" is equivalent to
3235 "$workbook->add_format(bold => 1)".
3236 set_format_properties(%properties)
3238 The properties of an existing Format object can be also be set by means
3239 of set_format_properties():
3240 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3242 $format->set_format_properties(bold => 1, color => 'red');
3243 However, this method is here mainly for legacy reasons. It is
3245 preferable to set the properties in the format constructor:
3246 my $format = $workbook->add_format(bold => 1, color => 'red');
3248 set_font($fontname)
3250 Default state: Font is Arial
3251 Default action: None
3252 Valid args: Any valid font name
3253 Specify the font used:
3255 $format->set_font('Times New Roman');
3257 Excel can only display fonts that are installed on the system that it
3259 is running on. Therefore it is best to use the fonts that come as
3260 standard such as 'Arial', 'Times New Roman' and 'Courier New'. See also
3261 the Fonts worksheet created by formats.pl
3262 set_size()
3264 Default state: Font size is 10
3265 Default action: Set font size to 1
3266 Valid args: Integer values from 1 to as big as your screen.
3267 Set the font size. Excel adjusts the height of a row to accommodate the
3269 largest font size in the row. You can also explicitly specify the
3270 height of a row using the set_row() worksheet method.
3271 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3273 $format->set_size(30);
3274 set_color()
3276 Default state: Excels default color, usually black
3277 Default action: Set the default color
3278 Valid args: Integers from 8..63 or the following strings:
3279 'black'
3280 'blue'
3281 'brown'
3282 'cyan'
3283 'gray'
3284 'green'
3285 'lime'
3286 'magenta'
3287 'navy'
3288 'orange'
3289 'pink'
3290 'purple'
3291 'red'
3292 'silver'
3293 'white'
3294 'yellow'
3295 Set the font colour. The set_color() method is used as follows:
3297 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3299 $format->set_color('red');
3300 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'wheelbarrow', $format);
3301 Note: The set_color() method is used to set the colour of the font in a
3303 cell. To set the colour of a cell use the set_bg_color() and
3304 set_pattern() methods.
3305 For additional examples see the 'Named colors' and 'Standard colors'
3307 worksheets created by formats.pl in the examples directory.
3308 See also "COLOURS IN EXCEL".
3310 set_bold()
3312 Default state: bold is off
3313 Default action: Turn bold on
3314 Valid args: 0, 1 [1]
3315 Set the bold property of the font:
3317 $format->set_bold(); # Turn bold on
3319 [1] Actually, values in the range 100..1000 are also valid. 400 is
3321 normal, 700 is bold and 1000 is very bold indeed. It is probably best
3322 to set the value to 1 and use normal bold.
3323 set_italic()
3325 Default state: Italic is off
3326 Default action: Turn italic on
3327 Valid args: 0, 1
3328 Set the italic property of the font:
3330 $format->set_italic(); # Turn italic on
3332 set_underline()
3334 Default state: Underline is off
3335 Default action: Turn on single underline
3336 Valid args: 0 = No underline
3337 1 = Single underline
3338 2 = Double underline
3339 33 = Single accounting underline
3340 34 = Double accounting underline
3341 Set the underline property of the font.
3343 $format->set_underline(); # Single underline
3345 set_font_strikeout()
3347 Default state: Strikeout is off
3348 Default action: Turn strikeout on
3349 Valid args: 0, 1
3350 Set the strikeout property of the font.
3352 set_font_script()
3354 Default state: Super/Subscript is off
3355 Default action: Turn Superscript on
3356 Valid args: 0 = Normal
3357 1 = Superscript
3358 2 = Subscript
3359 Set the superscript/subscript property of the font. This format is
3361 currently not very useful.
3362 set_font_outline()
3364 Default state: Outline is off
3365 Default action: Turn outline on
3366 Valid args: 0, 1
3367 Macintosh only.
3369 set_font_shadow()
3371 Default state: Shadow is off
3372 Default action: Turn shadow on
3373 Valid args: 0, 1
3374 Macintosh only.
3376 set_num_format()
3378 Default state: General format
3379 Default action: Format index 1
3380 Valid args: See the following table
3381 This method is used to define the numerical format of a number in
3383 Excel. It controls whether a number is displayed as an integer, a
3384 floating point number, a date, a currency value or some other user
3385 defined format.
3386 The numerical format of a cell can be specified by using a format
3388 string or an index to one of Excel's built-in formats:
3389 my $format1 = $workbook->add_format();
3391 my $format2 = $workbook->add_format();
3392 $format1->set_num_format('d mmm yyyy'); # Format string
3393 $format2->set_num_format(0x0f); # Format index
3394 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 36892.521, $format1); # 1 Jan 2001
3396 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 36892.521, $format2); # 1-Jan-01
3397 Using format strings you can define very sophisticated formatting of
3399 numbers.
3400 $format01->set_num_format('0.000');
3402 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 3.1415926, $format01); # 3.142
3403 $format02->set_num_format('#,##0');
3405 $worksheet->write(1, 0, 1234.56, $format02); # 1,235
3406 $format03->set_num_format('#,##0.00');
3408 $worksheet->write(2, 0, 1234.56, $format03); # 1,234.56
3409 $format04->set_num_format('$0.00');
3411 $worksheet->write(3, 0, 49.99, $format04); # $49.99
3412 # Note you can use other currency symbols such as the pound or yen as well.
3414 # Other currencies may require the use of Unicode.
3415 $format07->set_num_format('mm/dd/yy');
3417 $worksheet->write(6, 0, 36892.521, $format07); # 01/01/01
3418 $format08->set_num_format('mmm d yyyy');
3420 $worksheet->write(7, 0, 36892.521, $format08); # Jan 1 2001
3421 $format09->set_num_format('d mmmm yyyy');
3423 $worksheet->write(8, 0, 36892.521, $format09); # 1 January 2001
3424 $format10->set_num_format('dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm AM/PM');
3426 $worksheet->write(9, 0, 36892.521, $format10); # 01/01/2001 12:30 AM
3427 $format11->set_num_format('0 "dollar and" .00 "cents"');
3429 $worksheet->write(10, 0, 1.87, $format11); # 1 dollar and .87 cents
3430 # Conditional formatting
3432 $format12->set_num_format('[Green]General;[Red]-General;General');
3433 $worksheet->write(11, 0, 123, $format12); # > 0 Green
3434 $worksheet->write(12, 0, -45, $format12); # < 0 Red
3435 $worksheet->write(13, 0, 0, $format12); # = 0 Default colour
3436 # Zip code
3438 $format13->set_num_format('00000');
3439 $worksheet->write(14, 0, '01209', $format13);
3440 The number system used for dates is described in "DATES AND TIME IN
3442 EXCEL".
3443 The colour format should have one of the following values:
3445 [Black] [Blue] [Cyan] [Green] [Magenta] [Red] [White] [Yellow]
3447 Alternatively you can specify the colour based on a colour index as
3449 follows: "[Color n]", where n is a standard Excel colour index - 7. See
3450 the 'Standard colors' worksheet created by formats.pl.
3451 For more information refer to the documentation on formatting in the
3453 "docs" directory of the Spreadsheet::WriteExcel distro, the Excel on-
3454 line help or
3455 <http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/assistance/HP051995001033.aspx>.
3456 You should ensure that the format string is valid in Excel prior to
3458 using it in WriteExcel.
3459 Excel's built-in formats are shown in the following table:
3461 Index Index Format String
3463 0 0x00 General
3464 1 0x01 0
3465 2 0x02 0.00
3466 3 0x03 #,##0
3467 4 0x04 #,##0.00
3468 5 0x05 ($#,##0_);($#,##0)
3469 6 0x06 ($#,##0_);[Red]($#,##0)
3470 7 0x07 ($#,##0.00_);($#,##0.00)
3471 8 0x08 ($#,##0.00_);[Red]($#,##0.00)
3472 9 0x09 0%
3473 10 0x0a 0.00%
3474 11 0x0b 0.00E+00
3475 12 0x0c # ?/?
3476 13 0x0d # ??/??
3477 14 0x0e m/d/yy
3478 15 0x0f d-mmm-yy
3479 16 0x10 d-mmm
3480 17 0x11 mmm-yy
3481 18 0x12 h:mm AM/PM
3482 19 0x13 h:mm:ss AM/PM
3483 20 0x14 h:mm
3484 21 0x15 h:mm:ss
3485 22 0x16 m/d/yy h:mm
3486 .. .... ...........
3487 37 0x25 (#,##0_);(#,##0)
3488 38 0x26 (#,##0_);[Red](#,##0)
3489 39 0x27 (#,##0.00_);(#,##0.00)
3490 40 0x28 (#,##0.00_);[Red](#,##0.00)
3491 41 0x29 _(* #,##0_);_(* (#,##0);_(* "-"_);_(@_)
3492 42 0x2a _($* #,##0_);_($* (#,##0);_($* "-"_);_(@_)
3493 43 0x2b _(* #,##0.00_);_(* (#,##0.00);_(* "-"??_);_(@_)
3494 44 0x2c _($* #,##0.00_);_($* (#,##0.00);_($* "-"??_);_(@_)
3495 45 0x2d mm:ss
3496 46 0x2e [h]:mm:ss
3497 47 0x2f mm:ss.0
3498 48 0x30 ##0.0E+0
3499 49 0x31 @
3500 For examples of these formatting codes see the 'Numerical formats'
3502 worksheet created by formats.pl. See also the number_formats1.html and
3503 the number_formats2.html documents in the "docs" directory of the
3504 distro.
3505 Note 1. Numeric formats 23 to 36 are not documented by Microsoft and
3507 may differ in international versions.
3508 Note 2. In Excel 5 the dollar sign appears as a dollar sign. In Excel
3510 97-2000 it appears as the defined local currency symbol.
3511 Note 3. The red negative numeric formats display slightly differently
3513 in Excel 5 and Excel 97-2000.
3514 set_locked()
3516 Default state: Cell locking is on
3517 Default action: Turn locking on
3518 Valid args: 0, 1
3519 This property can be used to prevent modification of a cells contents.
3521 Following Excel's convention, cell locking is turned on by default.
3522 However, it only has an effect if the worksheet has been protected, see
3523 the worksheet protect() method.
3524 my $locked = $workbook->add_format();
3526 $locked->set_locked(1); # A non-op
3527 my $unlocked = $workbook->add_format();
3529 $locked->set_locked(0);
3530 # Enable worksheet protection
3532 $worksheet->protect();
3533 # This cell cannot be edited.
3535 $worksheet->write('A1', '=1+2', $locked);
3536 # This cell can be edited.
3538 $worksheet->write('A2', '=1+2', $unlocked);
3539 Note: This offers weak protection even with a password, see the note in
3541 relation to the protect() method.
3542 set_hidden()
3544 Default state: Formula hiding is off
3545 Default action: Turn hiding on
3546 Valid args: 0, 1
3547 This property is used to hide a formula while still displaying its
3549 result. This is generally used to hide complex calculations from end
3550 users who are only interested in the result. It only has an effect if
3551 the worksheet has been protected, see the worksheet protect() method.
3552 my $hidden = $workbook->add_format();
3554 $hidden->set_hidden();
3555 # Enable worksheet protection
3557 $worksheet->protect();
3558 # The formula in this cell isn't visible
3560 $worksheet->write('A1', '=1+2', $hidden);
3561 Note: This offers weak protection even with a password, see the note in
3563 relation to the protect() method.
3564 set_align()
3566 Default state: Alignment is off
3567 Default action: Left alignment
3568 Valid args: 'left' Horizontal
3569 'center'
3570 'right'
3571 'fill'
3572 'justify'
3573 'center_across'
3574 'top' Vertical
3576 'vcenter'
3577 'bottom'
3578 'vjustify'
3579 This method is used to set the horizontal and vertical text alignment
3581 within a cell. Vertical and horizontal alignments can be combined. The
3582 method is used as follows:
3583 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3585 $format->set_align('center');
3586 $format->set_align('vcenter');
3587 $worksheet->set_row(0, 30);
3588 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'X', $format);
3589 Text can be aligned across two or more adjacent cells using the
3591 "center_across" property. However, for genuine merged cells it is
3592 better to use the merge_range() worksheet method.
3593 The "vjustify" (vertical justify) option can be used to provide
3595 automatic text wrapping in a cell. The height of the cell will be
3596 adjusted to accommodate the wrapped text. To specify where the text
3597 wraps use the set_text_wrap() method.
3598 For further examples see the 'Alignment' worksheet created by
3600 formats.pl.
3601 set_center_across()
3603 Default state: Center across selection is off
3604 Default action: Turn center across on
3605 Valid args: 1
3606 Text can be aligned across two or more adjacent cells using the
3608 set_center_across() method. This is an alias for the
3609 set_align('center_across') method call.
3610 Only one cell should contain the text, the other cells should be blank:
3612 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3614 $format->set_center_across();
3615 $worksheet->write(1, 1, 'Center across selection', $format);
3617 $worksheet->write_blank(1, 2, $format);
3618 See also the "merge1.pl" to "merge6.pl" programs in the "examples"
3620 directory and the merge_range() method.
3621 set_text_wrap()
3623 Default state: Text wrap is off
3624 Default action: Turn text wrap on
3625 Valid args: 0, 1
3626 Here is an example using the text wrap property, the escape character
3628 "\n" is used to indicate the end of line:
3629 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3631 $format->set_text_wrap();
3632 $worksheet->write(0, 0, "It's\na bum\nwrap", $format);
3633 Excel will adjust the height of the row to accommodate the wrapped
3635 text. A similar effect can be obtained without newlines using the
3636 set_align('vjustify') method. See the "textwrap.pl" program in the
3637 "examples" directory.
3638 set_rotation()
3640 Default state: Text rotation is off
3641 Default action: None
3642 Valid args: Integers in the range -90 to 90 and 270
3643 Set the rotation of the text in a cell. The rotation can be any angle
3645 in the range -90 to 90 degrees.
3646 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3648 $format->set_rotation(30);
3649 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'This text is rotated', $format);
3650 The angle 270 is also supported. This indicates text where the letters
3652 run from top to bottom.
3653 set_indent()
3655 Default state: Text indentation is off
3656 Default action: Indent text 1 level
3657 Valid args: Positive integers
3658 This method can be used to indent text. The argument, which should be
3660 an integer, is taken as the level of indentation:
3661 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3663 $format->set_indent(2);
3664 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'This text is indented', $format);
3665 Indentation is a horizontal alignment property. It will override any
3667 other horizontal properties but it can be used in conjunction with
3668 vertical properties.
3669 set_shrink()
3671 Default state: Text shrinking is off
3672 Default action: Turn "shrink to fit" on
3673 Valid args: 1
3674 This method can be used to shrink text so that it fits in a cell.
3676 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3678 $format->set_shrink();
3679 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'Honey, I shrunk the text!', $format);
3680 set_text_justlast()
3682 Default state: Justify last is off
3683 Default action: Turn justify last on
3684 Valid args: 0, 1
3685 Only applies to Far Eastern versions of Excel.
3687 set_pattern()
3689 Default state: Pattern is off
3690 Default action: Solid fill is on
3691 Valid args: 0 .. 18
3692 Set the background pattern of a cell.
3694 Examples of the available patterns are shown in the 'Patterns'
3696 worksheet created by formats.pl. However, it is unlikely that you will
3697 ever need anything other than Pattern 1 which is a solid fill of the
3698 background color.
3699 set_bg_color()
3701 Default state: Color is off
3702 Default action: Solid fill.
3703 Valid args: See set_color()
3704 The set_bg_color() method can be used to set the background colour of a
3706 pattern. Patterns are defined via the set_pattern() method. If a
3707 pattern hasn't been defined then a solid fill pattern is used as the
3708 default.
3709 Here is an example of how to set up a solid fill in a cell:
3711 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
3713 $format->set_pattern(); # This is optional when using a solid fill
3715 $format->set_bg_color('green');
3717 $worksheet->write('A1', 'Ray', $format);
3718 For further examples see the 'Patterns' worksheet created by
3720 formats.pl.
3721 set_fg_color()
3723 Default state: Color is off
3724 Default action: Solid fill.
3725 Valid args: See set_color()
3726 The set_fg_color() method can be used to set the foreground colour of a
3728 pattern.
3729 For further examples see the 'Patterns' worksheet created by
3731 formats.pl.
3732 set_border()
3734 Also applies to: set_bottom()
3735 set_top()
3736 set_left()
3737 set_right()
3738 Default state: Border is off
3740 Default action: Set border type 1
3741 Valid args: 0-13, See below.
3742 A cell border is comprised of a border on the bottom, top, left and
3744 right. These can be set to the same value using set_border() or
3745 individually using the relevant method calls shown above.
3746 The following shows the border styles sorted by Spreadsheet::WriteExcel
3748 index number:
3749 Index Name Weight Style
3751 ===== ============= ====== ===========
3752 0 None 0
3753 1 Continuous 1 -----------
3754 2 Continuous 2 -----------
3755 3 Dash 1 - - - - - -
3756 4 Dot 1 . . . . . .
3757 5 Continuous 3 -----------
3758 6 Double 3 ===========
3759 7 Continuous 0 -----------
3760 8 Dash 2 - - - - - -
3761 9 Dash Dot 1 - . - . - .
3762 10 Dash Dot 2 - . - . - .
3763 11 Dash Dot Dot 1 - . . - . .
3764 12 Dash Dot Dot 2 - . . - . .
3765 13 SlantDash Dot 2 / - . / - .
3766 The following shows the borders sorted by style:
3768 Name Weight Style Index
3770 ============= ====== =========== =====
3771 Continuous 0 ----------- 7
3772 Continuous 1 ----------- 1
3773 Continuous 2 ----------- 2
3774 Continuous 3 ----------- 5
3775 Dash 1 - - - - - - 3
3776 Dash 2 - - - - - - 8
3777 Dash Dot 1 - . - . - . 9
3778 Dash Dot 2 - . - . - . 10
3779 Dash Dot Dot 1 - . . - . . 11
3780 Dash Dot Dot 2 - . . - . . 12
3781 Dot 1 . . . . . . 4
3782 Double 3 =========== 6
3783 None 0 0
3784 SlantDash Dot 2 / - . / - . 13
3785 The following shows the borders in the order shown in the Excel Dialog.
3787 Index Style Index Style
3789 ===== ===== ===== =====
3790 0 None 12 - . . - . .
3791 7 ----------- 13 / - . / - .
3792 4 . . . . . . 10 - . - . - .
3793 11 - . . - . . 8 - - - - - -
3794 9 - . - . - . 2 -----------
3795 3 - - - - - - 5 -----------
3796 1 ----------- 6 ===========
3797 Examples of the available border styles are shown in the 'Borders'
3799 worksheet created by formats.pl.
3800 set_border_color()
3802 Also applies to: set_bottom_color()
3803 set_top_color()
3804 set_left_color()
3805 set_right_color()
3806 Default state: Color is off
3808 Default action: Undefined
3809 Valid args: See set_color()
3810 Set the colour of the cell borders. A cell border is comprised of a
3812 border on the bottom, top, left and right. These can be set to the same
3813 colour using set_border_color() or individually using the relevant
3814 method calls shown above. Examples of the border styles and colours are
3815 shown in the 'Borders' worksheet created by formats.pl.
3816 copy($format)
3818 This method is used to copy all of the properties from one Format
3819 object to another:
3820 my $lorry1 = $workbook->add_format();
3822 $lorry1->set_bold();
3823 $lorry1->set_italic();
3824 $lorry1->set_color('red'); # lorry1 is bold, italic and red
3825 my $lorry2 = $workbook->add_format();
3827 $lorry2->copy($lorry1);
3828 $lorry2->set_color('yellow'); # lorry2 is bold, italic and yellow
3829 The copy() method is only useful if you are using the method interface
3831 to Format properties. It generally isn't required if you are setting
3832 Format properties directly using hashes.
3833 Note: this is not a copy constructor, both objects must exist prior to
3835 copying.
3836
3838 The following is a brief introduction to handling Unicode in
3839 "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel".
3840 For a more general introduction to Unicode handling in Perl see
3842 perlunitut and perluniintro.
3843 When using Spreadsheet::WriteExcel the best and easiest way to write
3845 unicode strings to an Excel file is to use "UTF-8" encoded strings and
3846 perl 5.8 (or later). Spreadsheet::WriteExcel also allows you to write
3847 unicode strings using older perls but it generally requires more work,
3848 as explained below.
3849 Internally, Excel encodes unicode data as "UTF-16LE" (where LE means
3851 little-endian). If you are using perl 5.8+ then Spreadsheet::WriteExcel
3852 will convert "UTF-8" strings to "UTF-16LE" when required. No further
3853 intervention is required from the programmer, for example:
3854 # perl 5.8+ example:
3856 my $smiley = "\x{263A}";
3857 $worksheet->write('A1', 'Hello world'); # ASCII
3859 $worksheet->write('A2', $smiley); # UTF-8
3860 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel also lets you write unicode data as "UTF-16".
3862 Since the majority of CPAN modules default to "UTF-16BE" (big-endian)
3863 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel also uses "UTF-16BE" and converts it internally
3864 to "UTF-16LE":
3865 # perl 5.005 example:
3867 my $smiley = pack 'n', 0x263A;
3868 $worksheet->write ('A3', 'Hello world'); # ASCII
3870 $worksheet->write_utf16be_string('A4', $smiley); # UTF-16
3871 Although the above examples look similar there is an important
3873 difference. With "uft8" and perl 5.8+ Spreadsheet::WriteExcel treats
3874 "UTF-8" strings in exactly the same way as any other string. However,
3875 with "UTF16" data we need to distinguish it from other strings either
3876 by calling a separate function or by passing an additional flag to
3877 indicate the data type.
3878 If you are dealing with non-ASCII characters that aren't in "UTF-8"
3880 then perl 5.8+ provides useful tools in the guise of the "Encode"
3881 module to help you to convert to the required format. For example:
3882 use Encode 'decode';
3884 my $string = 'some string with koi8-r characters';
3886 $string = decode('koi8-r', $string); # koi8-r to utf8
3887 Alternatively you can read data from an encoded file and convert it to
3889 "UTF-8" as you read it in:
3890 my $file = 'unicode_koi8r.txt';
3892 open FH, '<:encoding(koi8-r)', $file or die "Couldn't open $file: $!\n";
3893 my $row = 0;
3895 while (<FH>) {
3896 # Data read in is now in utf8 format.
3897 chomp;
3898 $worksheet->write($row++, 0, $_);
3899 }
3900 These methodologies are explained in more detail in perlunitut,
3902 perluniintro and perlunicode.
3903 See also the "unicode_*.pl" programs in the examples directory of the
3905 distro.
3906
3908 Excel provides a colour palette of 56 colours. In
3909 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel these colours are accessed via their palette
3910 index in the range 8..63. This index is used to set the colour of
3911 fonts, cell patterns and cell borders. For example:
3912 my $format = $workbook->add_format(
3914 color => 12, # index for blue
3915 font => 'Arial',
3916 size => 12,
3917 bold => 1,
3918 );
3919 The most commonly used colours can also be accessed by name. The name
3921 acts as a simple alias for the colour index:
3922 black => 8
3924 blue => 12
3925 brown => 16
3926 cyan => 15
3927 gray => 23
3928 green => 17
3929 lime => 11
3930 magenta => 14
3931 navy => 18
3932 orange => 53
3933 pink => 33
3934 purple => 20
3935 red => 10
3936 silver => 22
3937 white => 9
3938 yellow => 13
3939 For example:
3941 my $font = $workbook->add_format(color => 'red');
3943 Users of VBA in Excel should note that the equivalent colour indices
3945 are in the range 1..56 instead of 8..63.
3946 If the default palette does not provide a required colour you can
3948 override one of the built-in values. This is achieved by using the
3949 set_custom_color() workbook method to adjust the RGB (red green blue)
3950 components of the colour:
3951 my $ferrari = $workbook->set_custom_color(40, 216, 12, 12);
3953 my $format = $workbook->add_format(
3955 bg_color => $ferrari,
3956 pattern => 1,
3957 border => 1
3958 );
3959 $worksheet->write_blank('A1', $format);
3961 The default Excel colour palette is shown in "palette.html" in the
3963 "docs" directory of the distro. You can generate an Excel version of
3964 the palette using "colors.pl" in the "examples" directory.
3965
3967 There are two important things to understand about dates and times in
3968 Excel:
3969 1 A date/time in Excel is a real number plus an Excel number format.
3971 2 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel doesn't automatically convert date/time
3972 strings in write() to an Excel date/time.
3973 These two points are explained in more detail below along with some
3975 suggestions on how to convert times and dates to the required format.
3976 An Excel date/time is a number plus a format
3978 If you write a date string with write() then all you will get is a
3979 string:
3980 $worksheet->write('A1', '02/03/04'); # !! Writes a string not a date. !!
3982 Dates and times in Excel are represented by real numbers, for example
3984 "Jan 1 2001 12:30 AM" is represented by the number 36892.521.
3985 The integer part of the number stores the number of days since the
3987 epoch and the fractional part stores the percentage of the day.
3988 A date or time in Excel is just like any other number. To have the
3990 number display as a date you must apply an Excel number format to it.
3991 Here are some examples.
3992 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
3994 use strict;
3996 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
3997 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('date_examples.xls');
3999 my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
4000 $worksheet->set_column('A:A', 30); # For extra visibility.
4002 my $number = 39506.5;
4004 $worksheet->write('A1', $number); # 39506.5
4006 my $format2 = $workbook->add_format(num_format => 'dd/mm/yy');
4008 $worksheet->write('A2', $number , $format2); # 28/02/08
4009 my $format3 = $workbook->add_format(num_format => 'mm/dd/yy');
4011 $worksheet->write('A3', $number , $format3); # 02/28/08
4012 my $format4 = $workbook->add_format(num_format => 'd-m-yyyy');
4014 $worksheet->write('A4', $number , $format4); # 28-2-2008
4015 my $format5 = $workbook->add_format(num_format => 'dd/mm/yy hh:mm');
4017 $worksheet->write('A5', $number , $format5); # 28/02/08 12:00
4018 my $format6 = $workbook->add_format(num_format => 'd mmm yyyy');
4020 $worksheet->write('A6', $number , $format6); # 28 Feb 2008
4021 my $format7 = $workbook->add_format(num_format => 'mmm d yyyy hh:mm AM/PM');
4023 $worksheet->write('A7', $number , $format7); # Feb 28 2008 12:00 PM
4024 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel doesn't automatically convert date/time strings
4026 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel doesn't automatically convert input date
4027 strings into Excel's formatted date numbers due to the large number of
4028 possible date formats and also due to the possibility of
4029 misinterpretation.
4030 For example, does "02/03/04" mean March 2 2004, February 3 2004 or even
4032 March 4 2002.
4033 Therefore, in order to handle dates you will have to convert them to
4035 numbers and apply an Excel format. Some methods for converting dates
4036 are listed in the next section.
4037 The most direct way is to convert your dates to the ISO8601
4039 "yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss.sss" date format and use the write_date_time()
4040 worksheet method:
4041 $worksheet->write_date_time('A2', '2001-01-01T12:20', $format);
4043 See the write_date_time() section of the documentation for more
4045 details.
4046 A general methodology for handling date strings with write_date_time()
4048 is:
4049 1. Identify incoming date/time strings with a regex.
4051 2. Extract the component parts of the date/time using the same regex.
4052 3. Convert the date/time to the ISO8601 format.
4053 4. Write the date/time using write_date_time() and a number format.
4054 Here is an example:
4056 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
4058 use strict;
4060 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
4061 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('example.xls');
4063 my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
4064 # Set the default format for dates.
4066 my $date_format = $workbook->add_format(num_format => 'mmm d yyyy');
4067 # Increase column width to improve visibility of data.
4069 $worksheet->set_column('A:C', 20);
4070 # Simulate reading from a data source.
4072 my $row = 0;
4073 while (<DATA>) {
4075 chomp;
4076 my $col = 0;
4078 my @data = split ' ';
4079 for my $item (@data) {
4081 # Match dates in the following formats: d/m/yy, d/m/yyyy
4083 if ($item =~ qr[^(\d{1,2})/(\d{1,2})/(\d{4})$]) {
4084 # Change to the date format required by write_date_time().
4086 my $date = sprintf "%4d-%02d-%02dT", $3, $2, $1;
4087 $worksheet->write_date_time($row, $col++, $date, $date_format);
4089 }
4090 else {
4091 # Just plain data
4092 $worksheet->write($row, $col++, $item);
4093 }
4094 }
4095 $row++;
4096 }
4097 __DATA__
4099 Item Cost Date
4100 Book 10 1/9/2007
4101 Beer 4 12/9/2007
4102 Bed 500 5/10/2007
4103 For a slightly more advanced solution you can modify the write() method
4105 to handle date formats of your choice via the add_write_handler()
4106 method. See the add_write_handler() section of the docs and the
4107 write_handler3.pl and write_handler4.pl programs in the examples
4108 directory of the distro.
4109 Converting dates and times to an Excel date or time
4111 The write_date_time() method above is just one way of handling dates
4112 and times.
4113 The Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility module which is included in the
4115 distro has date/time handling functions:
4116 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility;
4118 $date = xl_date_list(2002, 1, 1); # 37257
4120 $date = xl_parse_date("11 July 1997"); # 35622
4121 $time = xl_parse_time('3:21:36 PM'); # 0.64
4122 $date = xl_decode_date_EU("13 May 2002"); # 37389
4123 Note: some of these functions require additional CPAN modules.
4125 For date conversions using the CPAN "DateTime" framework see
4127 DateTime::Format::Excel
4128 <http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=DateTime-Format-Excel>.
4129
4131 Excel allows you to group rows or columns so that they can be hidden or
4132 displayed with a single mouse click. This feature is referred to as
4133 outlines.
4134 Outlines can reduce complex data down to a few salient sub-totals or
4136 summaries.
4137 This feature is best viewed in Excel but the following is an ASCII
4139 representation of what a worksheet with three outlines might look like.
4140 Rows 3-4 and rows 7-8 are grouped at level 2. Rows 2-9 are grouped at
4141 level 1. The lines at the left hand side are called outline level bars.
4142 ------------------------------------------
4144 1 2 3 | | A | B | C | D | ...
4145 ------------------------------------------
4146 _ | 1 | A | | | | ...
4147 | _ | 2 | B | | | | ...
4148 | | | 3 | (C) | | | | ...
4149 | | | 4 | (D) | | | | ...
4150 | - | 5 | E | | | | ...
4151 | _ | 6 | F | | | | ...
4152 | | | 7 | (G) | | | | ...
4153 | | | 8 | (H) | | | | ...
4154 | - | 9 | I | | | | ...
4155 - | . | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
4156 Clicking the minus sign on each of the level 2 outlines will collapse
4158 and hide the data as shown in the next figure. The minus sign changes
4159 to a plus sign to indicate that the data in the outline is hidden.
4160 ------------------------------------------
4162 1 2 3 | | A | B | C | D | ...
4163 ------------------------------------------
4164 _ | 1 | A | | | | ...
4165 | | 2 | B | | | | ...
4166 | + | 5 | E | | | | ...
4167 | | 6 | F | | | | ...
4168 | + | 9 | I | | | | ...
4169 - | . | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
4170 Clicking on the minus sign on the level 1 outline will collapse the
4172 remaining rows as follows:
4173 ------------------------------------------
4175 1 2 3 | | A | B | C | D | ...
4176 ------------------------------------------
4177 | 1 | A | | | | ...
4178 + | . | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
4179 Grouping in "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel" is achieved by setting the
4181 outline level via the set_row() and set_column() worksheet methods:
4182 set_row($row, $height, $format, $hidden, $level, $collapsed)
4184 set_column($first_col, $last_col, $width, $format, $hidden, $level, $collapsed)
4185 The following example sets an outline level of 1 for rows 1 and 2
4187 (zero-indexed) and columns B to G. The parameters $height and $XF are
4188 assigned default values since they are undefined:
4189 $worksheet->set_row(1, undef, undef, 0, 1);
4191 $worksheet->set_row(2, undef, undef, 0, 1);
4192 $worksheet->set_column('B:G', undef, undef, 0, 1);
4193 Excel allows up to 7 outline levels. Therefore the $level parameter
4195 should be in the range "0 <= $level <= 7".
4196 Rows and columns can be collapsed by setting the $hidden flag for the
4198 hidden rows/columns and setting the $collapsed flag for the row/column
4199 that has the collapsed "+" symbol:
4200 $worksheet->set_row(1, undef, undef, 1, 1);
4202 $worksheet->set_row(2, undef, undef, 1, 1);
4203 $worksheet->set_row(3, undef, undef, 0, 0, 1); # Collapsed flag.
4204 $worksheet->set_column('B:G', undef, undef, 1, 1);
4206 $worksheet->set_column('H:H', undef, undef, 0, 0, 1); # Collapsed flag.
4207 Note: Setting the $collapsed flag is particularly important for
4209 compatibility with OpenOffice.org and Gnumeric.
4210 For a more complete example see the "outline.pl" and
4212 "outline_collapsed.pl" programs in the examples directory of the
4213 distro.
4214 Some additional outline properties can be set via the
4216 outline_settings() worksheet method, see above.
4217
4219 Data validation is a feature of Excel which allows you to restrict the
4220 data that a users enters in a cell and to display help and warning
4221 messages. It also allows you to restrict input to values in a drop down
4222 list.
4223 A typical use case might be to restrict data in a cell to integer
4225 values in a certain range, to provide a help message to indicate the
4226 required value and to issue a warning if the input data doesn't meet
4227 the stated criteria. In Spreadsheet::WriteExcel we could do that as
4228 follows:
4229 $worksheet->data_validation('B3',
4231 {
4232 validate => 'integer',
4233 criteria => 'between',
4234 minimum => 1,
4235 maximum => 100,
4236 input_title => 'Input an integer:',
4237 input_message => 'Between 1 and 100',
4238 error_message => 'Sorry, try again.',
4239 });
4240 The above example would look like this in Excel:
4242 <http://homepage.eircom.net/~jmcnamara/perl/data_validation.jpg>.
4243 For more information on data validation see the following Microsoft
4245 support article "Description and examples of data validation in Excel":
4246 <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/211485>.
4247 The following sections describe how to use the data_validation() method
4249 and its various options.
4250 data_validation($row, $col, { parameter => 'value', ... })
4252 The data_validation() method is used to construct an Excel data
4253 validation.
4254 It can be applied to a single cell or a range of cells. You can pass 3
4256 parameters such as "($row, $col, {...})" or 5 parameters such as
4257 "($first_row, $first_col, $last_row, $last_col, {...})". You can also
4258 use "A1" style notation. For example:
4259 $worksheet->data_validation(0, 0, {...});
4261 $worksheet->data_validation(0, 0, 4, 1, {...});
4262 # Which are the same as:
4264 $worksheet->data_validation('A1', {...});
4266 $worksheet->data_validation('A1:B5', {...});
4267 See also the note about "Cell notation" for more information.
4269 The last parameter in data_validation() must be a hash ref containing
4271 the parameters that describe the type and style of the data validation.
4272 The allowable parameters are:
4273 validate
4275 criteria
4276 value | minimum | source
4277 maximum
4278 ignore_blank
4279 dropdown
4280 input_title
4282 input_message
4283 show_input
4284 error_title
4286 error_message
4287 error_type
4288 show_error
4289 These parameters are explained in the following sections. Most of the
4291 parameters are optional, however, you will generally require the three
4292 main options "validate", "criteria" and "value".
4293 $worksheet->data_validation('B3',
4295 {
4296 validate => 'integer',
4297 criteria => '>',
4298 value => 100,
4299 });
4300 The "data_validation" method returns:
4302 0 for success.
4304 -1 for insufficient number of arguments.
4305 -2 for row or column out of bounds.
4306 -3 for incorrect parameter or value.
4307 validate
4309 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4310 The "validate" parameter is used to set the type of data that you wish
4312 to validate. It is always required and it has no default value.
4313 Allowable values are:
4314 any
4316 integer
4317 decimal
4318 list
4319 date
4320 time
4321 length
4322 custom
4323 • any is used to specify that the type of data is unrestricted. This
4325 is the same as not applying a data validation. It is only provided
4326 for completeness and isn't used very often in the context of
4327 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel.
4328 • integer restricts the cell to integer values. Excel refers to this
4330 as 'whole number'.
4331 validate => 'integer',
4333 criteria => '>',
4334 value => 100,
4335 • decimal restricts the cell to decimal values.
4337 validate => 'decimal',
4339 criteria => '>',
4340 value => 38.6,
4341 • list restricts the cell to a set of user specified values. These
4343 can be passed in an array ref or as a cell range (named ranges
4344 aren't currently supported):
4345 validate => 'list',
4347 value => ['open', 'high', 'close'],
4348 # Or like this:
4349 value => 'B1:B3',
4350 Excel requires that range references are only to cells on the same
4352 worksheet.
4353 • date restricts the cell to date values. Dates in Excel are
4355 expressed as integer values but you can also pass an ISO860 style
4356 string as used in write_date_time(). See also "DATES AND TIME IN
4357 EXCEL" for more information about working with Excel's dates.
4358 validate => 'date',
4360 criteria => '>',
4361 value => 39653, # 24 July 2008
4362 # Or like this:
4363 value => '2008-07-24T',
4364 • time restricts the cell to time values. Times in Excel are
4366 expressed as decimal values but you can also pass an ISO860 style
4367 string as used in write_date_time(). See also "DATES AND TIME IN
4368 EXCEL" for more information about working with Excel's times.
4369 validate => 'time',
4371 criteria => '>',
4372 value => 0.5, # Noon
4373 # Or like this:
4374 value => 'T12:00:00',
4375 • length restricts the cell data based on an integer string length.
4377 Excel refers to this as 'Text length'.
4378 validate => 'length',
4380 criteria => '>',
4381 value => 10,
4382 • custom restricts the cell based on an external Excel formula that
4384 returns a "TRUE/FALSE" value.
4385 validate => 'custom',
4387 value => '=IF(A10>B10,TRUE,FALSE)',
4388 criteria
4390 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4391 The "criteria" parameter is used to set the criteria by which the data
4393 in the cell is validated. It is almost always required except for the
4394 "list" and "custom" validate options. It has no default value.
4395 Allowable values are:
4396 'between'
4398 'not between'
4399 'equal to' | '==' | '='
4400 'not equal to' | '!=' | '<>'
4401 'greater than' | '>'
4402 'less than' | '<'
4403 'greater than or equal to' | '>='
4404 'less than or equal to' | '<='
4405 You can either use Excel's textual description strings, in the first
4407 column above, or the more common operator alternatives. The following
4408 are equivalent:
4409 validate => 'integer',
4411 criteria => 'greater than',
4412 value => 100,
4413 validate => 'integer',
4415 criteria => '>',
4416 value => 100,
4417 The "list" and "custom" validate options don't require a "criteria". If
4419 you specify one it will be ignored.
4420 validate => 'list',
4422 value => ['open', 'high', 'close'],
4423 validate => 'custom',
4425 value => '=IF(A10>B10,TRUE,FALSE)',
4426 value | minimum | source
4428 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4429 The "value" parameter is used to set the limiting value to which the
4431 "criteria" is applied. It is always required and it has no default
4432 value. You can also use the synonyms "minimum" or "source" to make the
4433 validation a little clearer and closer to Excel's description of the
4434 parameter:
4435 # Use 'value'
4437 validate => 'integer',
4438 criteria => '>',
4439 value => 100,
4440 # Use 'minimum'
4442 validate => 'integer',
4443 criteria => 'between',
4444 minimum => 1,
4445 maximum => 100,
4446 # Use 'source'
4448 validate => 'list',
4449 source => '$B$1:$B$3',
4450 maximum
4452 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4453 The "maximum" parameter is used to set the upper limiting value when
4455 the "criteria" is either 'between' or 'not between':
4456 validate => 'integer',
4458 criteria => 'between',
4459 minimum => 1,
4460 maximum => 100,
4461 ignore_blank
4463 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4464 The "ignore_blank" parameter is used to toggle on and off the 'Ignore
4466 blank' option in the Excel data validation dialog. When the option is
4467 on the data validation is not applied to blank data in the cell. It is
4468 on by default.
4469 ignore_blank => 0, # Turn the option off
4471 dropdown
4473 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4474 The "dropdown" parameter is used to toggle on and off the 'In-cell
4476 dropdown' option in the Excel data validation dialog. When the option
4477 is on a dropdown list will be shown for "list" validations. It is on by
4478 default.
4479 dropdown => 0, # Turn the option off
4481 input_title
4483 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4484 The "input_title" parameter is used to set the title of the input
4486 message that is displayed when a cell is entered. It has no default
4487 value and is only displayed if the input message is displayed. See the
4488 "input_message" parameter below.
4489 input_title => 'This is the input title',
4491 The maximum title length is 32 characters. UTF8 strings are handled
4493 automatically in perl 5.8 and later.
4494 input_message
4496 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4497 The "input_message" parameter is used to set the input message that is
4499 displayed when a cell is entered. It has no default value.
4500 validate => 'integer',
4502 criteria => 'between',
4503 minimum => 1,
4504 maximum => 100,
4505 input_title => 'Enter the applied discount:',
4506 input_message => 'between 1 and 100',
4507 The message can be split over several lines using newlines, "\n" in
4509 double quoted strings.
4510 input_message => "This is\na test.",
4512 The maximum message length is 255 characters. UTF8 strings are handled
4514 automatically in perl 5.8 and later.
4515 show_input
4517 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4518 The "show_input" parameter is used to toggle on and off the 'Show input
4520 message when cell is selected' option in the Excel data validation
4521 dialog. When the option is off an input message is not displayed even
4522 if it has been set using "input_message". It is on by default.
4523 show_input => 0, # Turn the option off
4525 error_title
4527 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4528 The "error_title" parameter is used to set the title of the error
4530 message that is displayed when the data validation criteria is not met.
4531 The default error title is 'Microsoft Excel'.
4532 error_title => 'Input value is not valid',
4534 The maximum title length is 32 characters. UTF8 strings are handled
4536 automatically in perl 5.8 and later.
4537 error_message
4539 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4540 The "error_message" parameter is used to set the error message that is
4542 displayed when a cell is entered. The default error message is "The
4543 value you entered is not valid.\nA user has restricted values that can
4544 be entered into the cell.".
4545 validate => 'integer',
4547 criteria => 'between',
4548 minimum => 1,
4549 maximum => 100,
4550 error_title => 'Input value is not valid',
4551 error_message => 'It should be an integer between 1 and 100',
4552 The message can be split over several lines using newlines, "\n" in
4554 double quoted strings.
4555 input_message => "This is\na test.",
4557 The maximum message length is 255 characters. UTF8 strings are handled
4559 automatically in perl 5.8 and later.
4560 error_type
4562 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4563 The "error_type" parameter is used to specify the type of error dialog
4565 that is displayed. There are 3 options:
4566 'stop'
4568 'warning'
4569 'information'
4570 The default is 'stop'.
4572 show_error
4574 This parameter is passed in a hash ref to data_validation().
4575 The "show_error" parameter is used to toggle on and off the 'Show error
4577 alert after invalid data is entered' option in the Excel data
4578 validation dialog. When the option is off an error message is not
4579 displayed even if it has been set using "error_message". It is on by
4580 default.
4581 show_error => 0, # Turn the option off
4583 Data Validation Examples
4585 Example 1. Limiting input to an integer greater than a fixed value.
4586 $worksheet->data_validation('A1',
4588 {
4589 validate => 'integer',
4590 criteria => '>',
4591 value => 0,
4592 });
4593 Example 2. Limiting input to an integer greater than a fixed value
4595 where the value is referenced from a cell.
4596 $worksheet->data_validation('A2',
4598 {
4599 validate => 'integer',
4600 criteria => '>',
4601 value => '=E3',
4602 });
4603 Example 3. Limiting input to a decimal in a fixed range.
4605 $worksheet->data_validation('A3',
4607 {
4608 validate => 'decimal',
4609 criteria => 'between',
4610 minimum => 0.1,
4611 maximum => 0.5,
4612 });
4613 Example 4. Limiting input to a value in a dropdown list.
4615 $worksheet->data_validation('A4',
4617 {
4618 validate => 'list',
4619 source => ['open', 'high', 'close'],
4620 });
4621 Example 5. Limiting input to a value in a dropdown list where the list
4623 is specified as a cell range.
4624 $worksheet->data_validation('A5',
4626 {
4627 validate => 'list',
4628 source => '=E4:G4',
4629 });
4630 Example 6. Limiting input to a date in a fixed range.
4632 $worksheet->data_validation('A6',
4634 {
4635 validate => 'date',
4636 criteria => 'between',
4637 minimum => '2008-01-01T',
4638 maximum => '2008-12-12T',
4639 });
4640 Example 7. Displaying a message when the cell is selected.
4642 $worksheet->data_validation('A7',
4644 {
4645 validate => 'integer',
4646 criteria => 'between',
4647 minimum => 1,
4648 maximum => 100,
4649 input_title => 'Enter an integer:',
4650 input_message => 'between 1 and 100',
4651 });
4652 See also the "data_validate.pl" program in the examples directory of
4654 the distro.
4655
4657 The following relates to worksheet objects such as images, comments and
4658 charts.
4659 If you specify the height of a row that contains a worksheet object
4661 then Spreadsheet::WriteExcel will adjust the height of the object to
4662 maintain its default or user specified dimensions. In this way the
4663 object won't appear stretched or compressed in Excel.
4664 However, Excel can also adjust the height of a row automatically if it
4666 contains cells that have the text wrap property set or contain large
4667 fonts. In these cases the height of the row is unknown to
4668 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel at execution time and the scaling calculations
4669 it performs are incorrect. The effect of this is that the object is
4670 stretched with the row when it is displayed in Excel.
4671 In order to avoid this issue you should use the set_row() method to
4673 explicitly specify the height of any row that may otherwise be changed
4674 automatically by Excel.
4675
4677 Caveats
4678 The first thing to note is that there are still some outstanding issues
4679 with the implementation of formulas and functions:
4680 1. Writing a formula is much slower than writing the equivalent string.
4682 2. You cannot use array constants, i.e. {1;2;3}, in functions.
4683 3. Unary minus isn't supported.
4684 4. Whitespace is not preserved around operators.
4685 5. Named ranges are not supported.
4686 6. Array formulas are not supported.
4687 However, these constraints will be removed in future versions. They are
4689 here because of a trade-off between features and time. Also, it is
4690 possible to work around issue 1 using the store_formula() and
4691 repeat_formula() methods as described later in this section.
4692 Introduction
4694 The following is a brief introduction to formulas and functions in
4695 Excel and Spreadsheet::WriteExcel.
4696 A formula is a string that begins with an equals sign:
4698 '=A1+B1'
4700 '=AVERAGE(1, 2, 3)'
4701 The formula can contain numbers, strings, boolean values, cell
4703 references, cell ranges and functions. Named ranges are not supported.
4704 Formulas should be written as they appear in Excel, that is cells and
4705 functions must be in uppercase.
4706 Cells in Excel are referenced using the A1 notation system where the
4708 column is designated by a letter and the row by a number. Columns range
4709 from A to IV i.e. 0 to 255, rows range from 1 to 65536. The
4710 "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility" module that is included in the
4711 distro contains helper functions for dealing with A1 notation, for
4712 example:
4713 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility;
4715 ($row, $col) = xl_cell_to_rowcol('C2'); # (1, 2)
4717 $str = xl_rowcol_to_cell(1, 2); # C2
4718 The Excel "$" notation in cell references is also supported. This
4720 allows you to specify whether a row or column is relative or absolute.
4721 This only has an effect if the cell is copied. The following examples
4722 show relative and absolute values.
4723 '=A1' # Column and row are relative
4725 '=$A1' # Column is absolute and row is relative
4726 '=A$1' # Column is relative and row is absolute
4727 '=$A$1' # Column and row are absolute
4728 Formulas can also refer to cells in other worksheets of the current
4730 workbook. For example:
4731 '=Sheet2!A1'
4733 '=Sheet2!A1:A5'
4734 '=Sheet2:Sheet3!A1'
4735 '=Sheet2:Sheet3!A1:A5'
4736 q{='Test Data'!A1}
4737 q{='Test Data1:Test Data2'!A1}
4738 The sheet reference and the cell reference are separated by "!" the
4740 exclamation mark symbol. If worksheet names contain spaces, commas or
4741 parentheses then Excel requires that the name is enclosed in single
4742 quotes as shown in the last two examples above. In order to avoid using
4743 a lot of escape characters you can use the quote operator "q{}" to
4744 protect the quotes. See "perlop" in the main Perl documentation. Only
4745 valid sheet names that have been added using the add_worksheet() method
4746 can be used in formulas. You cannot reference external workbooks.
4747 The following table lists the operators that are available in Excel's
4749 formulas. The majority of the operators are the same as Perl's,
4750 differences are indicated:
4751 Arithmetic operators:
4753 =====================
4754 Operator Meaning Example
4755 + Addition 1+2
4756 - Subtraction 2-1
4757 * Multiplication 2*3
4758 / Division 1/4
4759 ^ Exponentiation 2^3 # Equivalent to **
4760 - Unary minus -(1+2) # Not yet supported
4761 % Percent (Not modulus) 13% # Not supported, [1]
4762 Comparison operators:
4765 =====================
4766 Operator Meaning Example
4767 = Equal to A1 = B1 # Equivalent to ==
4768 <> Not equal to A1 <> B1 # Equivalent to !=
4769 > Greater than A1 > B1
4770 < Less than A1 < B1
4771 >= Greater than or equal to A1 >= B1
4772 <= Less than or equal to A1 <= B1
4773 String operator:
4776 ================
4777 Operator Meaning Example
4778 & Concatenation "Hello " & "World!" # [2]
4779 Reference operators:
4782 ====================
4783 Operator Meaning Example
4784 : Range operator A1:A4 # [3]
4785 , Union operator SUM(1, 2+2, B3) # [4]
4786 Notes:
4789 [1]: You can get a percentage with formatting and modulus with MOD().
4790 [2]: Equivalent to ("Hello " . "World!") in Perl.
4791 [3]: This range is equivalent to cells A1, A2, A3 and A4.
4792 [4]: The comma behaves like the list separator in Perl.
4793 The range and comma operators can have different symbols in non-English
4795 versions of Excel. These will be supported in a later version of
4796 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel. European users of Excel take note:
4797 $worksheet->write('A1', '=SUM(1; 2; 3)'); # Wrong!!
4799 $worksheet->write('A1', '=SUM(1, 2, 3)'); # Okay
4800 The following table lists all of the core functions supported by Excel
4802 5 and Spreadsheet::WriteExcel. Any additional functions that are
4803 available through the "Analysis ToolPak" or other add-ins are not
4804 supported. These functions have all been tested to verify that they
4805 work.
4806 ABS DB INDIRECT NORMINV SLN
4808 ACOS DCOUNT INFO NORMSDIST SLOPE
4809 ACOSH DCOUNTA INT NORMSINV SMALL
4810 ADDRESS DDB INTERCEPT NOT SQRT
4811 AND DEGREES IPMT NOW STANDARDIZE
4812 AREAS DEVSQ IRR NPER STDEV
4813 ASIN DGET ISBLANK NPV STDEVP
4814 ASINH DMAX ISERR ODD STEYX
4815 ATAN DMIN ISERROR OFFSET SUBSTITUTE
4816 ATAN2 DOLLAR ISLOGICAL OR SUBTOTAL
4817 ATANH DPRODUCT ISNA PEARSON SUM
4818 AVEDEV DSTDEV ISNONTEXT PERCENTILE SUMIF
4819 AVERAGE DSTDEVP ISNUMBER PERCENTRANK SUMPRODUCT
4820 BETADIST DSUM ISREF PERMUT SUMSQ
4821 BETAINV DVAR ISTEXT PI SUMX2MY2
4822 BINOMDIST DVARP KURT PMT SUMX2PY2
4823 CALL ERROR.TYPE LARGE POISSON SUMXMY2
4824 CEILING EVEN LEFT POWER SYD
4825 CELL EXACT LEN PPMT T
4826 CHAR EXP LINEST PROB TAN
4827 CHIDIST EXPONDIST LN PRODUCT TANH
4828 CHIINV FACT LOG PROPER TDIST
4829 CHITEST FALSE LOG10 PV TEXT
4830 CHOOSE FDIST LOGEST QUARTILE TIME
4831 CLEAN FIND LOGINV RADIANS TIMEVALUE
4832 CODE FINV LOGNORMDIST RAND TINV
4833 COLUMN FISHER LOOKUP RANK TODAY
4834 COLUMNS FISHERINV LOWER RATE TRANSPOSE
4835 COMBIN FIXED MATCH REGISTER.ID TREND
4836 CONCATENATE FLOOR MAX REPLACE TRIM
4837 CONFIDENCE FORECAST MDETERM REPT TRIMMEAN
4838 CORREL FREQUENCY MEDIAN RIGHT TRUE
4839 COS FTEST MID ROMAN TRUNC
4840 COSH FV MIN ROUND TTEST
4841 COUNT GAMMADIST MINUTE ROUNDDOWN TYPE
4842 COUNTA GAMMAINV MINVERSE ROUNDUP UPPER
4843 COUNTBLANK GAMMALN MIRR ROW VALUE
4844 COUNTIF GEOMEAN MMULT ROWS VAR
4845 COVAR GROWTH MOD RSQ VARP
4846 CRITBINOM HARMEAN MODE SEARCH VDB
4847 DATE HLOOKUP MONTH SECOND VLOOKUP
4848 DATEVALUE HOUR N SIGN WEEKDAY
4849 DAVERAGE HYPGEOMDIST NA SIN WEIBULL
4850 DAY IF NEGBINOMDIST SINH YEAR
4851 DAYS360 INDEX NORMDIST SKEW ZTEST
4852 You can also modify the module to support function names in the
4854 following languages: German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch,
4855 Finnish, Italian and Swedish. See the "function_locale.pl" program in
4856 the "examples" directory of the distro.
4857 For a general introduction to Excel's formulas and an explanation of
4859 the syntax of the function refer to the Excel help files or the
4860 following:
4861 <http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/CH062528031033.aspx>.
4862 If your formula doesn't work in Spreadsheet::WriteExcel try the
4864 following:
4865 1. Verify that the formula works in Excel (or Gnumeric or OpenOffice.org).
4867 2. Ensure that it isn't on the Caveats list shown above.
4868 3. Ensure that cell references and formula names are in uppercase.
4869 4. Ensure that you are using ':' as the range operator, A1:A4.
4870 5. Ensure that you are using ',' as the union operator, SUM(1,2,3).
4871 6. Ensure that the function is in the above table.
4872 If you go through steps 1-6 and you still have a problem, mail me.
4874 Improving performance when working with formulas
4876 Writing a large number of formulas with Spreadsheet::WriteExcel can be
4877 slow. This is due to the fact that each formula has to be parsed and
4878 with the current implementation this is computationally expensive.
4879 However, in a lot of cases the formulas that you write will be quite
4881 similar, for example:
4882 $worksheet->write_formula('B1', '=A1 * 3 + 50', $format);
4884 $worksheet->write_formula('B2', '=A2 * 3 + 50', $format);
4885 ...
4886 ...
4887 $worksheet->write_formula('B99', '=A999 * 3 + 50', $format);
4888 $worksheet->write_formula('B1000', '=A1000 * 3 + 50', $format);
4889 In this example the cell reference changes in iterations from "A1" to
4891 "A1000". The parser treats this variable as a token and arranges it
4892 according to predefined rules. However, since the parser is oblivious
4893 to the value of the token, it is essentially performing the same
4894 calculation 1000 times. This is inefficient.
4895 The way to avoid this inefficiency and thereby speed up the writing of
4897 formulas is to parse the formula once and then repeatedly substitute
4898 similar tokens.
4899 A formula can be parsed and stored via the store_formula() worksheet
4901 method. You can then use the repeat_formula() method to substitute
4902 $pattern, $replace pairs in the stored formula:
4903 my $formula = $worksheet->store_formula('=A1 * 3 + 50');
4905 for my $row (0..999) {
4907 $worksheet->repeat_formula($row, 1, $formula, $format, 'A1', 'A'.($row +1));
4908 }
4909 On an arbitrary test machine this method was 10 times faster than the
4911 brute force method shown above.
4912 For more information about how Spreadsheet::WriteExcel parses and
4914 stores formulas see the "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Formula" man page.
4915 It should be noted however that the overall speed of direct formula
4917 parsing will be improved in a future version.
4918
4920 See Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Examples for a full list of examples.
4921 Example 1
4923 The following example shows some of the basic features of
4924 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel.
4925 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
4927 use strict;
4929 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
4930 # Create a new workbook called simple.xls and add a worksheet
4932 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('simple.xls');
4933 my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
4934 # The general syntax is write($row, $column, $token). Note that row and
4936 # column are zero indexed
4937 # Write some text
4939 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'Hi Excel!');
4940 # Write some numbers
4943 $worksheet->write(2, 0, 3); # Writes 3
4944 $worksheet->write(3, 0, 3.00000); # Writes 3
4945 $worksheet->write(4, 0, 3.00001); # Writes 3.00001
4946 $worksheet->write(5, 0, 3.14159); # TeX revision no.?
4947 # Write some formulas
4950 $worksheet->write(7, 0, '=A3 + A6');
4951 $worksheet->write(8, 0, '=IF(A5>3,"Yes", "No")');
4952 # Write a hyperlink
4955 $worksheet->write(10, 0, 'http://www.perl.com/');
4956 Example 2
4958 The following is a general example which demonstrates some features of
4959 working with multiple worksheets.
4960 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
4962 use strict;
4964 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
4965 # Create a new Excel workbook
4967 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('regions.xls');
4968 # Add some worksheets
4970 my $north = $workbook->add_worksheet('North');
4971 my $south = $workbook->add_worksheet('South');
4972 my $east = $workbook->add_worksheet('East');
4973 my $west = $workbook->add_worksheet('West');
4974 # Add a Format
4976 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
4977 $format->set_bold();
4978 $format->set_color('blue');
4979 # Add a caption to each worksheet
4981 foreach my $worksheet ($workbook->sheets()) {
4982 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'Sales', $format);
4983 }
4984 # Write some data
4986 $north->write(0, 1, 200000);
4987 $south->write(0, 1, 100000);
4988 $east->write (0, 1, 150000);
4989 $west->write (0, 1, 100000);
4990 # Set the active worksheet
4992 $south->activate();
4993 # Set the width of the first column
4995 $south->set_column(0, 0, 20);
4996 # Set the active cell
4998 $south->set_selection(0, 1);
4999 Example 3
5001 This example shows how to use a conditional numerical format with
5002 colours to indicate if a share price has gone up or down.
5003 use strict;
5005 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
5006 # Create a new workbook and add a worksheet
5008 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('stocks.xls');
5009 my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
5010 # Set the column width for columns 1, 2, 3 and 4
5012 $worksheet->set_column(0, 3, 15);
5013 # Create a format for the column headings
5016 my $header = $workbook->add_format();
5017 $header->set_bold();
5018 $header->set_size(12);
5019 $header->set_color('blue');
5020 # Create a format for the stock price
5023 my $f_price = $workbook->add_format();
5024 $f_price->set_align('left');
5025 $f_price->set_num_format('$0.00');
5026 # Create a format for the stock volume
5029 my $f_volume = $workbook->add_format();
5030 $f_volume->set_align('left');
5031 $f_volume->set_num_format('#,##0');
5032 # Create a format for the price change. This is an example of a
5035 # conditional format. The number is formatted as a percentage. If it is
5036 # positive it is formatted in green, if it is negative it is formatted
5037 # in red and if it is zero it is formatted as the default font colour
5038 # (in this case black). Note: the [Green] format produces an unappealing
5039 # lime green. Try [Color 10] instead for a dark green.
5040 #
5041 my $f_change = $workbook->add_format();
5042 $f_change->set_align('left');
5043 $f_change->set_num_format('[Green]0.0%;[Red]-0.0%;0.0%');
5044 # Write out the data
5047 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'Company',$header);
5048 $worksheet->write(0, 1, 'Price', $header);
5049 $worksheet->write(0, 2, 'Volume', $header);
5050 $worksheet->write(0, 3, 'Change', $header);
5051 $worksheet->write(1, 0, 'Damage Inc.' );
5053 $worksheet->write(1, 1, 30.25, $f_price ); # $30.25
5054 $worksheet->write(1, 2, 1234567, $f_volume); # 1,234,567
5055 $worksheet->write(1, 3, 0.085, $f_change); # 8.5% in green
5056 $worksheet->write(2, 0, 'Dump Corp.' );
5058 $worksheet->write(2, 1, 1.56, $f_price ); # $1.56
5059 $worksheet->write(2, 2, 7564, $f_volume); # 7,564
5060 $worksheet->write(2, 3, -0.015, $f_change); # -1.5% in red
5061 $worksheet->write(3, 0, 'Rev Ltd.' );
5063 $worksheet->write(3, 1, 0.13, $f_price ); # $0.13
5064 $worksheet->write(3, 2, 321, $f_volume); # 321
5065 $worksheet->write(3, 3, 0, $f_change); # 0 in the font color (black)
5066 Example 4
5068 The following is a simple example of using functions.
5069 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
5071 use strict;
5073 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
5074 # Create a new workbook and add a worksheet
5076 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('stats.xls');
5077 my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet('Test data');
5078 # Set the column width for columns 1
5080 $worksheet->set_column(0, 0, 20);
5081 # Create a format for the headings
5084 my $format = $workbook->add_format();
5085 $format->set_bold();
5086 # Write the sample data
5089 $worksheet->write(0, 0, 'Sample', $format);
5090 $worksheet->write(0, 1, 1);
5091 $worksheet->write(0, 2, 2);
5092 $worksheet->write(0, 3, 3);
5093 $worksheet->write(0, 4, 4);
5094 $worksheet->write(0, 5, 5);
5095 $worksheet->write(0, 6, 6);
5096 $worksheet->write(0, 7, 7);
5097 $worksheet->write(0, 8, 8);
5098 $worksheet->write(1, 0, 'Length', $format);
5100 $worksheet->write(1, 1, 25.4);
5101 $worksheet->write(1, 2, 25.4);
5102 $worksheet->write(1, 3, 24.8);
5103 $worksheet->write(1, 4, 25.0);
5104 $worksheet->write(1, 5, 25.3);
5105 $worksheet->write(1, 6, 24.9);
5106 $worksheet->write(1, 7, 25.2);
5107 $worksheet->write(1, 8, 24.8);
5108 # Write some statistical functions
5110 $worksheet->write(4, 0, 'Count', $format);
5111 $worksheet->write(4, 1, '=COUNT(B1:I1)');
5112 $worksheet->write(5, 0, 'Sum', $format);
5114 $worksheet->write(5, 1, '=SUM(B2:I2)');
5115 $worksheet->write(6, 0, 'Average', $format);
5117 $worksheet->write(6, 1, '=AVERAGE(B2:I2)');
5118 $worksheet->write(7, 0, 'Min', $format);
5120 $worksheet->write(7, 1, '=MIN(B2:I2)');
5121 $worksheet->write(8, 0, 'Max', $format);
5123 $worksheet->write(8, 1, '=MAX(B2:I2)');
5124 $worksheet->write(9, 0, 'Standard Deviation', $format);
5126 $worksheet->write(9, 1, '=STDEV(B2:I2)');
5127 $worksheet->write(10, 0, 'Kurtosis', $format);
5129 $worksheet->write(10, 1, '=KURT(B2:I2)');
5130 Example 5
5132 The following example converts a tab separated file called "tab.txt"
5133 into an Excel file called "tab.xls".
5134 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
5136 use strict;
5138 use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
5139 open (TABFILE, 'tab.txt') or die "tab.txt: $!";
5141 my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('tab.xls');
5143 my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
5144 # Row and column are zero indexed
5146 my $row = 0;
5147 while (<TABFILE>) {
5149 chomp;
5150 # Split on single tab
5151 my @Fld = split('\t', $_);
5152 my $col = 0;
5154 foreach my $token (@Fld) {
5155 $worksheet->write($row, $col, $token);
5156 $col++;
5157 }
5158 $row++;
5159 }
5160 NOTE: This is a simple conversion program for illustrative purposes
5162 only. For converting a CSV or Tab separated or any other type of
5163 delimited text file to Excel I recommend the more rigorous csv2xls
5164 program that is part of H.Merijn Brand's Text::CSV_XS module distro.
5165 See the examples/csv2xls link here:
5167 <http://search.cpan.org/~hmbrand/Text-CSV_XS/MANIFEST>.
5168 Additional Examples
5170 The following is a description of the example files that are provided
5171 in the standard Spreadsheet::WriteExcel distribution. They demonstrate
5172 the different features and options of the module. See
5173 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Examples for more details.
5174 Getting started
5176 ===============
5177 a_simple.pl A get started example with some basic features.
5178 demo.pl A demo of some of the available features.
5179 regions.pl A simple example of multiple worksheets.
5180 stats.pl Basic formulas and functions.
5181 formats.pl All the available formatting on several worksheets.
5182 bug_report.pl A template for submitting bug reports.
5183 Advanced
5186 ========
5187 autofilter.pl Examples of worksheet autofilters.
5188 autofit.pl Simulate Excel's autofit for column widths.
5189 bigfile.pl Write past the 7MB limit with OLE::Storage_Lite.
5190 cgi.pl A simple CGI program.
5191 chart_area.pl A demo of area style charts.
5192 chart_bar.pl A demo of bar (vertical histogram) style charts.
5193 chart_column.pl A demo of column (histogram) style charts.
5194 chart_line.pl A demo of line style charts.
5195 chart_pie.pl A demo of pie style charts.
5196 chart_scatter.pl A demo of scatter style charts.
5197 chart_stock.pl A demo of stock style charts.
5198 chess.pl An example of reusing formatting via properties.
5199 colors.pl A demo of the colour palette and named colours.
5200 comments1.pl Add comments to worksheet cells.
5201 comments2.pl Add comments with advanced options.
5202 copyformat.pl Example of copying a cell format.
5203 data_validate.pl An example of data validation and dropdown lists.
5204 date_time.pl Write dates and times with write_date_time().
5205 defined_name.pl Example of how to create defined names.
5206 diag_border.pl A simple example of diagonal cell borders.
5207 easter_egg.pl Expose the Excel97 flight simulator.
5208 filehandle.pl Examples of working with filehandles.
5209 formula_result.pl Formulas with user specified results.
5210 headers.pl Examples of worksheet headers and footers.
5211 hide_sheet.pl Simple example of hiding a worksheet.
5212 hyperlink1.pl Shows how to create web hyperlinks.
5213 hyperlink2.pl Examples of internal and external hyperlinks.
5214 images.pl Adding images to worksheets.
5215 indent.pl An example of cell indentation.
5216 merge1.pl A simple example of cell merging.
5217 merge2.pl A simple example of cell merging with formatting.
5218 merge3.pl Add hyperlinks to merged cells.
5219 merge4.pl An advanced example of merging with formatting.
5220 merge5.pl An advanced example of merging with formatting.
5221 merge6.pl An example of merging with Unicode strings.
5222 mod_perl1.pl A simple mod_perl 1 program.
5223 mod_perl2.pl A simple mod_perl 2 program.
5224 outline.pl An example of outlines and grouping.
5225 outline_collapsed.pl An example of collapsed outlines.
5226 panes.pl An examples of how to create panes.
5227 properties.pl Add document properties to a workbook.
5228 protection.pl Example of cell locking and formula hiding.
5229 repeat.pl Example of writing repeated formulas.
5230 right_to_left.pl Change default sheet direction to right to left.
5231 row_wrap.pl How to wrap data from one worksheet onto another.
5232 sales.pl An example of a simple sales spreadsheet.
5233 sendmail.pl Send an Excel email attachment using Mail::Sender.
5234 stats_ext.pl Same as stats.pl with external references.
5235 stocks.pl Demonstrates conditional formatting.
5236 tab_colors.pl Example of how to set worksheet tab colours.
5237 textwrap.pl Demonstrates text wrapping options.
5238 win32ole.pl A sample Win32::OLE example for comparison.
5239 write_arrays.pl Example of writing 1D or 2D arrays of data.
5240 write_handler1.pl Example of extending the write() method. Step 1.
5241 write_handler2.pl Example of extending the write() method. Step 2.
5242 write_handler3.pl Example of extending the write() method. Step 3.
5243 write_handler4.pl Example of extending the write() method. Step 4.
5244 write_to_scalar.pl Example of writing an Excel file to a Perl scalar.
5245 Unicode
5248 =======
5249 unicode_utf16.pl Simple example of using Unicode UTF16 strings.
5250 unicode_utf16_japan.pl Write Japanese Unicode strings using UTF-16.
5251 unicode_cyrillic.pl Write Russian Cyrillic strings using UTF-8.
5252 unicode_list.pl List the chars in a Unicode font.
5253 unicode_2022_jp.pl Japanese: ISO-2022-JP to utf8 in perl 5.8.
5254 unicode_8859_11.pl Thai: ISO-8859_11 to utf8 in perl 5.8.
5255 unicode_8859_7.pl Greek: ISO-8859_7 to utf8 in perl 5.8.
5256 unicode_big5.pl Chinese: BIG5 to utf8 in perl 5.8.
5257 unicode_cp1251.pl Russian: CP1251 to utf8 in perl 5.8.
5258 unicode_cp1256.pl Arabic: CP1256 to utf8 in perl 5.8.
5259 unicode_koi8r.pl Russian: KOI8-R to utf8 in perl 5.8.
5260 unicode_polish_utf8.pl Polish : UTF8 to utf8 in perl 5.8.
5261 unicode_shift_jis.pl Japanese: Shift JIS to utf8 in perl 5.8.
5262 Utility
5265 =======
5266 csv2xls.pl Program to convert a CSV file to an Excel file.
5267 tab2xls.pl Program to convert a tab separated file to xls.
5268 datecalc1.pl Convert Unix/Perl time to Excel time.
5269 datecalc2.pl Calculate an Excel date using Date::Calc.
5270 lecxe.pl Convert Excel to WriteExcel using Win32::OLE.
5271 Developer
5274 =========
5275 convertA1.pl Helper functions for dealing with A1 notation.
5276 function_locale.pl Add non-English function names to Formula.pm.
5277 writeA1.pl Example of how to extend the module.
5278
5280 The following limits are imposed by Excel:
5281 Description Limit
5283 ----------------------------------- ------
5284 Maximum number of chars in a string 32767
5285 Maximum number of columns 256
5286 Maximum number of rows 65536
5287 Maximum chars in a sheet name 31
5288 Maximum chars in a header/footer 254
5289 For Excel 2007+ file limits see the Excel::Writer::XLSX module.
5291 The minimum file size is 6K due to the OLE overhead. The maximum file
5293 size is approximately 7MB (7087104 bytes) of BIFF data. This can be
5294 extended by installing Takanori Kawai's OLE::Storage_Lite module
5295 <http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=OLE-Storage_Lite> see the
5296 "bigfile.pl" example in the "examples" directory of the distro.
5297
5299 The latest version of this module is always available at:
5300 <http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Spreadsheet-WriteExcel/>.
5301
5303 This module requires Perl >= 5.005, Parse::RecDescent, File::Temp and
5304 OLE::Storage_Lite:
5305 http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Parse-RecDescent/ # For formulas.
5307 http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=File-Temp/ # For set_tempdir().
5308 http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=OLE-Storage_Lite/ # For files > 7MB.
5309 Note, these aren't strict requirements. Spreadsheet::WriteExcel will
5311 work without these modules if you don't use write_formula(),
5312 set_tempdir() or create files greater than 7MB. However, it is best to
5313 install them if possible and they will be installed automatically if
5314 you use a tool such as CPAN.pm or ppm.
5315
5317 See the INSTALL or install.html docs that come with the distribution
5318 or:
5319 <http://search.cpan.org/src/JMCNAMARA/Spreadsheet-WriteExcel-2.31/INSTALL>.
5320
5322 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel will work on the majority of Windows, UNIX and
5323 Macintosh platforms. Specifically, the module will work on any system
5324 where perl packs floats in the 64 bit IEEE format. The float must also
5325 be in little-endian format but it will be reversed if necessary. Thus:
5326 print join(' ', map { sprintf '%#02x', $_ } unpack('C*', pack 'd', 1.2345)), "\n";
5328 should give (or in reverse order):
5330 0x8d 0x97 0x6e 0x12 0x83 0xc0 0xf3 0x3f
5332 In general, if you don't know whether your system supports a 64 bit
5334 IEEE float or not, it probably does. If your system doesn't, WriteExcel
5335 will croak() with the message given in the "DIAGNOSTICS" section. You
5336 can check which platforms the module has been tested on at the CPAN
5337 testers site:
5338 <http://testers.cpan.org/search?request=dist&dist=Spreadsheet-WriteExcel>.
5339
5341 Filename required by Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new()
5342 A filename must be given in the constructor.
5343 Can't open filename. It may be in use or protected.
5345 The file cannot be opened for writing. The directory that you are
5346 writing to may be protected or the file may be in use by another
5347 program.
5348 Unable to create tmp files via File::Temp::tempfile()...
5350 This is a "-w" warning. You will see it if you are using
5351 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel in an environment where temporary files
5352 cannot be created, in which case all data will be stored in memory.
5353 The warning is for information only: it does not affect creation
5354 but it will affect the speed of execution for large files. See the
5355 "set_tempdir" workbook method.
5356 Maximum file size, 7087104, exceeded.
5358 The current OLE implementation only supports a maximum BIFF file of
5359 this size. This limit can be extended, see the "LIMITATIONS"
5360 section.
5361 Can't locate Parse/RecDescent.pm in @INC ...
5363 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel requires the Parse::RecDescent module.
5364 Download it from CPAN:
5365 <http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Parse-RecDescent>
5366 Couldn't parse formula ...
5368 There are a large number of warnings which relate to badly formed
5369 formulas and functions. See the "FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS IN EXCEL"
5370 section for suggestions on how to avoid these errors. You should
5371 also check the formula in Excel to ensure that it is valid.
5372 Required floating point format not supported on this platform.
5374 Operating system doesn't support 64 bit IEEE float or it is byte-
5375 ordered in a way unknown to WriteExcel.
5376 'file.xls' cannot be accessed. The file may be read-only ...
5378 You may sometimes encounter the following error when trying to open
5379 a file in Excel: "file.xls cannot be accessed. The file may be
5380 read-only, or you may be trying to access a read-only location. Or,
5381 the server the document is stored on may not be responding."
5382 This error generally means that the Excel file has been corrupted.
5384 There are two likely causes of this: the file was FTPed in ASCII
5385 mode instead of binary mode or else the file was created with
5386 "UTF-8" data returned by an XML parser. See "Warning about
5387 XML::Parser and perl 5.6" for further details.
5388
5390 The following is some general information about the Excel binary format
5391 for anyone who may be interested.
5392 Excel data is stored in the "Binary Interchange File Format" (BIFF)
5394 file format. Details of this format are given in "Excel 97-2007 Binary
5395 File Format Specification"
5396 <http://www.microsoft.com/interop/docs/OfficeBinaryFormats.mspx>.
5397 Daniel Rentz of OpenOffice.org has also written a detailed description
5399 of the Excel workbook records, see
5400 <http://sc.openoffice.org/excelfileformat.pdf>.
5401 Charles Wybble has collected together additional information about the
5403 Excel file format. See "The Chicago Project" at
5404 <http://chicago.sourceforge.net/devel/>.
5405 The BIFF data is stored along with other data in an OLE Compound File.
5407 This is a structured storage which acts like a file system within a
5408 file. A Compound File is comprised of storages and streams which, to
5409 follow the file system analogy, are like directories and files.
5410 The OLE format is explained in the "Windows Compound Binary File Format
5412 Specification"
5413 <http://www.microsoft.com/interop/docs/supportingtechnologies.mspx>
5414 The Digital Imaging Group have also detailed the OLE format in the
5416 JPEG2000 specification: see Appendix A of
5417 <http://www.i3a.org/pdf/wg1n1017.pdf>.
5418 Please note that the provision of this information does not constitute
5420 an invitation to start hacking at the BIFF or OLE file formats. There
5421 are more interesting ways to waste your time. ;-)
5422
5424 Depending on your requirements, background and general sensibilities
5425 you may prefer one of the following methods of getting data into Excel:
5426 • Win32::OLE module and office automation
5428 This requires a Windows platform and an installed copy of Excel.
5430 This is the most powerful and complete method for interfacing with
5431 Excel. See
5432 <http://www.activestate.com/ASPN/Reference/Products/ActivePerl-5.6/faq/Windows/ActivePerl-Winfaq12.html>
5433 and
5434 <http://www.activestate.com/ASPN/Reference/Products/ActivePerl-5.6/site/lib/Win32/OLE.html>.
5435 If your main platform is UNIX but you have the resources to set up
5436 a separate Win32/MSOffice server, you can convert office documents
5437 to text, postscript or PDF using Win32::OLE. For a demonstration of
5438 how to do this using Perl see Docserver:
5439 <http://search.cpan.org/search?mode=module&query=docserver>.
5440 • CSV, comma separated variables or text
5442 If the file extension is "csv", Excel will open and convert this
5444 format automatically. Generating a valid CSV file isn't as easy as
5445 it seems. Have a look at the DBD::RAM, DBD::CSV, Text::xSV and
5446 Text::CSV_XS modules.
5447 • DBI with DBD::ADO or DBD::ODBC
5449 Excel files contain an internal index table that allows them to act
5451 like a database file. Using one of the standard Perl database
5452 modules you can connect to an Excel file as a database.
5453 • DBD::Excel
5455 You can also access Spreadsheet::WriteExcel using the standard DBI
5457 interface via Takanori Kawai's DBD::Excel module
5458 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/DBD-Excel>
5459 • Spreadsheet::WriteExcelXML
5461 This module allows you to create an Excel XML file using the same
5463 interface as Spreadsheet::WriteExcel. See:
5464 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/Spreadsheet-WriteExcelXML>
5465 • Excel::Template
5467 This module allows you to create an Excel file from an XML template
5469 in a manner similar to HTML::Template. See
5470 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/Excel-Template/>.
5471 • Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::FromXML
5473 This module allows you to turn a simple XML file into an Excel file
5475 using Spreadsheet::WriteExcel as a back-end. The format of the XML
5476 file is defined by a supplied DTD:
5477 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/Spreadsheet-WriteExcel-FromXML>.
5478 • Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Simple
5480 This provides an easier interface to Spreadsheet::WriteExcel:
5482 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/Spreadsheet-WriteExcel-Simple>.
5483 • Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::FromDB
5485 This is a useful module for creating Excel files directly from a DB
5487 table: <http://search.cpan.org/dist/Spreadsheet-WriteExcel-FromDB>.
5488 • HTML tables
5490 This is an easy way of adding formatting via a text based format.
5492 • XML or HTML
5494 The Excel XML and HTML file specification are available from
5496 <http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/officedev/ofxml2k/ofxml2k.htm>.
5497 For other Perl-Excel modules try the following search:
5499 <http://search.cpan.org/search?mode=module&query=excel>.
5500
5502 To read data from Excel files try:
5503 • Spreadsheet::ParseExcel
5505 This uses the OLE::Storage-Lite module to extract data from an
5507 Excel file. <http://search.cpan.org/dist/Spreadsheet-ParseExcel>.
5508 • Spreadsheet::ParseExcel_XLHTML
5510 This module uses Spreadsheet::ParseExcel's interface but uses
5512 xlHtml (see below) to do the conversion:
5513 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/Spreadsheet-ParseExcel_XLHTML>
5514 Spreadsheet::ParseExcel_XLHTML
5515 • xlHtml
5517 This is an open source "Excel to HTML Converter" C/C++ project at
5519 <http://chicago.sourceforge.net/xlhtml/>.
5520 • DBD::Excel (reading)
5522 You can also access Spreadsheet::ParseExcel using the standard DBI
5524 interface via Takanori Kawai's DBD::Excel module
5525 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/DBD-Excel>.
5526 • Win32::OLE module and office automation (reading)
5528 See, the section "WRITING EXCEL FILES".
5530 • HTML tables (reading)
5532 If the files are saved from Excel in a HTML format the data can be
5534 accessed using HTML::TableExtract
5535 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/HTML-TableExtract>.
5536 • DBI with DBD::ADO or DBD::ODBC.
5538 See, the section "WRITING EXCEL FILES".
5540 • XML::Excel
5542 Converts Excel files to XML using Spreadsheet::ParseExcel
5544 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/XML-Excel>.
5545 • OLE::Storage, aka LAOLA
5547 This is a Perl interface to OLE file formats. In particular, the
5549 distro contains an Excel to HTML converter called Herbert,
5550 <http://user.cs.tu-berlin.de/~schwartz/pmh/>. This has been
5551 superseded by the Spreadsheet::ParseExcel module.
5552 For other Perl-Excel modules try the following search:
5554 <http://search.cpan.org/search?mode=module&query=excel>.
5555 If you wish to view Excel files on a UNIX/Linux platform check out the
5557 excellent Gnumeric spreadsheet application at
5558 <http://www.gnome.org/projects/gnumeric/> or OpenOffice.org at
5559 <http://www.openoffice.org/>.
5560 If you wish to view Excel files on a Windows platform which doesn't
5562 have Excel installed you can use the free Microsoft Excel Viewer
5563 <http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/xlviewer.aspx>.
5564
5566 An Excel file is a binary file within a binary file. It contains
5567 several interlinked checksums and changing even one byte can cause it
5568 to become corrupted.
5569 As such you cannot simply append or update an Excel file. The only way
5571 to achieve this is to read the entire file into memory, make the
5572 required changes or additions and then write the file out again.
5573 You can read and rewrite an Excel file using the
5575 Spreadsheet::ParseExcel::SaveParser module which is a wrapper around
5576 Spreadsheet::ParseExcel and Spreadsheet::WriteExcel. It is part of the
5577 Spreadsheet::ParseExcel package:
5578 <http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Spreadsheet-ParseExcel>.
5579 However, you can only rewrite the features that Spreadsheet::WriteExcel
5581 supports so macros, graphs and some other features in the original
5582 Excel file will be lost. Also, formulas aren't rewritten, only the
5583 result of a formula is written.
5584 Here is an example:
5586 #!/usr/bin/perl -w
5588 use strict;
5590 use Spreadsheet::ParseExcel;
5591 use Spreadsheet::ParseExcel::SaveParser;
5592 # Open the template with SaveParser
5594 my $parser = new Spreadsheet::ParseExcel::SaveParser;
5595 my $template = $parser->Parse('template.xls');
5596 my $sheet = 0;
5598 my $row = 0;
5599 my $col = 0;
5600 # Get the format from the cell
5602 my $format = $template->{Worksheet}[$sheet]
5603 ->{Cells}[$row][$col]
5604 ->{FormatNo};
5605 # Write data to some cells
5607 $template->AddCell(0, $row, $col, 1, $format);
5608 $template->AddCell(0, $row+1, $col, "Hello", $format);
5609 # Add a new worksheet
5611 $template->AddWorksheet('New Data');
5612 # The SaveParser SaveAs() method returns a reference to a
5614 # Spreadsheet::WriteExcel object. If you wish you can then
5615 # use this to access any of the methods that aren't
5616 # available from the SaveParser object. If you don't need
5617 # to do this just use SaveAs().
5618 #
5619 my $workbook;
5620 {
5622 # SaveAs generates a lot of harmless warnings about unset
5623 # Worksheet properties. You can ignore them if you wish.
5624 local $^W = 0;
5625 # Rewrite the file or save as a new file
5627 $workbook = $template->SaveAs('new.xls');
5628 }
5629 # Use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel methods
5631 my $worksheet = $workbook->sheets(0);
5632 $worksheet->write($row+2, $col, "World2");
5634 $workbook->close();
5636
5638 You must be careful when using Spreadsheet::WriteExcel in conjunction
5639 with perl 5.6 and XML::Parser (and other XML parsers) due to the fact
5640 that the data returned by the parser is generally in "UTF-8" format.
5641 When "UTF-8" strings are added to Spreadsheet::WriteExcel's internal
5643 data it causes the generated Excel file to become corrupt.
5644 Note, this doesn't affect perl 5.005 (which doesn't try to handle
5646 "UTF-8") or 5.8 (which handles it correctly).
5647 To avoid this problem you should upgrade to perl 5.8, if possible, or
5649 else you should convert the output data from XML::Parser to ASCII or
5650 ISO-8859-1 using one of the following methods:
5651 $new_str = pack 'C*', unpack 'U*', $utf8_str;
5653 use Unicode::MapUTF8 'from_utf8';
5656 $new_str = from_utf8({-str => $utf8_str, -charset => 'ISO-8859-1'});
5657
5659 If you have Office Service Pack 3 (SP3) installed you may see the
5660 following warning when you open a file created by
5661 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel:
5662 "File Error: data may have been lost".
5664 This is usually caused by multiple instances of data in a cell.
5666 SP3 changed Excel's default behaviour when it encounters multiple data
5668 in a cell so that it issues a warning when the file is opened and it
5669 displays the first data that was written. Prior to SP3 it didn't issue
5670 a warning and displayed the last data written.
5671 For a longer discussion and some workarounds see the following:
5673 <http://groups.google.com/group/spreadsheet-writeexcel/browse_thread/thread/3dcea40e6620af3a>.
5674
5676 Formulas are formulae.
5677 XML and "UTF-8" data on perl 5.6 can cause Excel files created by
5679 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel to become corrupt. See "Warning about
5680 XML::Parser and perl 5.6" for further details.
5681 The format object that is used with a merge_range() method call is
5683 marked internally as being associated with a merged range. It is a
5684 fatal error to use a merged format in a non-merged cell. The current
5685 workaround is to use separate formats for merged and non-merged cell.
5686 This restriction will be removed in a future release.
5687 Nested formulas sometimes aren't parsed correctly and give a result of
5689 "#VALUE". If you come across a formula that parses like this, let me
5690 know.
5691 Spreadsheet::ParseExcel: All formulas created by
5693 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel are read as having a value of zero. This is
5694 because Spreadsheet::WriteExcel only stores the formula and not the
5695 calculated result.
5696 OpenOffice.org: No known issues in this release.
5698 Gnumeric: No known issues in this release.
5700 If you wish to submit a bug report run the "bug_report.pl" program in
5702 the "examples" directory of the distro.
5703
5705 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel is in maintenance only mode and has effectively
5706 been superseded by Excel::Writer::XLSX.
5707 Excel::Writer::XLSX is an API compatible, drop-in replacement for
5709 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel. It also has many more features such as
5710 conditional formats, better charts, better formula handling, Excel
5711 tables and even sparklines.
5712 To convert your Spreadsheet::WriteExcel program to Excel::Writer::XLSX
5714 you only need do the following:
5715 • Substitute Excel::Writer::XLSX for Spreadsheet::WriteExcel in your
5717 program.
5718 • Change the file extension of the output file from ".xls" to
5720 ".xlsx".
5721 • Optionally replace store_formula() and repeat_formula() with
5723 write_formula() which is no longer an expensive operation in
5724 Excel::Writer::XLSX. However, you can leave them unchanged if
5725 required.
5726 There are some differences between the formats and the modules that are
5728 worth noting:
5729 • The default font in the XLSX format is Calibri 11 not Arial 10.
5731 • Default column widths and row heights are different between XLS and
5733 XLSX.
5734 • The Excel::Writer::XLSX module uses more memory by default but has
5736 a optimisation mode to reduce usage for large files.
5737 • The XLSX format doesn't have reading support that is as complete as
5739 Spreadsheet::ParseExcel.
5740
5742 The Spreadsheet::WriteExcel source code in host on github:
5743 <http://github.com/jmcnamara/spreadsheet-writeexcel>.
5744
5746 There is a Google group for discussing and asking questions about
5747 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel. This is a good place to search to see if your
5748 question has been asked before:
5749 <http://groups.google.com/group/spreadsheet-writeexcel>.
5750 Alternatively you can keep up to date with future releases by
5752 subscribing at: <http://freshmeat.net/projects/writeexcel/>.
5753
5755 If you'd care to donate to the Spreadsheet::WriteExcel project, you can
5756 do so via PayPal: <http://tinyurl.com/7ayes>.
5757
5759 Spreadsheet::ParseExcel:
5760 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/Spreadsheet-ParseExcel>.
5761 Spreadsheet-WriteExcel-FromXML:
5763 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/Spreadsheet-WriteExcel-FromXML>.
5764 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::FromDB:
5766 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/Spreadsheet-WriteExcel-FromDB>.
5767 Excel::Template: <http://search.cpan.org/~rkinyon/Excel-Template/>.
5769 DateTime::Format::Excel:
5771 <http://search.cpan.org/dist/DateTime-Format-Excel>.
5772 "Reading and writing Excel files with Perl" by Teodor Zlatanov, at IBM
5774 developerWorks:
5775 <http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-pexcel/>.
5776 "Excel-Dateien mit Perl erstellen - Controller im Gluck" by Peter
5778 Dintelmann and Christian Kirsch in the German Unix/web journal iX:
5779 <http://www.heise.de/ix/artikel/2001/06/175/>.
5780 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel documentation in Japanese by Takanori Kawai.
5782 <http://member.nifty.ne.jp/hippo2000/perltips/Spreadsheet/WriteExcel.htm>.
5783 Oesterly user brushes with fame:
5785 <http://oesterly.com/releases/12102000.html>.
5786 The csv2xls program that is part of Text::CSV_XS:
5788 <http://search.cpan.org/~hmbrand/Text-CSV_XS/MANIFEST>.
5789
5791 The following people contributed to the debugging and testing of
5792 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel:
5793 Alexander Farber, Andre de Bruin, Arthur@ais, Artur Silveira da Cunha,
5795 Bob Rose, Borgar Olsen, Brian Foley, Brian White, Bob Mackay, Cedric
5796 Bouvier, Chad Johnson, CPAN testers, Damyan Ivanov, Daniel Berger,
5797 Daniel Gardner, Dmitry Kochurov, Eric Frazier, Ernesto Baschny, Felipe
5798 Perez Galiana, Gordon Simpson, Hanc Pavel, Harold Bamford, James
5799 Holmes, James Wilkinson, Johan Ekenberg, Johann Hanne, Jonathan Scott
5800 Duff, J.C. Wren, Kenneth Stacey, Keith Miller, Kyle Krom, Marc
5801 Rosenthal, Markus Schmitz, Michael Braig, Michael Buschauer, Mike
5802 Blazer, Michael Erickson, Michael W J West, Ning Xie, Paul J. Falbe,
5803 Paul Medynski, Peter Dintelmann, Pierre Laplante, Praveen Kotha, Reto
5804 Badertscher, Rich Sorden, Shane Ashby, Sharron McKenzie, Shenyu Zheng,
5805 Stephan Loescher, Steve Sapovits, Sven Passig, Svetoslav Marinov, Tamas
5806 Gulacsi, Troy Daniels, Vahe Sarkissian.
5807 The following people contributed patches, examples or Excel
5809 information:
5810 Andrew Benham, Bill Young, Cedric Bouvier, Charles Wybble, Daniel
5812 Rentz, David Robins, Franco Venturi, Guy Albertelli, Ian Penman, John
5813 Heitmann, Jon Guy, Kyle R. Burton, Pierre-Jean Vouette, Rubio, Marco
5814 Geri, Mark Fowler, Matisse Enzer, Sam Kington, Takanori Kawai, Tom
5815 O'Sullivan.
5816 Many thanks to Ron McKelvey, Ronzo Consulting for Siemens, who
5818 sponsored the development of the formula caching routines.
5819 Many thanks to Cassens Transport who sponsored the development of the
5821 embedded charts and autofilters.
5822 Additional thanks to Takanori Kawai for translating the documentation
5824 into Japanese.
5825 Gunnar Wolf maintains the Debian distro.
5827 Thanks to Damian Conway for the excellent Parse::RecDescent.
5829 Thanks to Tim Jenness for File::Temp.
5831 Thanks to Michael Meeks and Jody Goldberg for their work on Gnumeric.
5833
5835 Because this software is licensed free of charge, there is no warranty
5836 for the software, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Except
5837 when otherwise stated in writing the copyright holders and/or other
5838 parties provide the software "as is" without warranty of any kind,
5839 either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied
5840 warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The
5841 entire risk as to the quality and performance of the software is with
5842 you. Should the software prove defective, you assume the cost of all
5843 necessary servicing, repair, or correction.
5844 In no event unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing
5846 will any copyright holder, or any other party who may modify and/or
5847 redistribute the software as permitted by the above licence, be liable
5848 to you for damages, including any general, special, incidental, or
5849 consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the
5850 software (including but not limited to loss of data or data being
5851 rendered inaccurate or losses sustained by you or third parties or a
5852 failure of the software to operate with any other software), even if
5853 such holder or other party has been advised of the possibility of such
5854 damages.
5855
5857 Either the Perl Artistic Licence
5858 <http://dev.perl.org/licenses/artistic.html> or the GPL
5859 <http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php>.
5860
5862 John McNamara jmcnamara@cpan.org
5863 The ashtray says
5865 You were up all night.
5866 When you went to bed
5867 With your darkest mind.
5868 Your pillow wept
5869 And covered your eyes.
5870 And you finally slept
5871 While the sun caught fire.
5872 You've changed.
5874 -- Jeff Tweedy
5875
5877 Copyright MM-MMXII, John McNamara.
5878 All Rights Reserved. This module is free software. It may be used,
5880 redistributed and/or modified under the same terms as Perl itself.
5881perl v5.36.0 2023-01-20 Spreadsheet::WriteExcel(3)