NAME
Shape - A class for creating Excel Drawing shapes
SYNOPSIS
To create a simple Excel file containing shapes using Excel::Writer::XLSX:
#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;
use Excel::Writer::XLSX;
my $workbook = Excel::Writer::XLSX->new( 'shape.xlsx' );
my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
# Add a default rectangle shape.
my $rect = $workbook->add_shape();
# Add an ellipse with centered text.
my $ellipse = $workbook->add_shape(
type => 'ellipse',
text => "Hello\nWorld"
);
# Add a plus shape.
my $plus = $workbook->add_shape( type => 'plus');
# Insert the shapes in the worksheet.
$worksheet->insert_shape( 'B3', $rect );
$worksheet->insert_shape( 'C3', $ellipse );
$worksheet->insert_shape( 'D3', $plus );DESCRIPTION
The Excel::Writer::XLSX::Shape module is used to create Shape objects for Excel::Writer::XLSX.
A Shape object is created via the Workbook add_shape() method:
my $shape_rect = $workbook->add_shape( type => 'rect' );Once the object is created it can be inserted into a worksheet using the insert_shape() method:
$worksheet->insert_shape('A1', $shape_rect);A Shape can be inserted multiple times if required.
$worksheet->insert_shape('A1', $shape_rect);
$worksheet->insert_shape('B2', $shape_rect, 20, 30);METHODS
add_shape( %properties )
The add_shape() Workbook method specifies the properties of the Shape in hash property => value format:
my $shape = $workbook->add_shape( %properties );The available properties are shown below.
insert_shape( $row, $col, $shape, $x, $y, $scale_x, $scale_y )
The insert_shape() Worksheet method sets the location and scale of the shape object within the worksheet.
# Insert the shape into the worksheet.
$worksheet->insert_shape( 'E2', $shape );Using the cell location and the $x and $y cell offsets it is possible to position a shape anywhere on the canvas of a worksheet.
A more detailed explanation of the insert_shape() method is given in the main Excel::Writer::XLSX documentation.
SHAPE PROPERTIES
Any shape property can be queried or modified by the corresponding get/set method:
my $ellipse = $workbook->add_shape( %properties );
$ellipse->set_type( 'plus' ); # No longer an ellipse!
my $type = $ellipse->get_type(); # Find out what it really is.Multiple shape properties may also be modified in one go by using the set_properties() method:
$shape->set_properties( type => 'ellipse', text => 'Hello' );The properties of a shape object that can be defined via add_shape() are shown below.
name
Defines the name of the shape. This is an optional property and the shape will be given a default name if not supplied. The name is generally only used by Excel Macros to refer to the object.
type
Defines the type of the object such as rect, ellipse or triangle:
my $ellipse = $workbook->add_shape( type => 'ellipse' );The default type is rect.
The full list of available shapes is shown below.
See also the shapes_all.pl program in the examples directory of the distro. It creates an example workbook with all supported shapes labelled with their shape names.
Basic Shapes
blockArc can chevron cube decagon diamond dodecagon donut ellipse funnel gear6 gear9 heart heptagon hexagon homePlate lightningBolt line lineInv moon nonIsoscelesTrapezoid noSmoking octagon parallelogram pentagon pie pieWedge plaque rect round1Rect round2DiagRect round2SameRect roundRect rtTriangle smileyFace snip1Rect snip2DiagRect snip2SameRect snipRoundRect star10 star12 star16 star24 star32 star4 star5 star6 star7 star8 sun teardrop trapezoid triangleArrow Shapes
bentArrow bentUpArrow circularArrow curvedDownArrow curvedLeftArrow curvedRightArrow curvedUpArrow downArrow leftArrow leftCircularArrow leftRightArrow leftRightCircularArrow leftRightUpArrow leftUpArrow notchedRightArrow quadArrow rightArrow stripedRightArrow swooshArrow upArrow upDownArrow uturnArrowConnector Shapes
bentConnector2 bentConnector3 bentConnector4 bentConnector5 curvedConnector2 curvedConnector3 curvedConnector4 curvedConnector5 straightConnector1Callout Shapes
accentBorderCallout1 accentBorderCallout2 accentBorderCallout3 accentCallout1 accentCallout2 accentCallout3 borderCallout1 borderCallout2 borderCallout3 callout1 callout2 callout3 cloudCallout downArrowCallout leftArrowCallout leftRightArrowCallout quadArrowCallout rightArrowCallout upArrowCallout upDownArrowCallout wedgeEllipseCallout wedgeRectCallout wedgeRoundRectCalloutFlow Chart Shapes
flowChartAlternateProcess flowChartCollate flowChartConnector flowChartDecision flowChartDelay flowChartDisplay flowChartDocument flowChartExtract flowChartInputOutput flowChartInternalStorage flowChartMagneticDisk flowChartMagneticDrum flowChartMagneticTape flowChartManualInput flowChartManualOperation flowChartMerge flowChartMultidocument flowChartOfflineStorage flowChartOffpageConnector flowChartOnlineStorage flowChartOr flowChartPredefinedProcess flowChartPreparation flowChartProcess flowChartPunchedCard flowChartPunchedTape flowChartSort flowChartSummingJunction flowChartTerminatorAction Shapes
actionButtonBackPrevious actionButtonBeginning actionButtonBlank actionButtonDocument actionButtonEnd actionButtonForwardNext actionButtonHelp actionButtonHome actionButtonInformation actionButtonMovie actionButtonReturn actionButtonSoundChart Shapes
Not to be confused with Excel Charts.
chartPlus chartStar chartXMath Shapes
mathDivide mathEqual mathMinus mathMultiply mathNotEqual mathPlusStars and Banners
arc bevel bracePair bracketPair chord cloud corner diagStripe doubleWave ellipseRibbon ellipseRibbon2 foldedCorner frame halfFrame horizontalScroll irregularSeal1 irregularSeal2 leftBrace leftBracket leftRightRibbon plus ribbon ribbon2 rightBrace rightBracket verticalScroll waveTab Shapes
cornerTabs plaqueTabs squareTabs
text
This property is used to make the shape act like a text box.
my $rect = $workbook->add_shape( type => 'rect', text => "Hello\nWorld" );The text is super-imposed over the shape. The text can be wrapped using the newline character \n.
id
Identification number for internal identification. This number will be auto-assigned, if not assigned, or if it is a duplicate.
format
Workbook format for decorating the shape text (font family, size, and decoration).
start, start_index
Shape indices of the starting point for a connector and the index of the connection. Index numbers are zero-based, start from the top dead centre and are counted clockwise.
Indices are typically created for vertices and centre points of shapes. They are the blue connection points that appear when connection shapes are selected manually in Excel.
end, end_index
Same as above but for end points and end connections.
start_side, end_side
This is either the letter b or r for the bottom or right side of the shape to be connected to and from.
If the start, start_index, and start_side parameters are defined for a connection shape, the shape will be auto located and linked to the starting and ending shapes respectively. This can be very useful for flow and organisation charts.
flip_h, flip_v
Set this value to 1, to flip the shape horizontally and/or vertically.
rotation
Shape rotation, in degrees, from 0 to 360.
line, fill
Shape colour for the outline and fill. Colours may be specified as a colour index, or in RGB format, i.e. AA00FF.
See COLOURS IN EXCEL in the main documentation for more information.
line_type
Line type for shape outline. The default is solid. The list of possible values is:
dash, sysDot, dashDot, lgDash, lgDashDot, lgDashDotDot, solidvalign, align
Text alignment within the shape.
Vertical alignment can be:
Setting Meaning
======= =======
t Top
ctr Centre
b BottomHorizontal alignment can be:
Setting Meaning
======= =======
l Left
r Right
ctr Centre
just JustifiedThe default is to centre both horizontally and vertically.
scale_x, scale_y
Scale factor in x and y dimension, for scaling the shape width and height. The default value is 1.
Scaling may be set on the shape object or via insert_shape().
adjustments
Adjustment of shape vertices. Most shapes do not use this. For some shapes, there is a single adjustment to modify the geometry. For instance, the plus shape has one adjustment to control the width of the spokes.
Connectors can have a number of adjustments to control the shape routing. Typically, a connector will have 3 to 5 handles for routing the shape. The adjustment is in percent of the distance from the starting shape to the ending shape, alternating between the x and y dimension. Adjustments may be negative, to route the shape away from the endpoint.
stencil
Shapes work in stencil mode by default. That is, once a shape is inserted, its connection is separated from its master. The master shape may be modified after an instance is inserted, and only subsequent insertions will show the modifications.
This is helpful for Org charts, where an employee shape may be created once, and then the text of the shape is modified for each employee.
The insert_shape() method returns a reference to the inserted shape (the child).
Stencil mode can be turned off, allowing for shape(s) to be modified after insertion. In this case the insert_shape() method returns a reference to the inserted shape (the master). This is not very useful for inserting multiple shapes, since the x/y coordinates also gets modified.
TIPS
Use $worksheet->hide_gridlines(2) to prepare a blank canvas without gridlines.
Shapes do not need to fit on one page. Excel will split a large drawing into multiple pages if required. Use the page break preview to show page boundaries superimposed on the drawing.
Connected shapes will auto-locate in Excel if you move either the starting shape or the ending shape separately. However, if you select both shapes (lasso or control-click), the connector will move with it, and the shape adjustments will not re-calculate.
EXAMPLE
#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;
use Excel::Writer::XLSX;
my $workbook = Excel::Writer::XLSX->new( 'shape.xlsx' );
my $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet();
# Add a default rectangle shape.
my $rect = $workbook->add_shape();
# Add an ellipse with centered text.
my $ellipse = $workbook->add_shape(
type => 'ellipse',
text => "Hello\nWorld"
);
# Add a plus shape.
my $plus = $workbook->add_shape( type => 'plus');
# Insert the shapes in the worksheet.
$worksheet->insert_shape( 'B3', $rect );
$worksheet->insert_shape( 'C3', $ellipse );
$worksheet->insert_shape( 'D3', $plus );See also the shapes_*.pl program in the examples directory of the distro.
TODO
Add shapes which have custom geometries.
Provide better integration of workbook formats for shapes.
Add further validation of shape properties to prevent creation of workbooks that will not open.
Auto connect shapes that are not anchored to cell A1.
Add automatic shape connection to shape vertices besides the object centre.
Improve automatic shape connection to shapes with concave sides (e.g. chevron).
AUTHOR
Dave Clarke dclarke@cpan.org
COPYRIGHT
(c) MM-MMXII, John McNamara.
All Rights Reserved. This module is free software. It may be used, redistributed and/or modified under the same terms as Perl itself.