NAME
Spreadsheet::WriteExcel - Write to a cross-platform Excel binary file.
VERSION
This document refers to version 0.33 of Spreadsheet::WriteExcel, released July 30, 2001.
SYNOPSIS
To write a string, a formatted string, a number and a formula to the first worksheet in an Excel workbook called perl.xls:
use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
# Create a new Excel workbook
my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new("perl.xls");
# Add a worksheet
$worksheet = $workbook->addworksheet();
# Add and define a format
$format = $workbook->addformat(); # Add a format
$format->set_bold();
$format->set_color('red');
$format->set_align('center');
# Write a formatted and unformatted string, row and column notation.
$col = $row = 0;
$worksheet->write($row, $col, "Hi Excel!", $format);
$worksheet->write(1, $col, "Hi Excel!");
# Write a number and a formula using A1 notation
$worksheet->write('A3', 1.2345);
$worksheet->write('A4', '=SIN(PI()/4)');DESCRIPTION
The Spreadsheet::WriteExcel module can be used to create a cross-platform Excel binary file. Multiple worksheets can be added to a workbook and formatting can be applied to cells. Text, numbers, formulas and hyperlinks can be written to the cells.
The Excel file produced by this module is compatible with Excel 5, 95, 97 and 2000.
The module will work on the majority of Windows, UNIX and Macintosh platforms. Generated files are also compatible with the Linux/UNIX spreadsheet applications OpenOffice, Gnumeric and XESS.
This module cannot be uses to write to an existing Excel file.
QUICK START
Spreadsheet::WriteExcel tries to provide an interface to as many of Excel's features as possible. As a result there is a lot of documentation to accompany the interface and it can be difficult at first glance to see what it important and what is not. So for those of you who prefer to assemble Ikea furniture first and then read the instructions, here are three easy steps:
1. Create a new Excel workbook (i.e. file) using new().
2. Add a worksheet to the new workbook using addworksheet().
3. Write to the worksheet using write().
Like this:
use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel; # Step 0
$workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new("perl.xls"); # Step 1
$worksheet = $workbook->addworksheet(); # Step 2
$worksheet->write('A1', "Hi Excel!"); # Step 3This will create an Excel file called perl.xls with a single worksheet and the text "Hi Excel!" in the relevant cell. And that's it. Okay, so there is actually a zeroth step as well, but use module goes without saying. There are also more than 20 examples that come with the distribution and which you can use to get you started. See EXAMPLES.
Those of you who read the instructions first and assemble the furniture afterwards will know how to proceed. ;-)
WORKBOOK METHODS
The Spreadsheet::WriteExcel module provides an object oriented interface to a new Excel workbook. The following methods are available through a new workbook.
new()
close()
addworksheet($sheetname)
addformat()
worksheets()
set_1904()If you are unfamiliar with object oriented interfaces or the way that they are implemented in Perl have a look at perlobj and perltoot in the main Perl documentation.
new()
A new Excel workbook is created using the new() constructor which accepts either a filename or a filehandle as a parameter. The following example creates a new Excel file based on a filename:
my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('filename.xls');
my $worksheet = $workbook->addworksheet();
$worksheet->write(0, 0, "Hi Excel!");Here are some other examples of using new() with filenames:
my $workbook1 = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new($filename);
my $workbook2 = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new("/tmp/filename.xls");
my $workbook3 = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new("c:\\tmp\\filename.xls");
my $workbook4 = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('c:\tmp\filename.xls');The last two examples demonstrates how to create a file on DOS or Windows where it is necessary to either escape the directory separator \ or to use single quotes to ensure that it isn't interpolated. For more information see perlfaq5: Why can't I use "C:\temp\foo" in DOS paths?.
The new() constructor returns a Spreadsheet::WriteExcel object that you can use to add worksheets and store data. It should be noted that although my is not specifically required it defines the scope of the new workbook variable and, in the majority of cases, ensures that the workbook is closed properly without explicitly calling the close() method.
You can also pass a valid filehandle to the new() constructor. For example in a CGI program you could do something like this:
binmode(STDOUT);
my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new(\*STDOUT);The requirement for binmode() is explained below.
For CGI programs you can also use the special Perl filename '-' which will redirect the output to STDOUT:
my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('-');See also, the cgi.pl program in the examples directory of the distro. However, this special case will not work in mod_perl programs where you will have to do something like the following:
tie *XLS, 'Apache';
binmode(XLS);
my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new(\*XLS);Filehandles can also be useful if you want to stream an Excel file over a socket or if you want to store an Excel file in a tied scalar. For some examples of using filehandles with Spreadsheet::WriteExcel see the filehandle.pl program in the examples directory of the distro.
Note about the requirement for binmode(): An Excel file is comprised of binary data. Therefore, if you are using a filehandle you should ensure that you binmode() it prior to passing it to new().You should do this regardless of whether your platform requires it or not. For more information about binmode() see perlfunc and perlopentut in the main Perl documentation. It is equally important to note that you do not need to binmode() a filename. In fact it would cause an error. Spreadsheet::WriteExcel performs the binmode() internally when it converts the filename to a filehandle.
close()
The close() method can be used to explicitly close an Excel file.
$workbook->close();An explicit close() is required if the file must be closed prior to performing some external action on it such as copying or reading its size.
In addition, close() may be required if the scope of the Workbook, Worksheet or Format objects cannot be determined by perl. Situations where this can occur are:
If
my()was not used to declare the scope of a workbook variable created usingnew().If the
addworksheet()oraddformat()methods are called in subroutines.
The reason for this is that Spreadsheet::WriteExcel relies on Perl's DESTROY mechanism to trigger destructor methods in a specific sequence. This will not happen if the scope of the variables cannot be determined.
In general, if you create a file with a size of 0 bytes you need to call close().
addworksheet($sheetname)
At least one worksheet should be added to a new workbook. A worksheet is used to write data into cells:
$worksheet1 = $workbook->addworksheet(); # Sheet1
$worksheet2 = $workbook->addworksheet('Foglio2'); # Foglio2
$worksheet3 = $workbook->addworksheet('Data'); # Data
$worksheet4 = $workbook->addworksheet(); # Sheet4If $sheetname is not specified the default Excel convention will be followed, i.e. Sheet1, Sheet2, etc.
addformat(%properties)
The addformat() method can be used to create new Format objects which are used to apply formatting to a cell. You can either define the properties at creation time via a hash of property values or later via method calls.
$format1 = $workbook->addformat(%props); # Set properties at creation
$format2 = $workbook->addformat(); # Set properties laterSee the "CELL FORMATTING" section for more details about Format properties and how to set them.
worksheets()
The worksheets() method returns a reference to the array of worksheets in a workbook. This can be useful if you want to repeat an operation on each worksheet in a workbook or if you wish to refer to a worksheet by its index:
foreach $worksheet (@{$workbook->worksheets()}) {
$worksheet->write(0, 0, "Hello");
}
# or:
$worksheets = $workbook->worksheets();
@$worksheets[0]->write(0, 0, "Hello");References are explained in detail in perlref and perlreftut in the main Perl documentation.
set_1904()
Excel stores dates as real numbers where the integer part stores the number of days since the epoch and the fractional part stores the percentage of the day. The epoch can be either 1900 or 1904. Excel for Windows uses 1900 and Excel for Macintosh uses 1904. However, Excel on either platform will convert automatically between one system and the other.
Spreadsheet::WriteExcel stores dates in the 1900 format by default. If you wish to change this you can call the set_1904() workbook method. You can query the current value by calling the get_1904() workbook method. This returns 0 for 1900 and 1 for 1904.
See also "Dates in Excel" for more information about working with Excel's date system.
In general you probably won't need to use set_1904().
WORKSHEET METHODS
A new worksheet is created by calling the addworksheet() method from a workbook object:
$worksheet1 = $workbook->addworksheet();
$worksheet2 = $workbook->addworksheet();The following methods are available through a new worksheet:
write()
write_number()
write_string()
write_formula()
write_blank()
write_url()
get_name()
activate()
select()
set_first_sheet()
set_selection()
set_row()
set_column()
freeze_panes()
thaw_panes()
merge_cells()Cell notation
Spreadsheet::WriteExcel supports two forms of notation to designate the position of cells: Row-column notation and A1 notation.
Row-column notation uses a zero based index for both row and column while A1 notation uses the standard Excel alphanumeric sequence of column letter and 1-based row. For example:
(0, 0) # The top left cell in row-column notation.
('A1') # The top left cell in A1 notation.
(1999, 29) # Row-column notation.
('AD2000') # The same cell in A1 notation.Row-column notation is useful if you are referring to cells programmatically:
for my $i (0 .. 9) {
$worksheet->write($i, 0, 'Hello'); # Cells A1 to A10
}A1 notation is useful for setting up a worksheet manually and for working with formulas:
$worksheet->write('H1', 200);
$worksheet->write('H2', '=H7+1');In the examples directory of the distro there is a program called convertA1.pl which contains helper functions for dealing with A1 notation, for example:
cell_to_rowcol('B7'); # Returns (6, 1)
rowcol_to_cell(6, 1), # Returns "B7"For simplicity, the parameter lists for the worksheet method calls in the following sections are given in terms of row-column notation. In all cases it is also possible to use A1 notation.
write($row, $column, $token, $format)
The write() method is a general alias for one of several methods of writing to a cell in Excel. write() calls one of the following methods depending on the value of $token:
write_number() if $token is a number based on the following regex: $token =~ /^([+-]?)(?=\d|\.\d)\d*(\.\d*)?([Ee]([+-]?\d+))?$/.
write_blank() if $token is a blank string: "" or ''.
write_url() if $token is a http, ftp or mailto URL based on the following regexes: $token =~ m|^[fh]tt?p://| or $token =~ m|^mailto:|.
write_formula() if the first character of $token is "=".
write_string() if none of the previous conditions apply.
Here are some examples in both row-column and A1 notation:
$worksheet->write(0, 0, "Hello" ); # write_string()
$worksheet->write('A2', 'One' ); # write_string()
$worksheet->write(2, 0, 2 ); # write_number()
$worksheet->write('A4', 3.00001 ); # write_number()
$worksheet->write(4, 0, "" ); # write_blank()
$worksheet->write('A6', '' ); # write_blank()
$worksheet->write(6, 0, 'http://www.perl.com/' ); # write_url()
$worksheet->write('A8', 'ftp://ftp.cpan.org/' ); # write_url()
$worksheet->write(8, 0, '=A3 + 3*A4' ); # write_formula()
$worksheet->write('A10', '=SIN(PI()/4)' ); # write_formula()The $format parameter is optional. It should be a valid Format object, see "CELL FORMATTING":
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_bold();
$format->set_color('red');
$format->set_align('center');
$worksheet->write(4, 0, "Hello", $format ); # Formatted stringThe write methods return:
0 for success.
-1 for insufficient number of arguments.
-2 for row or column out of bounds.
-3 for string too long.write_number($row, $column, $number, $format)
Write an integer or a float to the cell specified by $row and $column:
$worksheet->write_number(0, 0, 1 );
$worksheet->write_number('A2', 2.3451);See the note about "Cell notation". The $format parameter is optional.
write_string($row, $column, $string, $format)
Write a string to the cell specified by $row and $column:
$worksheet->write_string(0, 0, "Your text here" );
$worksheet->write_string('A2', "or here" );See the note about "Cell notation". The maximum string size is 255 characters. The $format parameter is optional.
write_formula($row, $column, $formula, $format)
Write a formula or function to the cell specified by $row and $column:
$worksheet->write_formula(0, 0, '=$B$3 + B4' );
$worksheet->write_formula(1, 0, '=SIN(PI()/4)');
$worksheet->write_formula(2, 0, '=SUM(B1:B5)' );
$worksheet->write_formula('A4', '=IF(A3>1,"Yes", "No")' );
$worksheet->write_formula('A5', '=AVERAGE(1, 2, 3, 4)' );
$worksheet->write_formula('A6', '=DATEVALUE("1-Jan-2001")');See the note about "Cell notation". For more information about writing Excel formulas see "FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS IN EXCEL"
write_blank($row, $column, $format)
Write a blank cell specified by $row and $column:
$worksheet->write_blank(0, 0, $format);See the note about "Cell notation". This method is useful for adding formatting to a cell which doesn't contain a string or number value.
write_url($row, $col, $url, $string, $format)
Write a hyperlink to a URL in the cell specified by $row and $column. The hyperlink is comprised of two elements: the visible label and the invisible link. The visible label is the same as the link unless an alternative string is specified. The parameters $string and the $format are optional. As of version 0.33 you can use $format without $string without having to replace the missing argument with undef.
$worksheet->write_url(0, 0, 'http://www.perl.com/' );
$worksheet->write_url(1, 0, 'http://www.perl.com/', 'Perl home' );
$worksheet->write_url('A3', 'http://www.perl.com/', $format );
$worksheet->write_url('A4', 'http://www.perl.com/', 'Perl', $format);
$worksheet->write_url('A5', 'mailto:jmcnamara@cpan.org' );The label is written using the write_string() method. Therefore the 255 characters string limit applies to the label: the URL can be any length.
See the note about "Cell notation".
Note: Hyperlinks are not available in Excel 5. They will appear as a string only.
get_name()
The get_name() method is used to retrieve the name of a worksheet. For example:
foreach my $worksheet (@{$workbook->worksheets()}) {
print $worksheet->get_name(), "\n";
}activate()
The activate() method is used to specify which worksheet is initially visible in a multi-sheet workbook:
$worksheet1 = $workbook->addworksheet('To');
$worksheet2 = $workbook->addworksheet('the');
$worksheet3 = $workbook->addworksheet('wind');
$worksheet3->activate();This is similar to the Excel VBA activate method. More than one worksheet can be selected via the select() method, however only one worksheet can be active. The default value is the first worksheet.
select()
The select() method is used to indicate that a worksheet is selected in a multi-sheet workbook:
$worksheet1->activate();
$worksheet2->select();
$worksheet3->select();A selected worksheet has its tab highlighted. Selecting worksheets is a way of grouping them together so that, for example, several worksheets could be printed in one go.. A worksheet that has been activated via the activate() method will also appear as a selected. You probably won't need to use the select() method very often.
set_first_sheet()
The activate() method determines which worksheet is initially selected. However, if there are a large number of worksheets the selected worksheet may not appear on the screen. To avoid this you can select which is the leftmost visible worksheet using set_first_sheet():
for (1..20) {
$workbook->addworksheet;
}
$worksheet21 = $workbook->addworksheet();
$worksheet22 = $workbook->addworksheet();
$worksheet21->set_first_sheet();
$worksheet22->activate();This method is not required very often. The default value is the first worksheet.
set_selection($first_row, $first_col, $last_row, $last_col)
This method can be used to specify which cell or cells are selected in a worksheet. The most common requirement is to select a single cell, in which case $last_row and $last_col are not required. The active cell within a selected range is determined by the order in which $first and $last are specified. It is also possible to specify a cell or a range using A1 notation. See the note about "Cell notation".
Examples:
$worksheet1->set_selection(3, 3); # 1. Cell D4.
$worksheet2->set_selection(3, 3, 6, 6); # 2. Cells D4 to G7.
$worksheet3->set_selection(6, 6, 3, 3); # 3. Cells G7 to D4.
$worksheet4->set_selection('D4'); # Same as 1.
$worksheet5->set_selection('D4:G7'); # Same as 2.
$worksheet6->set_selection('G7:D4'); # Same as 3.The default cell is (0, 0), 'A1'.
set_row($row, $height, $format)
This method can be used to specify the height of a row. The $format parameter is optional, for additional information, see "CELL FORMATTING".
$worksheet->set_row(0, 20); # Row 1 height set to 20If you wish to set the format without changing the height you can pass undef as the height parameter:
$worksheet->set_row(0, undef, $format);The $format parameter will only define a format if set_row() is called after the cells have been written:
$worksheet->write('A1', "Hello"); # Formatted
$worksheet->set_row(0, undef, $format);
$worksheet->write('B1', "Hello"); # Not formattedThis behaviour will be fixed in a future release.
set_column($first_col, $last_col, $width, $format, $hidden)
This method can be used to specify the width of a single column or a range of columns. If the method is applied to a single column the value of $first_col and $last_col should be the same. It is also possible to specify a column range using the form of A1 notation used for columns. See the note about "Cell notation".
Examples:
$worksheet->set_column(0, 0, 20); # Column A width set to 20
$worksheet->set_column(1, 3, 30); # Columns B-D width set to 30
$worksheet->set_column('E:E', 20); # Column E width set to 20
$worksheet->set_column('F:H', 30); # Columns F-H width set to 30The width corresponds to the column width value that is specified in Excel. It is approximately equal to the length of a string in the default font of Arial 10. Unfortunately, there is no way to specify "AutoFit" for a column in the Excel file format. This feature is only available at runtime from within Excel.
The $format parameter is optional, for additional information, see "CELL FORMATTING". If you wish to set the format without changing the width you can pass undef as the width parameter:
$worksheet->set_column(0, 0, undef, $format);The $format parameter will not set the format for individual cells written by Spreadsheet::WriteExcel, it only has an effect on cells written after the workbook is opened in Excel. This behaviour will be fixed in a future release.
The $hidden parameter is optional. It should be set to 1 if you wish to hide a column. This can be used, for example, to hide intermediary steps in a complicated calculation:
$worksheet->set_column('D:D', 20, $format, 1);
$worksheet->set_column('E:E', undef, undef, 1);freeze_panes($row, $col, $top_row, $left_col)
This method can be used to divide a worksheet into horizontal or vertical regions known as panes and to also "freeze" these panes so that the splitter bars are not visible. This is the same as the "Window->Freeze Panes" menu command in Excel
The parameters $row and $col are used to specify the location of the split. It should be noted that the split is specified at the top or left of a cell and that the method uses zero based indexing. Therefore to freeze the first row of a worksheet it is necessary to specify the split at row 2 (which is 1 as the zero-based index). This might lead you to think that you are using a 1 based index but this is not the case.
You can set one of the $row and $col parameters as zero if you do not want either a vertical or horizontal split.
Examples:
$worksheet->freeze_panes(1, 0); # Freeze the first row
$worksheet->freeze_panes('A2'); # Same using A1 notation
$worksheet->freeze_panes(0, 1); # Freeze the first column
$worksheet->freeze_panes('B1'); # Same using A1 notation
$worksheet->freeze_panes(1, 2); # Freeze the first row and first 2 columns
$worksheet->freeze_panes('C2'); # Same using A1 notationThe parameters $top_row and $left_col are optional. They are used to specify the top-most or left-most visible row or column in the scrolling region of the panes. For example to freeze the first row and to have the scrolling region begin at row twenty:
$worksheet->freeze_panes(1, 0, 20, 0);You cannot use A1 notation for the $top_row and $left_col parameters.
See also the panes.pl program in the examples directory of the distribution.
thaw_panes($y, $x, $top_row, $left_col)
This method can be used to divide a worksheet into horizontal or vertical regions known as panes. This method is different from the freeze_panes() method in that the splits between the panes will be visible to the user and each pane will have its own scroll bars.
The parameters $y and $x are used to specify the vertical and horizontal position of the split. The units for $y and $x are the same as those used by Excel to specify row height and column width. However, the vertical and horizontal units are different from each other. Therefore you must specify the $y and $x parameters in terms of the row heights and column widths that you have set or the default values which are 12.75 for a row and 8.43 for a column.
You can set one of the $y and $x parameters as zero if you do not want either a vertical or horizontal split. The parameters $top_row and $left_col are optional. They are used to specify the top-most or left-most visible row or column in the bottom-right pane.
Example:
$worksheet->thaw_panes(12.75, 0, 1, 0); # First row
$worksheet->thaw_panes(0, 8.43, 0, 1); # First column
$worksheet->thaw_panes(12.75, 8.43, 1, 1); # First row and columnYou cannot use A1 notation with this method.
See also the freeze_panes() method and the panes.pl program in the examples directory of the distribution.
merge_cells()
Merging cells is generally achieved by setting the merge property of a Format object, see "CELL FORMATTING". However, in certain circumstances this is not enough and you must additionally specify the cells to be merged via the merge_cells() method.
Cases where the merge_cells() method is required are:
1. Merging cells vertically
2. Merging cells that contain hyperlinksFor an example of how to use this methods see the merge3.pl program in the examples directory of the distribution.
This method is currently of limited use. It will play a more important role when Spreadsheet::WriteExcel moves to the Excel 97/2000 file format.
In general the set_merge() method is all that you will require to create merged cells, see "CELL FORMATTING".
PAGE SET-UP METHODS
Page set-up methods affect the way that a worksheet will look when it is printed. They control features such as page headers and footers and margins. These methods are really just standard worksheet methods. They are documented here in a separate section for the sake of clarity.
Not all of Excel's page set-up options are available in this release but they will be added in subsequent releases.
A common requirement when working with Spreadsheet::WriteExcel is to apply the same page set-up features to all of the worksheets in a workbook. To do this you can use the worksheets() method of the workbook class to access the array of worksheets in a workbook:
foreach $worksheet (@{$workbook->worksheets()}) {
$worksheet->set_landscape();
}set_landscape()
This method is used to set the orientation of a worksheet's printed page to landscape:
$worksheet->set_landscape(); # Landscape modeset_portrait()
This method is used to set the orientation of a worksheet's printed page to portrait. The default worksheet orientation is portrait, so you won't generally need to call this method.
$worksheet->set_portrait(); # Portrait modeset_paper($index)
This method is used to set the paper format for the printed output of a worksheet. The following paper styles are available:
Index Paper format Paper size
===== ============ ==========
0 Printer default -
1 Letter 8 1/2 x 11 in
2 Letter Small 8 1/2 x 11 in
3 Tabloid 11 x 17 in
4 Ledger 17 x 11 in
5 Legal 8 1/2 x 14 in
6 Statement 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 in
7 Executive 7 1/4 x 10 1/2 in
8 A3 297 x 420 mm
9 A4 210 x 297 mm
10 A4 Small 210 x 297 mm
11 A5 148 x 210 mm
12 B4 250 x 354 mm
13 B5 182 x 257 mm
14 Folio 8 1/2 x 13 in
15 Quarto 215 x 275 mm
16 - 10x14 in
17 - 11x17 in
18 Note 8 1/2 x 11 in
19 Envelope 9 3 7/8 x 8 7/8
20 Envelope 10 4 1/8 x 9 1/2
21 Envelope 11 4 1/2 x 10 3/8
22 Envelope 12 4 3/4 x 11
23 Envelope 14 5 x 11 1/2
24 C size sheet -
25 D size sheet -
26 E size sheet -
27 Envelope DL 110 x 220 mm
28 Envelope C3 324 x 458 mm
29 Envelope C4 229 x 324 mm
30 Envelope C5 162 x 229 mm
31 Envelope C6 114 x 162 mm
32 Envelope C65 114 x 229 mm
33 Envelope B4 250 x 353 mm
34 Envelope B5 176 x 250 mm
35 Envelope B6 176 x 125 mm
36 Envelope 110 x 230 mm
37 Monarch 3.875 x 7.5 in
38 Envelope 3 5/8 x 6 1/2 in
39 Fanfold 14 7/8 x 11 in
40 German Std Fanfold 8 1/2 x 12 in
41 German Legal Fanfold 8 1/2 x 13 inNote, it is likely that not all of these paper types will be available to the end user since it will depend on the paper formats that the user's printer supports. Therefore, it is best to stick to standard paper types.
$worksheet->set_paper(1); # US Letter
$worksheet->set_paper(9); # A4If you do not specify a paper type the worksheet will print using the printer's default paper.
center_horizontally()
Center the worksheet data horizontally between the margins on the printed page:
$worksheet->center_horizontally();center_vertically()
Center the worksheet data vertically between the margins on the printed page:
$worksheet->center_vertically();set_margins($inches)
There are several methods available for setting the worksheet margins on the printed page:
set_margins() # Set all margins to the same value
set_margins_LR() # Set left and right margins to the same value
set_margins_TB() # Set top and bottom margins to the same value
set_margin_left(); # Set left margin
set_margin_right(); # Set right margin
set_margin_top(); # Set top margin
set_margin_bottom(); # Set bottom marginAll of these methods take a distance in inches as a parameter. Note: 1 inch = 25.4mm. ;-) The default left and right margin is 0.75 inch. The default top and bottom margin is 1.00 inch.
set_header($string, $margin)
Headers and footers are generated using a $string which is a combination of plain text and control characters. The $margin parameter is optional.
The available control character are:
Control Type Description
======= ==== ===========
&L Justification Left
&C Center
&R Right
&P Information Page number
&N Total number of pages
&D Date
&T Time
&F File name
&A Worksheet name
&fontsize Font Font size
&"font,style" Font name and styleText in headers and footers can be justified (aligned) to the left, center and right by prefixing the text with the control characters &L, &C and &R.
For example (with ASCII art representation of the results):
$worksheet->set_header('&LHello');
---------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Hello |
| |
$worksheet->set_header('&CHello');
---------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Hello |
| |
$worksheet->set_header('&RHello');
---------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Hello |
| |If you do not specify any justification the text will be centred:
$worksheet->set_header('Hello');
---------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Hello |
| |You can also have text in each of the justification regions:
$worksheet->set_header('&LCiao&CBello&RCielo');
---------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Ciao Bello Cielo |
| |The information control characters act as variables that Excel will update as the workbook or worksheet changes. Times and dates are in the users default format:
$worksheet->set_header('Page &P of &N');
---------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Page 1 of 6 |
| |
$worksheet->set_header('Updated at &T');
---------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Updated at 12:30 PM |
| |You can specify the font size of a section of the text by prefixing it with the control character &n where n is the font size:
$worksheet->set_header('&30Hello Big' );
$worksheet->set_header('&10Hello Small');You can specify the font of a section of the text by prefixing it with the control sequence &"font,style" where fontname is a font name such as "Courier New" or "Times New Roman" and style is one of the standard Windows font descriptions: "Regular", "Italic", "Bold" or "Bold Italic":
$worksheet1->set_header('&"Courier New,Italic"Hello');
$worksheet2->set_header('&"Courier New,Bold Italic"Hello');
$worksheet3->set_header('&"Times New Roman,Regular"Hello');It is possible to combine all of these features together to create sophisticated headers and footers. As an aid to setting up complicated headers and footers you can record a page set-up as a macro in Excel and look at the format strings that VBA produces. Remember however that VBA uses a two double quotes "" to indicate a single double quote. For the last example above the equivalent VBA code looks like this:
.LeftHeader = ""
.CenterHeader = "&""Times New Roman,Regular""Hello"
.RightHeader = ""The header or footer string must be less than 255 characters.
As stated above the margin parameter is optional. As with the other margins the value should be in inches. The default header and footer margin is 0.50 inch. The header and footer margin size can be set as follows:
$worksheet->set_header('&CHello', 0.75);Note, the header and footer margins are independent of the top and bottom margins.
set_footer()
Usage of the set_footer() method is the same as the set_header() method explained above.
repeat_rows($first_row, $last_row)
Set the number of rows to repeat at the top of each printed page.
For large Excel documents it is often desirable to have the first row or rows of the worksheet print out at the top of each page. This can be achieved by using the repeat_rows() method. The parameters $first_row and $last_row are zero based. The $last_row parameter is optional if you only wish to specify one row:
$worksheet1->repeat_rows(0); # Repeat the first row
$worksheet2->repeat_rows(0, 1); # Repeat the first two rowsrepeat_columns($first_col, $last_col)
Set the columns to repeat at the left hand side of each printed page.
For large Excel documents it is often desirable to have the first column or columns of the worksheet print out at the left hand side of each page. This can be achieved by using the repeat_columns() method. The parameters $first_column and $last_column are zero based. The $last_column parameter is optional if you only wish to specify one column. You can also specify the columns using A1 column notation, see the note about "Cell notation".
$worksheet1->repeat_columns(0); # Repeat the first column
$worksheet2->repeat_columns(0, 1); # Repeat the first two columns
$worksheet3->repeat_columns('A:A'); # Repeat the first column
$worksheet4->repeat_columns('A:B'); # Repeat the first two columnshide_gridlines()
This method is used to hide the gridlines on a printed page.
Gridlines are the lines that divide the cells on a worksheet. Printed gridlines are turned on by default. If you have defined your own cell borders you may wish to hide the gridlines on the printed page.
$worksheet->hide_gridlines();print_row_col_headers()
Set the option to print the row and column headers on the printed page.
An Excel worksheet looks something like the following;
------------------------------------------
| | A | B | C | D | ...
------------------------------------------
| 1 | | | | | ...
| 2 | | | | | ...
| 3 | | | | | ...
| 4 | | | | | ...
|...| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... The headers are the letters and numbers at the top and the left of the worksheet. Since these headers serve mainly as a indication of position on the worksheet they generally do not appear on the printed page. If you wish to have them printed you can use the print_row_col_headers() method :
$worksheet1->print_row_col_headers()Do not confuse these headers with page headers as described in the set_header() section above.
print_area($first_row, $first_col, $last_row, $last_col)
This method is used to specify the area of the worksheet that will be printed. All four parameters must be specified. You can also use A1 notation, see the note about "Cell notation".
$worksheet1->print_area("A1:H20"); # Cells A1 to H20
$worksheet2->print_area(0, 0, 19, 7); # The samefit_to_pages($width, $height)
The fit_to_pages() method is used to fit the printed area to a specific number of pages both vertically and horizontally. If the printed area exceeds the specified number of pages it will be scaled down to fit. This guarantees that the printed area will always appear on the specified number of pages even if the page size or margins change.
$worksheet1->fit_to_pages(1, 1); # Fit to 1x1 pages
$worksheet2->fit_to_pages(2, 1); # Fit to 2x1 pages
$worksheet3->fit_to_pages(1, 2); # Fit to 1x2 pagesThe print area can be defined using the print_area() method as described above.
If you call fit_to_pages() without arguments or with one argument the default values for $width and $height are 1 page. However the fit to page option is off by default.
Note that fit_to_pages() will override any manual page breaks that are defined in the worksheet.
set_h_pagebreaks(@breaks)
Add horizontal page breaks to a worksheet. A page break causes all the data that follows it to be printed on the next page. Horizontal page breaks act between rows. To create a page break between rows 20 and 21 you must specify the break at row 21. However in zero index notation this is actually row 20. So you can pretend for a small while that you are using 1 index notation:
$worksheet1->set_h_pagebreaks(20); # Break between row 20 and 21The set_h_pagebreaks() method will accept a list of page breaks and you can call it more than once:
$worksheet2->set_h_pagebreaks( 20, 40, 60, 80, 100); # Add breaks
$worksheet2->set_h_pagebreaks(120, 140, 160, 180, 200); # Add some moreNote: If you specify the "fit to page" option via the fit_to_pages() method it will override all manual page breaks.
The current implementation will silently limited you to about 1000 page breaks per worksheet. This limitation will be removed in a future release.
set_v_pagebreaks(@breaks)
Add vertical page breaks to a worksheet. A page break causes all the data that follows it to be printed on the next page. Vertical page breaks act between columns. To create a page break between columns 20 and 21 you must specify the break at column 21. However in zero index notation this is actually column 20. So you can pretend for a small while that you are using 1 index notation:
$worksheet1->set_v_pagebreaks(20); # Break between column 20 and 21The set_v_pagebreaks() method will accept a list of page breaks and you can call it more than once:
$worksheet2->set_v_pagebreaks( 20, 40, 60, 80, 100); # Add breaks
$worksheet2->set_v_pagebreaks(120, 140, 160, 180, 200); # Add some moreNote: If you specify the "fit to page" option via the fit_to_pages() method it will override all manual page breaks.
CELL FORMATTING
This section describes the methods and properties that are available for formatting cells in Excel. Examples of the cell formatting that is available through Spreadsheet::WriteExcel include: fonts, colours, patterns, borders, alignment and number formatting.
Creating and using a Format object
Cell formatting is defined through a Format object. Format objects are created by calling the workbook addformat() method as follows:
my $format1 = $workbook->addformat(); # Set properties later
my $format2 = $workbook->addformat(%props); # Set properties at creationThe format object holds all the formatting properties that can be applied to a cell, a row or a column. The process of setting these properties is discussed in the next section.
Once a Format object has been constructed and it properties have been set it can be passed as an argument to the worksheet write methods as follows:
$worksheet->write(0, 0, "One", $format);
$worksheet->write_string(1, 0, "Two", $format);
$worksheet->write_number(2, 0, 3, $format);
$worksheet->write_blank(3, 0, $format);Formats can also be passed to the worksheet set_row() and set_column() methods to define the default property for a row or column.
$worksheet->set_row(0, 15, $format);
$worksheet->set_column(0, 0, 15, $format);However, the set_row() and set_column() methods will not set the format for individual cells written by WriteExcel, they only have an effect on cells written after the workbook is opened in Excel.
Format methods and Format properties
The following table shows the Excel format categories, the formatting properties that can be applied and the equivalent object method:
Category Description Property Method Name
-------- ----------- -------- -----------
Font Font type font set_font()
Font size size set_size()
Font color color set_color()
Bold bold set_bold()
Italic italic set_italic()
Underline underline set_underline()
Strikeout font_strikeout set_font_strikeout()
Super/Subscript font_script set_font_script()
Outline font_outline set_font_outline()
Shadow font_shadow set_font_shadow()
Number Numeric format num_format set_num_format()
Alignment Horizontal align align set_align()
Vertical align align set_align()
Rotation rotation set_rotation()
Text wrap text_wrap set_text_wrap()
Justify last text_justlast set_text_justlast()
Merge merge set_merge()
Pattern Cell pattern pattern set_pattern()
Background color bg_color set_bg_color()
Foreground color fg_color set_fg_color()
Border Cell border border set_border()
Bottom border bottom set_bottom()
Top border top set_top()
Left border left set_left()
Right border right set_right()
Border color border_color set_border_color()
Bottom color bottom_color set_bottom_color()
Top color top_color set_top_color()
Left color left_color set_left_color()
Right color right_color set_right_color() There are two ways of setting Format properties: by using the object method interface or by setting the property directly. For example, a typical use of the method interface would be as follows:
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_bold();
$format->set_color('red');By comparison the properties can be set directly by passing a hash of properties to the Format constructor:
my $format = $workbook->addformat(bold => 1, color => 'red');or after the Format has been constructed by means of the set_properties() method as follows:
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_properties(bold => 1, color => 'red');You can also store the properties in one or more named hashes and pass them to the required method:
my %font = (
'font' => 'Arial',
'size' => 12,
'color' => 'blue',
'bold' => 1,
);
my %shading = (
'fg_color' => 'green',
'pattern' => 1,
);
my $format1 = $workbook->addformat(%font); # Font only
my $format2 = $workbook->addformat(%font, %shading); # Font and shadingThe provision of two ways of setting properties might lead you to wonder which is the best way. The answer depends on the amount of formatting that will be required in your program. Initially, Spreadsheet::WriteExcel only allowed individual Format properties to be set via the appropriate method. While this was sufficient for most programs it proved very cumbersome in programs that required a large amount of formatting. In addition the mechanism for reusing properties between Format objects was difficult.
As a result the Perl/Tk style of adding properties was added to, hopefully, facilitate developers who need to define a lot of formatting. In fact the Tk style of defining properties is also supported:
my %font = (
-font => 'Arial',
-size => 12,
-color => 'blue',
-bold => 1,
);An additional advantage of working with hashes of properties is that it allows you to share formatting between workbook objects
You can also create a format "on the fly" and pass it directly to a write method as follows:
$worksheet->write('A1', "Title", $workbook->addformat(bold => 1));This corresponds to an "anonymous" format in the Perl sense of anonymous data or subs.
If you need to create an Excel file with a large amount of formatting you can also use the lecxe.pl program in the examples directory of the distribution. lecxe is a Win32::OLE program written by Tomas Andersson which converts Excel files to Spreadsheet::WriteExcel files. Therefore, you can use Excel to define your formatting and have lecxe do the hard work for you.
Working with formats
The default format is Arial 10 with all other properties off.
Each unique format in Spreadsheet::WriteExcel must have a corresponding Format object. It isn't possible to use a Format with a write() method and then redefine the Format for use at a later stage. This is because a Format is applied to a cell not in its current state but in its final state. Consider the following example:
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_bold();
$format->set_color('red');
$worksheet->write('A1', "Cell A1", $format);
$format->set_color('green');
$worksheet->write('B1', "Cell B1", $format);Cell A1 is assigned the Format $format which is initially set to the colour red. However, the colour is subsequently set to green. When Excel displays Cell A1 it will display the final state of the Format which in this case will be the colour green.
In general a method call without an argument will turn a property on, for example:
my $format1 = $workbook->addformat();
$format1->set_bold(); # Turns bold on
$format1->set_bold(1); # Also turns bold on
$format1->set_bold(0); # Turns bold offFORMAT METHODS
The Format object methods are described in more detail in the following sections. In addition, there is a Perl program called formats.pl in the examples directory of the WriteExcel distribution. This program creates an Excel workbook called formats.xls which contains examples of almost all the format types.
The following Format methods are available:
set_font()
set_size()
set_color()
set_bold()
set_italic()
set_underline()
set_font_strikeout()
set_font_script()
set_font_outline()
set_font_shadow()
set_num_format()
set_align()
set_align()
set_rotation()
set_text_wrap()
set_text_justlast()
set_merge()
set_pattern()
set_bg_color()
set_fg_color()
set_border()
set_bottom()
set_top()
set_left()
set_right()
set_border_color()
set_bottom_color()
set_top_color()
set_left_color()
set_right_color() The above methods can also be applied directly as properties. For example $worksheet-set_bold()> is equivalent to set_properties(bold = 1)>.
set_properties(%properties)
The properties of an existing Format object can be set by means of set_properties():
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_properties( bold => 1, color => 'red');You can also store the properties in one or more named hashes and pass them to the set_properties() method:
my %font = (
'font' => 'Arial',
'size' => 12,
'color' => 'blue',
'bold' => 1,
);
my $format = $workbook->set_properties(%font);This method can be used as an alternative to setting the properties with addformat() or the specific format methods that are detailed in the following sections.
set_font($fontname)
Default state: Font is Arial
Default action: None
Valid args: Any valid font nameSpecify the font used:
$format->set_font('Times New Roman');Excel can only display fonts that are installed on the system that it is running on. Therefore it is best to use the fonts that come as standard such as 'Arial', 'Times New Roman' and 'Courier New'. See also the Fonts worksheet created by formats.pl
set_size()
Default state: Font size is 10
Default action: Set font size to 1
Valid args: Integer values from 1 to as big as your screen.Set the font size. Excel adjusts the height of a row to accommodate the largest font size in the row. You can also explicitly specify the height of a row using the set_row() worksheet method.
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_size(30);set_color()
Default state: Excels default color, usually black
Default action: Set the default color
Valid args: Integers from 8..63 or the following strings:
'aqua'
'black'
'blue'
'fuchsia'
'gray'
'green'
'lime'
'navy'
'orange'
'purple'
'red'
'silver'
'white'
'yellow'Set the font colour. The set_color() method is used as follows:
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_color('red');
$worksheet->write(0, 0, "wheelbarrow", $format);Note: The set_color() method is used to set the colour of the font in a cell. To set the colour of a cell use the set_fg_color() and set_pattern() methods.
For additional examples see the 'Named colors' and 'Standard colors' worksheets created by formats.pl
set_bold()
Default state: bold is off
Default action: Turn bold on
Valid args: 0, 1 [1]Set the bold property of the font:
$format->set_bold(); # Turn bold on[1] Actually, values in the range 100..1000 are also valid. 400 is normal, 700 is bold and 1000 is very bold indeed. It is probably best to set the value to 1 and use normal bold.
set_italic()
Default state: Italic is off
Default action: Turn italic on
Valid args: 0, 1Set the italic property of the font.
set_underline()
Default state: Underline is off
Default action: Turn on single underline
Valid args: 0 = No underline
1 = Single underline
2 = Double underline
33 = Single accounting underline
34 = Double accounting underlineSet the underline property of the font.
set_strikeout()
Default state: Strikeout is off
Default action: Turn strikeout on
Valid args: 0, 1Set the strikeout property of the font.
set_script()
Default state: Super/Subscript is off
Default action: Turn Superscript on
Valid args: 0 = Normal
1 = Superscript
2 = SubscriptSet the superscript/subscript property of the font. This format is currently not very useful.
set_outline()
Default state: Outline is off
Default action: Turn outline on
Valid args: 0, 1Macintosh only.
set_shadow()
Default state: Shadow is off
Default action: Turn shadow on
Valid args: 0, 1Macintosh only.
set_num_format()
Default state: General format
Default action: Format index 1
Valid args: See the following tableThis method is used to define the numerical format of a number in Excel. It controls whether a number is displayed as an integer, a floating point number, a date, a currency value or some other user defined format.
The numerical format of a cell can be specified by using a format string or an index to one of Excel's built-in formats:
my $format1 = $workbook->addformat();
my $format2 = $workbook->addformat();
$format1->set_num_format('d mmm yyyy'); # Format string
$format2->set_num_format(0x0f); # Format index
$worksheet->write(0, 0, 36892.521, $format1); # 1 Jan 2001
$worksheet->write(0, 0, 36892.521, $format2); # 1-Jan-01Using format strings you can define very sophisticated formatting of numbers.
$format01->set_num_format('0.000');
$worksheet->write(0, 0, 3.1415926, $format01); # 3.142
$format02->set_num_format('#,##0');
$worksheet->write(1, 0, 1234.56, $format02); # 1,235
$format03->set_num_format('#,##0.00');
$worksheet->write(2, 0, 1234.56, $format03); # 1,234.56
$format04->set_num_format('$0.00');
$worksheet->write(3, 0, 49.99, $format04); # $49.99
$format05->set_num_format('£0.00');
$worksheet->write(4, 0, 49.99, $format05); # £49.99
$format06->set_num_format('¥0.00');
$worksheet->write(5, 0, 49.99, $format06); # ¥49.99
$format07->set_num_format('mm/dd/yy');
$worksheet->write(6, 0, 36892.521, $format07); # 01/01/01
$format08->set_num_format('mmm d yyyy');
$worksheet->write(7, 0, 36892.521, $format08); # Jan 1 2001
$format09->set_num_format('d mmmm yyyy');
$worksheet->write(8, 0, 36892.521, $format09); # 1 January 2001
$format10->set_num_format('dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm AM/PM');
$worksheet->write(9, 0, 36892.521, $format10); # 01/01/2001 12:30 AM
$format11->set_num_format('0 "dollar and" .00 "cents"');
$worksheet->write(10, 0, 1.87, $format11); # 1 dollar and .87 cents
# Conditional formatting
$format12->set_num_format('[Green]General;[Red]-General;General');
$worksheet->write(11, 0, 123, $format12); # > 0 Green
$worksheet->write(12, 0, -45, $format12); # < 0 Red
$worksheet->write(13, 0, 0, $format12); # = 0 Default colourThe number system used for dates is described in "Dates in Excel".
The colour format should have one of the following values:
[Black] [Blue] [Cyan] [Green] [Magenta] [Red] [White] [Yellow]Alternatively you can specify the colour based on a colour index as follows: [Color n], where n is a standard Excel colour index - 7. See the 'Standard colors' worksheet created by formats.pl.
For more information refer to the documentation on formatting in the doc directory of the Spreadsheet::WriteExcel distro, the Excel on-line help or to the tutorial at: http://support.microsoft.com/support/Excel/Content/Formats/default.asp and http://support.microsoft.com/support/Excel/Content/Formats/codes.asp
You should ensure that the format string is valid in Excel prior to using it in WriteExcel.
Excel's built-in formats are shown in the following table:
Index Index Format String
0 0x00 General
1 0x01 0
2 0x02 0.00
3 0x03 #,##0
4 0x04 #,##0.00
5 0x05 ($#,##0_);($#,##0)
6 0x06 ($#,##0_);[Red]($#,##0)
7 0x07 ($#,##0.00_);($#,##0.00)
8 0x08 ($#,##0.00_);[Red]($#,##0.00)
9 0x09 0%
10 0x0a 0.00%
11 0x0b 0.00E+00
12 0x0c # ?/?
13 0x0d # ??/??
14 0x0e m/d/yy
15 0x0f d-mmm-yy
16 0x10 d-mmm
17 0x11 mmm-yy
18 0x12 h:mm AM/PM
19 0x13 h:mm:ss AM/PM
20 0x14 h:mm
21 0x15 h:mm:ss
22 0x16 m/d/yy h:mm
.. .... ...........
37 0x25 (#,##0_);(#,##0)
38 0x26 (#,##0_);[Red](#,##0)
39 0x27 (#,##0.00_);(#,##0.00)
40 0x28 (#,##0.00_);[Red](#,##0.00)
41 0x29 _(* #,##0_);_(* (#,##0);_(* "-"_);_(@_)
42 0x2a _($* #,##0_);_($* (#,##0);_($* "-"_);_(@_)
43 0x2b _(* #,##0.00_);_(* (#,##0.00);_(* "-"??_);_(@_)
44 0x2c _($* #,##0.00_);_($* (#,##0.00);_($* "-"??_);_(@_)
45 0x2d mm:ss
46 0x2e [h]:mm:ss
47 0x2f mm:ss.0
48 0x30 ##0.0E+0
49 0x31 @For examples of these formatting codes see the 'Numerical formats' worksheet created by formats.pl.
Note 1. Numeric formats 23 to 36 are not documented by Microsoft and may differ in international versions.
Note 2. In Excel 5 the dollar sign appears as a dollar sign. In Excel 97-2000 it appears as the defined local currency symbol.
Note 3. The red negative numeric formats display slightly differently in Excel 5 and Excel 97-2000.
set_align()
Default state: Alignment is off
Default action: Left alignment
Valid args: 'left' Horizontal
'center'
'right'
'fill'
'justify'
'merge'
'top' Vertical
'vcenter'
'bottom'
'vjustify'This method is used to set the horizontal and vertical text alignment within a cell. Vertical and horizontal alignments can be combined. The method is used as follows:
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_align('center');
$format->set_align('vcenter');
$worksheet->set_row(0, 30);
$worksheet->write(0, 0, "X", $format);Text can be aligned across two or more adjacent cells using the merge property. See also, the set_merge() method.
The vjustify (vertical justify) option can be used to provide automatic text wrapping in a cell. The height of the cell will be adjusted to accommodate the wrapped text. To specify where the text wraps use the set_text_wrap() method.
For further examples see the 'Alignment' worksheet created by formats.pl.
set_merge()
Default state: Cell merging is off
Default action: Turn cell merging on
Valid args: 1Text can be aligned across two or more adjacent cells using the set_merge() method. This is an alias for the unintuitive set_align('merge') method call.
Only one cell should contain the text, the other cells should be blank:
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_merge();
$worksheet->write(1, 1, 'Merged cells', $format);
$worksheet->write_blank(1, 2, $format);See also the merge1.pl, merge2.pl and merge3.pl programs in the examples directory.
set_text_wrap()
Default state: Text wrap is off
Default action: Turn text wrap on
Valid args: 0, 1Here is an example using the text wrap property, the escape character \n is used to indicate the end of line:
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_text_wrap();
$worksheet->write(0, 0, "It's\na bum\nwrap", $format);Excel will adjust the height of the row to accommodate the wrapped text. A similar effect can be obtained without newlines using the set_align('vjustify') method. See the textwrap.pl program in the examples directory.
set_rotation()
Default state: Text rotation is off
Default action: Rotation style 1
Valid args: 0 No rotation
1 Letters run from top to bottom
2 90° anticlockwise
3 90° clockwiseSet the rotation of the text in a cell. See the 'Alignment' worksheet created by formats.pl.
set_text_justlast()
Default state: Justify last is off
Default action: Turn justify last on
Valid args: 0, 1Only applies to Far Eastern versions of Excel.
set_pattern()
Default state: Pattern is off
Default action: Solid fill is on
Valid args: 0 .. 31Examples of the available patterns are shown in the 'Patterns' worksheet created by formats.pl. However, it is unlikely that you will ever need anything other than Pattern 1 which is a solid fill of the foreground color.
set_fg_color()
Also applies to: set_bg_color
Default state: Color is off
Default action: Undefined
Valid args: See set_color()Note, the foreground and background colours will only have an effect if the cell pattern has been set. In the most common case you can specify the solid fill pattern and the foreground colour as follows:
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_pattern(); # Set pattern to 1, i.e. solid fill
$format->set_fg_color('green'); # Note foreground and not background
$worksheet->write(0, 0, "Ray", $format);set_border()
Also applies to: set_bottom()
set_top()
set_left()
set_right()
Default state: Border is off
Default action: Set border type 1
Valid args: 0 No border
1 Thin single border
2 Medium single border
3 Dashed border
4 Dotted border
5 Thick single border
6 Double line border
7 Hair borderA cell border is comprised of a border on the bottom, top, left and right. These can be set to the same value using set_border() or individually using the relevant method calls shown above. Examples of the available border styles are shown in the 'Borders' worksheet created by formats.pl.
set_border_color()
Also applies to: set_bottom_color()
set_top_color()
set_left_color()
set_right_color()
Default state: Color is off
Default action: Undefined
Valid args: See set_color()Set the colour of the cell borders.
copy($format)
This method is used to copy all of the properties from one Format object to another:
my $lorry1 = $workbook->addformat();
$lorry1->set_bold();
$lorry1->set_italic();
$lorry1->set_color('red'); # lorry1 is bold, italic and red
my $lorry2 = $workbook->addformat();
$lorry2->copy($lorry1);
$lorry2->set_color('yellow'); # lorry2 is bold, italic and yellowIt is only useful if you are using the method interface to Format properties. It generally isn't required if you are setting Format properties directly using hashes.
Note: this is not a copy constructor, both objects must exist prior to copying.
DATES IN EXCEL
Excel stores dates as a real number where the integer part of the number stores the number of days since the epoch and the fractional part stores the percentage of the day. A number format is then applied to the cell to display the date in the required format. With Spreadsheet::WriteExcel the sequence would be as follows:
$format->set_num_format('mmm d yyyy hh:mm AM/PM');
$worksheet->write('A1', 36892.521, $format); # Jan 1 2001 12:30 AMThe epoch can be either 1900 or 1904. Excel for Windows uses 1900 and Excel for Macintosh uses 1904. However, Excel on either platform will convert automatically between one system and the other. By default Spreadsheet::WriteExcel uses the 1900 format.
The epochs are:
1900: 0 January 1900 i.e. 31 December 1899
1904: 1 January 1904There are two strange things to note about the 1900 date format. The first is that the epoch starts on 0 January 1900. The second is that the year 1900 is erroneously but deliberately treated as a leap year!! Therefore you must add an extra day to dates after 28 February 1900. The reason for this anomaly is given at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q181/3/70.asp
There are two example programs that contain functions for calculating Excel's dates in the examples directory of the WriteExcel distribution:
excel_date1.pl was written by Andrew Benham. It contains a detailed description of the problems involved in calculating dates in Excel. It does not require any external modules.
excel_date2.pl uses the Date::Calc module to calculate the dates.
These functions and some other functions will be included in a utility module in a later release.
If you plan to manipulate dates in different formats it may be worth looking at the functions provided by the Date::Calc and Date::Manip modules.
It is also possible to get Excel to calculate dates for you by defining a function:
$worksheet->write('A1', '=DATEVALUE("1-Jan-2001")');However, this carries a performance overhead in Spreadsheet::WriteExcel due to the parsing of the formula and it shouldn't be used for programs that deal with a large number of dates.
FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS IN EXCEL
The first thing to note is that there are still some outstanding issues with the implementation of formulas and functions:
* Writing a formula is much slower than writing the equivalent string.
* Unary minus isn't supported.
* You cannot use arrays constants, i.e. {1;2;3}, in functions.
* You cannot use embedded double quotes in strings.
* Whitespace is not preserved around operators.However, these constraints will be removed in future versions. They are here because of a trade-off between features and time.
The following is a brief introduction to formulas and functions in Excel and Spreadsheet::WriteExcel.
A formula is a string that begins with an equal sign:
'=A1+B1'
'=AVERAGE(1, 2, 3)'The formula can contain numbers, strings, boolean values, cell references, cell ranges and functions. Formulas should be written as they appear in Excel, that is cells and functions must be in uppercase.
Cells in Excel are referenced using the A1 notation system where the column is designated by a letter and the row by a number. Columns range from A to IV i.e. 0 to 255, rows range from 1 to 16384. In the examples directory of the distro there is program called convertA1.pl which contains functions to help you work with this system. For example:
cell_to_rowcol('B7'); # Returns (6, 1)
rowcol_to_cell(6, 1), # Returns "B7"These functions and some other functions will be included in a utility module in a later release.
The Excel $ notation in cell references is also supported. This allows you to specify whether a row or column is relative or absolute. This only has an effect if the cell is copied. The following examples show relative and absolute values.
'=A1' # Column and row are relative
'=$A1' # Column is absolute and row is relative
'=A$1' # Column is relative and row is absolute
'=$A$1' # Column and row are absoluteFormulas can also refer to cells in other worksheets of the current workbook. For example:
'=Sheet2!A1'
'=Sheet2!A1:A5'
'=Sheet2:Sheet3!A1'
'=Sheet2:Sheet3!A1:A5'
q{='Test Data'!A1}
q{='Test Data1:Test Data2'!A1}The sheet reference and the cell reference are separated by ! the exclamation mark symbol. If worksheet names contain spaces then Excel requires them to be enclosed in single quotes as in the last two examples above. In this case you will have to use the quote operator q{} to protect the quotes. See perlop in the main Perl documentation. Only valid sheet names that have been added using the addworksheet() method can be used in formulas. You cannot reference external workbooks.
The following table lists the operators that are available in Excel's formulas. The majority of the operators are the same as Perl's. Differences are indicated.
Arithmetic operators:
=====================
Operator Meaning Example
+ Addition 1+2
- Subtraction 2-1
* Multiplication 2*3
/ Division 1/4
^ Exponentiation 2^3 # Equivalent to **
- Unary minus -(1+2) # Not yet supported
% Percent (Not modulus) 13% # Not supported, [1]
Comparison operators:
=====================
Operator Meaning Example
= Equal to A1 = B1 # Equivalent to ==
<> Not equal to A1 <> B1 # Equivalent to !=
> Greater than A1 > B1
< Less than A1 < B1
>= Greater than or equal to A1 >= B1
<= Less than or equal to A1 <= B1
String operator:
================
Operator Meaning Example
& Concatenation "Hello " & "World!" # [2]
Reference operators:
====================
Operator Meaning Example
: Range operator A1:A4 # [3]
, Union operator SUM(1, 2+2, B3) # [4]
Notes:
[1]: You can get a percentage with formatting and modulus with MOD().
[2]: Equivalent to ("Hello " . "World!") in Perl.
[3]: This range is equivalent to cells A1, A2, A3 and A4.
[4]: The comma behaves like the list separator in Perl.The range and comma operators can have different symbols in non-English versions of Excel. These will be supported in a later version of Spreadsheet::WriteExcel.
The following table lists all of the core functions supported by Excel 5 and Spreadsheet::WriteExcel. Any additional functions that are available through the "Analysis ToolPak" or other add-ins are not supported. These functions have all been tested to verify that they work.
ABS DB INDIRECT NORMINV SLN
ACOS DCOUNT INFO NORMSDIST SLOPE
ACOSH DCOUNTA INT NORMSINV SMALL
ADDRESS DDB INTERCEPT NOT SQRT
AND DEGREES IPMT NOW STANDARDIZE
AREAS DEVSQ IRR NPER STDEV
ASIN DGET ISBLANK NPV STDEVP
ASINH DMAX ISERR ODD STEYX
ATAN DMIN ISERROR OFFSET SUBSTITUTE
ATAN2 DOLLAR ISLOGICAL OR SUBTOTAL
ATANH DPRODUCT ISNA PEARSON SUM
AVEDEV DSTDEV ISNONTEXT PERCENTILE SUMIF
AVERAGE DSTDEVP ISNUMBER PERCENTRANK SUMPRODUCT
BETADIST DSUM ISREF PERMUT SUMSQ
BETAINV DVAR ISTEXT PI SUMX2MY2
BINOMDIST DVARP KURT PMT SUMX2PY2
CALL ERROR.TYPE LARGE POISSON SUMXMY2
CEILING EVEN LEFT POWER SYD
CELL EXACT LEN PPMT T
CHAR EXP LINEST PROB TAN
CHIDIST EXPONDIST LN PRODUCT TANH
CHIINV FACT LOG PROPER TDIST
CHITEST FALSE LOG10 PV TEXT
CHOOSE FDIST LOGEST QUARTILE TIME
CLEAN FIND LOGINV RADIANS TIMEVALUE
CODE FINV LOGNORMDIST RAND TINV
COLUMN FISHER LOOKUP RANK TODAY
COLUMNS FISHERINV LOWER RATE TRANSPOSE
COMBIN FIXED MATCH REGISTER.ID TREND
CONCATENATE FLOOR MAX REPLACE TRIM
CONFIDENCE FORECAST MDETERM REPT TRIMMEAN
CORREL FREQUENCY MEDIAN RIGHT TRUE
COS FTEST MID ROMAN TRUNC
COSH FV MIN ROUND TTEST
COUNT GAMMADIST MINUTE ROUNDDOWN TYPE
COUNTA GAMMAINV MINVERSE ROUNDUP UPPER
COUNTBLANK GAMMALN MIRR ROW VALUE
COUNTIF GEOMEAN MMULT ROWS VAR
COVAR GROWTH MOD RSQ VARP
CRITBINOM HARMEAN MODE SEARCH VDB
DATE HLOOKUP MONTH SECOND VLOOKUP
DATEVALUE HOUR N SIGN WEEKDAY
DAVERAGE HYPGEOMDIST NA SIN WEIBULL
DAY IF NEGBINOMDIST SINH YEAR
DAYS360 INDEX NORMDIST SKEW ZTESTYou can also modify the module to support function names in the following languages: German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Finnish, Italian and Swedish. See the function_locale.pl program in the examples directory of the distro.
For a general introduction to Excel's formulas and an explanation of the syntax of the function refer to the Excel help files or the following links: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?URL=/library/officedev/office97/s88f2.htm and http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?URL=/library/officedev/office97/s992f.htm
If your formula doesn't work in Spreadsheet::WriteExcel try the following:
1. Verify that the formula works in Excel (or Gnumeric or OpenOffice).
2. Ensure that it isn't on the TODO list at the start of this section.
3. Ensure that cell references and formula names are in uppercase.
4. Ensure that you are using the U.S. style range and union operators.
5. Ensure the function is in the above table.If you go through steps 1-5 and you still have a problem, mail me.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
The following example shows some of the basic features of Spreadsheet::WriteExcel.
#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use strict;
use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
# Create a new workbook called simple.xls and add a worksheet
my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new("simple.xls");
my $worksheet = $workbook->addworksheet();
# The general syntax is write($row, $column, $token). Note that row and
# column are zero indexed
# Write some text
$worksheet->write(0, 0, "Hi Excel!");
# Write some numbers
$worksheet->write(2, 0, 3); # Writes 3
$worksheet->write(3, 0, 3.00000); # Writes 3
$worksheet->write(4, 0, 3.00001); # Writes 3.00001
$worksheet->write(5, 0, 3.14159); # TeX revision no.?
# Write some formulas
$worksheet->write(7, 0, '=A3 + A6');
$worksheet->write(8, 0, '=IF(A5>3,"Yes", "No")');
# Write a hyperlink
$worksheet->write(10, 0, 'http://www.perl.com/');Example 2
The following is a general example which demonstrates some features of working with multiple worksheets.
#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use strict;
use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
# Create a new Excel workbook
my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new("regions.xls");
# Add some worksheets
my $north = $workbook->addworksheet("North");
my $south = $workbook->addworksheet("South");
my $east = $workbook->addworksheet("East");
my $west = $workbook->addworksheet("West");
# Add a Format
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_bold();
$format->set_color('blue');
# Add a caption to each worksheet
foreach my $worksheet (@{$workbook->worksheets()}) {
$worksheet->write(0, 0, "Sales", $format);
}
# Write some data
$north->write(0, 1, 200000);
$south->write(0, 1, 100000);
$east->write (0, 1, 150000);
$west->write (0, 1, 100000);
# Set the active worksheet
$south->activate();
# Set the width of the first column
$south->set_column(0, 0, 20);
# Set the active cell
$south->set_selection(0, 1);Example 3
This example shows how to use a conditional numerical format with colours to indicate if a share price has gone up or down.
use strict;
use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
# Create a new workbook and add a worksheet
my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new("stocks.xls");
my $worksheet = $workbook->addworksheet();
# Set the column width for columns 1, 2, 3 and 4
$worksheet->set_column(0, 3, 15);
# Create a format for the column headings
my $header = $workbook->addformat();
$header->set_bold();
$header->set_size(12);
$header->set_color('blue');
# Create a format for the stock price
my $f_price = $workbook->addformat();
$f_price->set_align('left');
$f_price->set_num_format('$0.00');
# Create a format for the stock volume
my $f_volume = $workbook->addformat();
$f_volume->set_align('left');
$f_volume->set_num_format('#,##0');
# Create a format for the price change. This is an example of a conditional
# format. The number is formatted as a percentage. If it is positive it is
# formatted in green, if it is negative it is formatted in red and if it is
# zero it is formatted as the default font colour (in this case black).
# Note: the [Green] format produces an unappealing lime green. Try
# [Color 10] instead for a dark green.
#
my $f_change = $workbook->addformat();
$f_change->set_align('left');
$f_change->set_num_format('[Green]0.0%;[Red]-0.0%;0.0%');
# Write out the data
$worksheet->write(0, 0, 'Company',$header);
$worksheet->write(0, 1, 'Price', $header);
$worksheet->write(0, 2, 'Volume', $header);
$worksheet->write(0, 3, 'Change', $header);
$worksheet->write(1, 0, 'Damage Inc.' );
$worksheet->write(1, 1, 30.25, $f_price ); # $30.25
$worksheet->write(1, 2, 1234567, $f_volume); # 1,234,567
$worksheet->write(1, 3, 0.085, $f_change); # 8.5% in green
$worksheet->write(2, 0, 'Dump Corp.' );
$worksheet->write(2, 1, 1.56, $f_price ); # $1.56
$worksheet->write(2, 2, 7564, $f_volume); # 7,564
$worksheet->write(2, 3, -0.015, $f_change); # -1.5% in red
$worksheet->write(3, 0, 'Rev Ltd.' );
$worksheet->write(3, 1, 0.13, $f_price ); # $0.13
$worksheet->write(3, 2, 321, $f_volume); # 321
$worksheet->write(3, 3, 0, $f_change); # 0 in the font color (black)Example 4
The following is a simple example of using functions.
#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use strict;
use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
# Create a new workbook and add a worksheet
my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new("stats.xls");
my $worksheet = $workbook->addworksheet('Test data');
# Set the column width for columns 1
$worksheet->set_column(0, 0, 20);
# Create a format for the headings
my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_bold();
# Write the sample data
$worksheet->write(0, 0, 'Sample', $format);
$worksheet->write(0, 1, 1);
$worksheet->write(0, 2, 2);
$worksheet->write(0, 3, 3);
$worksheet->write(0, 4, 4);
$worksheet->write(0, 5, 5);
$worksheet->write(0, 6, 6);
$worksheet->write(0, 7, 7);
$worksheet->write(0, 8, 8);
$worksheet->write(1, 0, 'Length', $format);
$worksheet->write(1, 1, 25.4);
$worksheet->write(1, 2, 25.4);
$worksheet->write(1, 3, 24.8);
$worksheet->write(1, 4, 25.0);
$worksheet->write(1, 5, 25.3);
$worksheet->write(1, 6, 24.9);
$worksheet->write(1, 7, 25.2);
$worksheet->write(1, 8, 24.8);
# Write some statistical functions
$worksheet->write(4, 0, 'Count', $format);
$worksheet->write(4, 1, '=COUNT(B1:I1)');
$worksheet->write(5, 0, 'Sum', $format);
$worksheet->write(5, 1, '=SUM(B2:I2)');
$worksheet->write(6, 0, 'Average', $format);
$worksheet->write(6, 1, '=AVERAGE(B2:I2)');
$worksheet->write(7, 0, 'Min', $format);
$worksheet->write(7, 1, '=MIN(B2:I2)');
$worksheet->write(8, 0, 'Max', $format);
$worksheet->write(8, 1, '=MAX(B2:I2)');
$worksheet->write(9, 0, 'Standard Deviation', $format);
$worksheet->write(9, 1, '=STDEV(B2:I2)');
$worksheet->write(10, 0, 'Kurtosis', $format);
$worksheet->write(10, 1, '=KURT(B2:I2)');Example 5
The following example converts a tab separated file called tab.txt into an Excel file called tab.xls.
#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use strict;
use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;
open (TABFILE, "tab.txt") or die "tab.txt: $!";
my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new("tab.xls");
my $worksheet = $workbook->addworksheet();
# Row and column are zero indexed
my $row = 0;
while (<TABFILE>) {
chomp;
# Split on single tab
my @Fld = split('\t', $_);
my $col = 0;
foreach my $token (@Fld) {
$worksheet->write($row, $col, $token);
$col++;
}
$row++;
}Additional Examples
If you performed a normal installation the following examples file should have been copied to your ~site/Spreadsheet/WriteExcel/examples directory:
Getting started
===============
simple.pl An example of some of the basic features.
regions.pl Demonstrates multiple worksheets.
stats.pl Basic formulas and functions.
formats.pl Creates a demo of the available formatting.
Advanced
========
stocks.pl Demonstrates conditional formatting.
chess.pl An example of formatting using properties.
stats_ext.pl Same as stats.pl with external references.
cgi.pl A simple CGI program.
mod_perl.pl A simple mod_perl program.
hyperlink.pl Shows how to create hyperlinks.
merge1.pl A simple example of cell merging.
merge2.pl A more advanced example of cell merging.
merge3.pl Merge hyperlinks and merge vertically.
textwrap.pl Demonstrates text wrapping options.
panes.pl An examples of how to create panes.
copyformat.pl Example of copying a cell format.
win32ole.pl A sample Win32::OLE example for comparison.
easter_egg.pl Expose the Excel97 flight simulator. A must see.
Utility
=======
convertA1.pl Helper functions for dealing with A1 notation.
lecxe.pl Convert Excel to WriteExcel using Win32::OLE.
csv2xls.pl Program to convert a CSV file to an Excel file.
tab2xls.pl Program to convert a tab separated file to xls.
datecalc1.pl Convert Unix/Perl time to Excel time.
datecalc2.pl Calculate an Excel date using Date::Calc.
writemany.pl Write an 2d array of values in one go.
Developer
=========
function_locale.pl Add non-English function names to Formula.pm.
filehandle.pl Examples of working with filehandles.
writeA1.pl Example of how to extend the module.
comments.pl Add cell comments to Excel 5 worksheets.
bigfile.pl Write past the 7MB limit with OLE::Storage_Lite.There are additional examples of a CGI application that uses Spreadsheet::WriteExcel available at the website of the German Unix/web journal iX: ftp://ftp.heise.de/pub/ix/ix_listings/2001_06/perl.tgz
LIMITATIONS
The following limits are imposed by Excel or the version of the BIFF file that has been implemented:
Description Limit Source
----------------------------------- ------ -------
Maximum number of chars in a string 255 Excel 5
Maximum number of columns 256 Excel 5, 97
Maximum number of rows in Excel 5 16384 Excel 5
Maximum number of rows in Excel 97 65536 Excel 97
Maximum chars in a sheet name 32 Excel 5, 97Note: the maximum row reference in a formula is the Excel 5 row limit of 16384.
The minimum file size is 6K due to the OLE overhead. The maximum file size is approximately 7MB (7087104 bytes) of BIFF data. This can be extended by using Takanori Kawai's OLE::Storage_Lite module http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=OLE-Storage_Lite see the bigfile.pl example in the examples directory of the distro.
REQUIREMENTS
This module requires Perl 5.005 (or later) and Parse::RecDescent: http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Parse-RecDescent
PORTABILITY
Spreadsheet::WriteExcel will work on the majority of Windows, UNIX and Macintosh platforms. Specifically, the module will work on any system where perl packs floats in the 64 bit IEEE format. The float must also be in little-endian format but it will be reversed if necessary. Thus:
print join(" ", map { sprintf "%#02x", $_ } unpack("C*", pack "d", 1.2345)), "\n";should give (or in reverse order):
0x8d 0x97 0x6e 0x12 0x83 0xc0 0xf3 0x3fIn general, if you don't know whether your system supports a 64 bit IEEE float or not, it probably does. If your system doesn't, WriteExcel will croak() with the message given in the DIAGNOSTICS section. You can check which platforms the module has been tested on at the CPAN testers site: http://testers.cpan.org/search?request=dist&dist=Spreadsheet-WriteExcel
DIAGNOSTICS
- Filename required in WriteExcel('Filename')
-
A filename must be given in the constructor.
- Can't open filename. It may be in use.
-
The file cannot be opened for writing. The directory that you are writing to may be protected or the file may be in use by another program.
- Required floating point format not supported on this platform.
-
Operating system doesn't support 64 bit IEEE float or it is byte-ordered in a way unknown to WriteExcel.
- Unable to create tmp files via IO::File->new_tmpfile().
-
This is a
-wwarning. You will see it if you are using Spreadsheet::WriteExcel in an environment where temporary files cannot be created, in which case all data will be stored in memory. The warning is for information only: it does not affect execution but it may affect the speed of execution for large files. - Maximum file size, 7087104, exceeded.
-
The current OLE implementation only supports a maximum BIFF file of this size. This limit can be extended, see the LIMITATIONS section.
- Can't locate Parse/RecDescent.pm in @INC ...
-
Spreadsheet::WriteExcel requires the Parse::RecDescent module. Download it from CPAN: http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Parse-RecDescent
- Couldn't parse formula ...
-
There are a large number of warnings which relate to badly formed formulas and functions. See the "FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS IN EXCEL" section for suggestions on how to avoid these errors.
THE EXCEL BINARY FORMAT
Excel data is stored in the "Binary Interchange File Format" (BIFF) file format. Details of this format are given in the Excel SDK, the "Excel Developer's Kit" from Microsoft Press. It is also included in the MSDN CD library but is no longer available on the MSDN website. An older version of the BIFF documentation is available at http://www.cubic.org/source/archive/fileform/misc/excel.txt
Issues relating to the Excel SDK are discussed, occasionally, at news://microsoft.public.excel.sdk
The BIFF portion of the Excel file is comprised of contiguous binary records that have different functions and that hold different types of data. Each BIFF record is comprised of the following three parts:
Record name; Hex identifier, length = 2 bytes
Record length; Length of following data, length = 2 bytes
Record data; Data, length = variableThe BIFF data is stored along with other data in an OLE Compound File. This is a structured storage which acts like a file system within a file. A Compound File is comprised of storages and streams which, to follow the file system analogy, are like directories and files.
The documentation for the OLE::Storage module, http://user.cs.tu-berlin.de/~schwartz/pmh/guide.html , contains one of the few descriptions of the OLE Compound File in the public domain.
For a open source implementation of the OLE library see the 'cole' library at http://atena.com/libole2.php
The source code for the Excel plugin of the Gnumeric spreadsheet also contains information relevant to the Excel BIFF format and the OLE container, http://www.ximian.com/apps/gnumeric.php3 and ftp://ftp.ximian.com/pub/ximian-source/
In addition the source code for OpenOffice is available at http://www.openoffice.org/
An article describing Spreadsheet::WriteExcel and how it works appears in Issue #19 of The Perl Journal, http://www.tpj.com/ It is reproduced, by kind permission, in the doc directory of the distro.
Please note that the provision of this information does not constitute an invitation to start hacking at the BIFF or OLE file formats. There are more interesting ways to waste your time. ;-)
WRITING EXCEL FILES
Depending on your requirements, background and general sensibilities you may prefer one of the following methods of getting data into Excel:
* CSV, comma separated variables or text. If the file extension is csv, Excel will open and convert this format automatically. Generating a valid CSV file isn't as easy as it seems. Have a look at the DBD::RAM, DBD::CSV and Text::CSV_XS modules.
* DBI with DBD::ADO or DBD::ODBC. Excel files contain an internal index table that allows them to act like a database file. Using one of the standard Perl database modules you can connect to an Excel file as a database.
* DBD::Excel, you can also access Spreadsheet::WriteExcel using the standard DBI interface via Kawai Takanori's DBD::Excel module http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=DBD-Excel.
* Win32::OLE module and office automation. This requires a Windows platform and an installed copy of Excel. This is the most powerful and complete method for interfacing with Excel. See http://www.activestate.com/ASPN/Reference/Products/ActivePerl-5.6/faq/Windows/ActivePerl-Winfaq12.html and http://www.activestate.com/ASPN/Reference/Products/ActivePerl-5.6/site/lib/Win32/OLE.html If your main platform is UNIX but you have the resources to set up a separate Win32/MSOffice server, you can convert office documents to text, postscript or PDF using Win32::OLE. For a demonstration of how to do this using Perl see Docserver: http://search.cpan.org/search?mode=module&query=docserver
* HTML tables. This is an easy way of adding formatting.
* XML, the Excel XML and HTML file specification are available from http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/officedev/ofxml2k/ofxml2k.htm
READING EXCEL FILES
To read data from Excel files try:
* Spreadsheet::ParseExcel. This uses the OLE::Storage-Lite module to extract data from an Excel file. http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Spreadsheet-ParseExcel
* OLE::Storage, aka LAOLA. This is a Perl interface to OLE file formats. In particular, the distro contains an Excel to HTML converter called Herbert, http://user.cs.tu-berlin.de/~schwartz/pmh/ This has been superseded by the Spreadsheet::ParseExcel module. There is also an open source C/C++ project based on the LAOLA work. Try the Filters Project http://atena.com/libole2.php and the Excel to HTML converter at the xlHtml Project http://www.xlhtml.org/
* HTML tables. If the files are saved from Excel in a HTML format the data can be accessed using HTML::TableExtract http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=HTML-TableExtract
* DBI with DBD::ADO or DBD::ODBC. See, the section "WRITING EXCEL FILES".
* DBD::Excel, you can also access Spreadsheet::ParseExcel using the standard DBI interface via Kawai Takanori's DBD::Excel module http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=DBD-Excel.
* XML::Excel converts Excel files to XML using Spreadsheet::ParseExcel http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=XML-Excel.
* Win32::OLE module and office automation. See, the section "WRITING EXCEL FILES".
If you wish to view Excel files on a UNIX/Linux platform check out the excellent Gnumeric spreadsheet application at http://www.gnome.org/projects/gnumeric/ or OpenOffice at http://www.openoffice.org/
If you wish to view Excel files on a Windows platform which doesn't have Excel installed you can use the free Microsoft Excel Viewer http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/2000/downloaddetails/xlviewer.htm
BUGS
Orange isn't.
Formulas are formulae.
Spreadsheet::ParseExcel: All formulas created by Spreadsheet::WriteExcel are read as having a value of zero. This is because Spreadsheet::WriteExcel only stores the formula and not the calculated result.
OpenOffice: Numerical formats are not displayed due to some missing records in Spreadsheet::WriteExcel. Someone with a good knowledge of C++, and possibly of German, might help me to track this down in the OpenOffice source. URLs are not displayed as links.
Gnumeric: Some formatting is not displayed correctly. URLs are not displayed as links.
MS Access: The Excel files that are produced by this module are not compatible with MS Access. Use DBI or ODBC instead.
QuickView: If you wish to write files that are fully compatible with QuickView it is necessary to write the cells in a sequential row by row order.
The lack of a portable way of writing a little-endian 64 bit IEEE float.
TO DO
The roadmap is as follows:
Move to Excel97/2000 format as standard. This will allow strings greater than 255 characters and hopefully Unicode. The Excel 5 format will be optional. This is a priority requirement.
More a few more minor features but not many more.
Add cell protection and formula hiding.
Add handling for non-English formula syntax and numbers in different locales.
Also, here are some of the most requested features that probably won't get added:
Graphs. The format is documented but it would require too much work to implement. It would also require too much work to design a useable interface to the hundreds of features in an Excel graph. So that's two too much works.
Macros. This would solve the previous problem neatly. However, the format of Excel macros isn't documented.
Some feature that you really need. ;-)
If there is some feature of an Excel file that you really, really need then you should use Win32::OLE with Excel on Windows. If you are on Unix, then set up a Windows server and use SOAP or CORBA or get your clients to use Gnumeric, it's better than Excel anyway.
You can keep up to date with future release by registering as a user with Freshmeat http://freshmeat.net/ and subscribing to Spreadsheet::WriteExcel at the project page http://freshmeat.net/projects/writeexcel/ You will then receive mailed updates when a new version is released. Alternatively you can keep an eye on news://comp.lang.perl.announce
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following people contributed to the debugging and testing of Spreadsheet::WriteExcel:
Alexander Farber, Arthur@ais, Artur Silveira da Cunha, Borgar Olsen, Cedric Bouvier, CPAN testers, Daniel Berger, Daniel Gardner, Harold Bamford, James Holmes, Johan Ekenberg, J.C. Wren, Kenneth Stacey, Kyle Krom, Michael Buschauer, Mike Blazer, Paul J. Falbe, Paul Medynski, Peter Dintelmann, Reto Badertscher, Rich Sorden, Shane Ashby, Shenyu Zheng, Steve Sapovits.
The following people contributed code or examples:
Andrew Benham, Bill Young, Cedric Bouvier, Ian Penman, Marco Geri, Sam Kington, Takanori Kawai, Tom O'Sullivan.
Additional thanks to Takanori Kawai for translating the documentation into Japanese: http://member.nifty.ne.jp/hippo2000/perltips/Spreadsheet/WriteExcel.htm
Peter Dintelmann and Christian Kirsch wrote an article entitled "Excel-Dateien mit Perl erstellen - Controller im Glück" for the German Unix/web journal iX: http://www.heise.de/ix/artikel/2001/06/175/
Dirk Eddelbuettel maintains the Debian distro.
Thanks to Damian Conway for the excellent Parse::RecDescent. Thanks to Michael Meeks for his work on Gnumeric.
AUTHOR
John McNamara jmcnamara@cpan.org
When the cool of the pond makes you drop down on it
When the smell of the lawn makes you flop down on it
When the teenage car gets the cop down on it
The time is here for one more year
And that summer feeling is gonna haunt you
One day in your life.
That summer feeling,
That summer feeling,
That summer feeling.
-- Jonathan Richman.COPYRIGHT
© MM-MMI, 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.
1 POD Error
The following errors were encountered while parsing the POD:
- Around line 1428:
Non-ASCII character seen before =encoding in '$format05->set_num_format('£0.00');'. Assuming CP1252