writeexcel(3)

NAME

Spreadsheet::WriteExcel - Write to a cross-platform Excel
binary file.

VERSION

This document refers to version 0.37 of Spread
sheet::WriteExcel, released April 29, 2002.

SYNOPSIS

To write a string, a formatted string, a number and a for
mula 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, hyperlinks and images can
be written to the cells.

The Excel file produced by this module is compatible with
Excel 5, 95, 97, 2000 and 2002.

The module will work on the majority of Windows, UNIX and
Macintosh platforms. Generated files are also compatible
with the Linux/UNIX spreadsheet applications Gnumeric and
OpenOffice.

This module cannot be used 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 impor
tant and what is not. So for those of you who prefer to
assemble Ikea furniture first and then read the instruc
tions, 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 "addwork sheet()".

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 3

This 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 distri
bution and which you can use to get you started. See EXAM
PLES.

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 ori
ented interface to a new Excel workbook. The following
methods are available through a new workbook.

new()
close()
set_tempdir()
addworksheet()
set_custom_color()
set_palette_xl5()
addformat()
sheets()
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()" con
structor 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('file

name.xls');
my $worksheet = $workbook->addworksheet();
$worksheet->write(0, 0, "Hi Excel!");

Here are some other examples of using "new()" with file
names:

my $workbook1 = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new($file

name);
my $workbook2 = Spreadsheet::WriteEx

cel->new("/tmp/filename.xls");
my $workbook3 = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new("c:mple

name.xls");
my $workbook4 = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('c:mple

name.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 "
that it isn't interpolated. For more information see
"perlfaq5: Why can't I use "C:empo" 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.

If the file cannot be created, due to file permissions or
some other reason, "new" will return "undef". Therefore,
it is good practice to check the return value of "new"
before proceeding. As usual the Perl variable $! will be
set if there is a file creation error. You will also see
one of the warning messages detailed in DIAGNOSTICS:

my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new('protect

ed.xls');
die "Problems creating new Excel file: $!" unless de

fined $workbook;

You can also pass a valid filehandle to the "new()" con
structor. For example in a CGI program you could do some
thing like this:

binmode(STDOUT);
my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new(TDOUT);

The requirement for "binmode()" is explained below.

For CGI programs you can also use the special Perl file
name '-' 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(LS);

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 filehan
dles 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 can safely do this regardless
of whether your platform requires it or not. For more
information about "binmode()" see "perlfunc" and "per
lopentut" 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. Spread
sheet::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 it, reading its size or attaching it to an
email.

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 work
book variable created using "new()".
· If the "new()", "addworksheet()" or "addformat()" meth
ods are called in subroutines.

The reason for this is that Spreadsheet::WriteExcel relies
on Perl's "DESTROY" mechanism to trigger destructor meth
ods 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 or
you fail to create a file you need to call "close()".

set_tempdir()

For speed and efficiency "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel" stores
worksheet data in temporary files prior to assembling the
final workbook.

If Spreadsheet::WriteExcel is unable to create these tem
porary files it will store the required data in memory.
This can be slow for large files. To avoid this problem
the "set_tempdir()" method can be used to specify a direc
tory that is accessible for the creation of temporary
files.

To check if this might be a problem on a particular system
you can run a simple test program with "-w" or "use warn
ings". This will generate a warning if the module cannot
create the required temporary files:

#!/usr/bin/perl -w

use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;

my $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteEx

cel->new("test.xls");
my $worksheet = $workbook->addworksheet();

However, this is not a common problem. The only reported
instances of this were with certain IIS configurations on
Windows. Also, as of this version (0.37) the mechanism for
creating temporary files has changed and it should now
work without intervention even on IIS.

The "File::Temp" module is used to create the temporary
files. File::Temp uses "File::Spec" to determine an appro
priate location for these files such as "/tmp" or "c:48
dowsemp". You can find out which directory is used on
your system as follows:

perl -MFile::Spec -le 'print File::Spec->tmpdir'

Even if the default temporary file directory is accessible
you may wish to specify an alternative location for secu
rity reasons:

$workbook->set_tempdir('/tmp/writeexcel');
$workbook->set_tempdir('c:264

The directory for the temporary file must exist, "set_tem
pdir()" will not create a new directory.

Note: This method must be called before calling "addwork
sheet()".

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(); #

Sheet4

If $sheetname is not specified the default Excel conven
tion will be followed, i.e. Sheet1, Sheet2, etc.

Note, you cannot use the same sheet name in more than one
worksheet.

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 proper

ties at creation
$format2 = $workbook->addformat(); # Set proper

ties later

See the "CELL FORMATTING" section for more details about
Format properties and how to set them.

set_custom_color($index, $red, $green, $blue)

The "set_custom_color()" method can be used to override
one of the built-in palette values with a more suitable
colour.

The value for $index should be in the range 8..63, see
"COLOURS IN EXCEL".

The default named colours use the following indices:

8 => black
9 => white

10 => red
11 => lime
12 => blue
13 => yellow
14 => magenta
15 => cyan
16 => brown
17 => green
18 => navy
20 => purple
22 => silver
23 => gray
53 => orange

A new colour is set using its RGB (red green blue) compo
nents. The $red, $green and $blue values must be in the
range 0..255. You can determine the required values in
Excel using the "Tools->Options->Colors->Modify" dialog.

The "set_custom_color()" workbook method can also be used
with a HTML style "#rrggbb" hex value:

$workbook->set_custom_color(40, 255, 102, 0 ); #

Orange
$workbook->set_custom_color(40, 0xFF, 0x66, 0x00); #

Same thing
$workbook->set_custom_color(40, '#FF6600' ); #

Same thing

my $font = $workbook->addformat(color => 40); # Use

the modified colour

The return value from "set_custom_color()" is the index of
the colour that was changed:

my $ferrari = $workbook->set_custom_color(40, 216, 12,

12);

my $format = $workbook->addformat(fg_color => $fer

rari,
pattern => 1,
border => 1

);

set_palette_xl5()

Prior to version 0.36, Spreadsheet::WriteExcel used the
Excel 5 default colour palette. It was changed to the
Excel 97+ palette for forward compatibility.

However, if you have programs that rely on the colours and
indices of the Excel 5 palette you can revert to the pre
vious default by using the "set_palette_xl5()" method:

$workbook->set_palette_xl5();

A comparison of the colour components in the Excel 5 and
Excel 97+ colour palettes is shown in "rgb5-97.txt" in the
"doc" directory of the distro.

See also "COLOURS IN EXCEL".

sheets()

The "sheets()" method returns a list of the 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->sheets()) {
print $worksheet->get_name();

}

# or:

($workbook->sheets())[5]->write('A1', "Hello");

set_1904()

Excel stores dates as real numbers where the integer part
stores the number of days since the epoch and the frac
tional 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 work
ing 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 work
sheet:

write()
write_row()
write_col()
write_number()
write_string()
write_formula()
write_blank()
write_url()
write_url_range()
insert_bitmap()
get_name()
activate()
select()
protect()
set_first_sheet()
set_selection()
set_row()
set_column()
freeze_panes()
thaw_panes()
merge_cells()
set_zoom()

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 nota

tion.
('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', '=H1+1');

The "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility" module that is
included in the distro contains helper functions for deal
ing with A1 notation, for example:

use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility;

($row, $col) = xl_cell_to_rowcol('C2'); # (1, 2)
$str = xl_rowcol_to_cell(1, 2); # C2

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.

Note: in Excel it is also possible to use a R1C1 notation.
This is not supported by Spreadsheet::WriteExcel.

write($row, $column, $token, $format)

Excel distinguishes between data types such as strings,
numbers, blanks, formulas and hyperlinks. To simplify the
process of writing data the "write()" method acts as a
general alias for several more specific methods:

write_string()
write_number()
write_blank()
write_formula()
write_url()
write_row()
write_col()

The general rule is that if it looks like a something then a something is written. Here are some examples in both row-column and A1 notation:

#

Same as:

$worksheet->write(0, 0, "Hello" ); #

write_string()
$worksheet->write(1, 0, 'One' ); #

write_string()
$worksheet->write(2, 0, 2 ); #

write_number()
$worksheet->write(3, 0, 3.00001 ); #

write_number()
$worksheet->write(4, 0, "" ); #

write_blank()
$worksheet->write(5, 0, '' ); #

write_blank()
$worksheet->write(6, 0, undef ); #

write_blank()
$worksheet->write(7, 0 ); #

write_blank()
$worksheet->write(8, 0, 'http://www.perl.com/'); #

write_url()
$worksheet->write('A9', 'ftp://ftp.cpan.org/' ); #

write_url()
$worksheet->write('A10', 'internal:Sheet1!A1' ); #

write_url()
$worksheet->write('A11', 'external:c:o.xls' ); #

write_url()
$worksheet->write('A12', '=A3 + 3*A4' ); #

write_formula()
$worksheet->write('A13', '=SIN(PI()/4)' ); #

write_formula()
$worksheet->write('A14', @array ); #

write_row()
$worksheet->write('A15', [@array] ); #

write_col()

The "looks like" rule is defined by regular expressions:

"write_number()" if $token is a number based on the fol
lowing regex: "$token =~
/^([+-]?)(?=|.)*(.*)?([Ee]([+-]?+))?$/".

"write_blank()" if $token is undef or a blank string:
"undef", "" or ''.

"write_url()" if $token is a http, https, ftp or mailto
URL based on the following regexes: "$token =~
m|^[fh]tt?ps?://|" or "$token =~ m|^mailto:|".

"write_url()" if $token is an internal or external sheet
reference based on the following regex: "$token =~
m[^(in|ex)ternal:]".

"write_formula()" if the first character of $token is "=".

"write_row()" if $token is an array ref.

"write_col()" if $token is an array ref of array refs.

"write_string()" if none of the previous conditions apply.

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 ); # Format

ted string

The write() method will ignore empty string or "undef"
tokens unless a format is also supplied. As such you
needn't worry about special handling for empty or "undef"
values in your data. See also the the "write_blank()"
method.

One problem with the "write()" method is that occasionally
data looks like a number but you don't want it treated as
a number. For example, zip codes or phone numbers often
start with a leading zero. If you write it as a number
then the leading zero(s) will be stripped. To get around
this you can either write the number with a number format
or explicitly write the number as a string:

# Write as a number: 1209
$worksheet->write('A1', '01209');

# Format as a number: 01209
my $format1 = $workbook->addformat(num_format =>

'00000');
$worksheet->write('A2', '01209', $format1);

# Write as a string: 01209
$worksheet->write_string('A3', '01209');

However, if the user edits the string in the last example
it will convert back to a number. To get around this you
can use the Excel text format "@":

# Format as a string: 01209
my $format2 = $workbook->addformat(num_format => '@');
$worksheet->write_string('A4', '01209', $format2);

Note also that Excel writes strings with a left justifica
tion and numbers with a right justification by default.

The "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, 123456);
$worksheet->write_number('A2', 2.3451);

See the note about "Cell notation". The $format parameter
is optional.

In general it is sufficient to use the "write()" method.

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" );

The maximum string size is 255 characters. The $format
parameter is optional.

In general it is sufficient to use the "write()" method.
However, you may sometimes wish to use the
"write_string()" method to write data that looks like a
number but that you don't want treated as a number. For
example, zip codes or phone numbers:

# Write as a plain string
$worksheet->write_string('A1', '01209');

However, if the user edits this string Excel may convert
it back to a number. To get around this you can use the
Excel text format "@":

# Format as a string. Doesn't change to a number when

edited
my $format1 = $workbook->addformat(num_format => '@');
$worksheet->write_string('A2', '01209', $format1);

See also the note about "Cell notation".

The 255 character limit will be removed when the module
moves to the Excel 97+ format. In the meantime, you can
work around this limit using a formula. See the
"long_string.pl" program in the "examples" directory of
the distro.

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', '=DATEVAL

UE("1-Jan-2001")');

See the note about "Cell notation". For more information
about writing Excel formulas see "FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS
IN EXCEL"

In general it is sufficient to use the "write()" method.

write_blank($row, $column, $format)

Write a blank cell specified by $row and $column:

$worksheet->write_blank(0, 0, $format);

This method is used to add formatting to a cell which
doesn't contain a string or number value.

Excel differentiates between an "Empty" cell and a "Blank"
cell. An "Empty" cell is a cell which doesn't contain data
whilst a "Blank" cell is a cell which doesn't contain data
but does contain formatting. Excel stores "Blank" cells
but ignores "Empty" cells.

As such, if you write an empty cell without formatting it
is ignored:

$worksheet->write('A1', undef, $format); #

write_blank()
$worksheet->write('A2', undef ); # Ignored

This seemingly uninteresting fact means that you can write
arrays of data without special treatment for undef or
empty string values.

See the note about "Cell notation".

write_row($row, $column, $array_ref, $format)

The "write_row()" method can be used to write a 1D or 2D
array or data in one go. This is useful for converting the
results of a database query into an Excel worksheet. You
must pass a reference to the array of data rather than the
array itself. The "write()" method is then called for each
element of the data. For example:

@array = ('awk', 'gawk', 'mawk');
$array_ref = @array;

$worksheet->write_row(0, 0, $array_ref);

# The above example is equivalent to:
$worksheet->write(0, 0, $array[0]);
$worksheet->write(0, 1, $array[1]);
$worksheet->write(0, 2, $array[2]);

Note: For convenience the "write()" method behaves in the
same way as "write_row()" if it is passed an array refer
ence. Therefore the following two method calls are equiva
lent:

$worksheet->write_row('A1', $array_ref); # Write a row

of data
$worksheet->write( 'A1', $array_ref); # Same thing

As with all of the write methods the $format parameter is
optional. If a format is specified it is applied to all
the elements of the data array.

Array references within the data will be treated as
columns. This allows you to write 2D arrays of data in one
go. For example:

@eec = (
['maggie', 'milly', 'molly', 'may' ],
[13, 14, 15, 16 ],
['shell', 'star', 'crab', 'stone']

);

$worksheet->write_row('A1', @eec);

Would produce a worksheet as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------

| | A | B | C | D | E

| ...----------------------------------------------------------

| 1 | maggie | 13 | shell | ... | ...

| ...
| 2 | milly | 14 | star | ... | ...

| ...
| 3 | molly | 15 | crab | ... | ...

| ...
| 4 | may | 16 | stone | ... | ...

| ...
| 5 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...

| ...
| 6 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...

| ...

To write the data in a row-column order refer to the
"write_col()" method below.

Any "undef" values in the data will be ignored unless a
format is applied to the data, in which case a formatted
blank cell will be written. In either case the appropriate
row or column value will still be incremented.

To find out more about array references refer to "perlref"
and "perlreftut" in the main Perl documentation. To find
out more about 2D arrays or "lists of lists" refer to
"perllol".

The "write_row()" method returns the first error encoun
tered when writing the elements of the data or zero if no
errors were encountered. See the return values described
for the "write()" method above.

See also the "write_arrays.pl" program in the "examples"
directory of the distro.

write_col($row, $column, $array_ref, $format)

The "write_col()" method can be used to write a 1D or 2D
array or data in one go. This is useful for converting the
results of a database query into an Excel worksheet. You
must pass a reference to the array of data rather than the
array itself. The "write()" method is then called for each
element of the data. For example:

@array = ('awk', 'gawk', 'mawk');
$array_ref = @array;

$worksheet->write_col(0, 0, $array_ref);

# The above example is equivalent to:
$worksheet->write(0, 0, $array[0]);
$worksheet->write(1, 0, $array[1]);
$worksheet->write(2, 0, $array[2]);

As with all of the write methods the $format parameter is
optional. If a format is specified it is applied to all
the elements of the data array.

Array references within the data will be treated as rows.
This allows you to write 2D arrays of data in one go. For
example:

@eec = (
['maggie', 'milly', 'molly', 'may' ],
[13, 14, 15, 16 ],
['shell', 'star', 'crab', 'stone']

);

$worksheet->write_col('A1', @eec);

Would produce a worksheet as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------

| | A | B | C | D | E

| ...----------------------------------------------------------

| 1 | maggie | milly | molly | may | ...

| ...
| 2 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ...

| ...
| 3 | shell | star | crab | stone | ...

| ...
| 4 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...

| ...
| 5 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...

| ...
| 6 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...

| ...

To write the data in a column-row order refer to the
"write_row()" method above.

Any "undef" values in the data will be ignored unless a
format is applied to the data, in which case a formatted
blank cell will be written. In either case the appropriate
row or column value will still be incremented.

As noted above the "write()" method can be used as a syn
onym for "write_row()" and "write_row()" handles nested
array refs as columns. Therefore, the following two method
calls are equivalent although the more explicit call to
"write_col()" would be preferable for maintainability:

$worksheet->write_col('A1', $array_ref ); # Write a

column of data
$worksheet->write( 'A1', [ $array_ref ]); # Same

thing

To find out more about array references refer to "perlref"
and "perlreftut" in the main Perl documentation. To find
out more about 2D arrays or "lists of lists" refer to
"perllol".

The "write_col()" method returns the first error encoun
tered when writing the elements of the data or zero if no
errors were encountered. See the return values described
for the "write()" method above.

See also the "write_arrays.pl" program in the "examples"
directory of the distro.

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 and their position is interchangeable.

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.

There are three web style URI's supported: "http://",
"ftp://" and "mailto:":

$worksheet->write_url(0, 0, 'ftp://www.perl.org/'

);
$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:jmcnama

ra@cpan.org' );

There are two local URIs supported: "internal:" and
"external:". These are used for hyperlinks to internal
worksheet references or external workbook and worksheet
references:

$worksheet->write_url('A6', 'internal:Sheet2!A1'

);
$worksheet->write_url('A7', 'internal:Sheet2!A1',

$format );
$worksheet->write_url('A8', 'internal:Sheet2!A1:B2'

);
$worksheet->write_url('A9', q{internal:'Sales Da

ta'!A1} );
$worksheet->write_url('A10', 'external:c:empo.xls'

);
$worksheet->write_url('A11', 'external:c:em

po.xls#Sheet2!A1' );
$worksheet->write_url('A12', 'external:......o.xls'

);
$worksheet->write_url('A13', 'exter

nal:......o.xls#Sheet2!A1' );
$worksheet->write_url('A13', 'external:WORKreo.xls'

);

All of the these URI types are recognised by the "write()"
method, see above.

Worksheet references are typically of the form
"Sheet1!A1". You can also refer to a worksheet range using
the standard Excel notation: "Sheet1!A1:B2".

In external links the workbook and worksheet name must be
separated by the "#" character: "external:Work
book.xls#Sheet1!A1'".

You can also link to a named range in the target work
sheet. For example say you have a named range called
"my_name" in the workbook "c:empo.xls" you could link
to it as follows:

$worksheet->write_url('A14', 'external:c:em

po.xls#my_name');

Note, you cannot currently create named ranges with
"Spreadsheet::WriteExcel".

Excel requires that worksheet names containing spaces or
non alphanumeric characters are single quoted as follows
"'Sales Data'!A1". If you need to do this in a single
quoted string then you can either escape the single quotes
"´" or use the quote operator "q{}" as described in "per
lop" in the main Perl documentation.

Links to network files are also supported. MS/Novell Net
work files normally begin with two back slashes as follows
"WORKc". In order to generate this in a single or
double quoted string you will have to escape the back
slashes, 'WORKc'.

If you are using double quote strings then you should be
careful to escape anything that looks like a metacharac
ter. For more information see "perlfaq5: Why can't I use
"C:empo" in DOS paths?".

Finally, you can avoid most of these quoting problems by
using forward slashes. These are translated internally to
backslashes:

$worksheet->write_url('A14', "exter

nal:c:/temp/foo.xls" );
$worksheet->write_url('A15', 'external://NET

WORK/share/foo.xls' );

Note: Hyperlinks are not available in Excel 5. They will
appear as a string only.

See also, the note about "Cell notation".

write_url_range($row1, $col1, $row2, $col2, $url, $string, $format)

This method is essentially the same as the "write_url()"
method described above. The main difference is that you
can specify that the link is available for a range of
cells:

$worksheet->write_url(0, 0, 0, 3,

'ftp://www.perl.org/' );
$worksheet->write_url(1, 0, 0, 3,

'http://www.perl.com/', 'Perl home');
$worksheet->write_url('A3:D3', 'internal:Sheet2!A1'

);
$worksheet->write_url('A4:D4', 'external:c:em

po.xls' );

This method is generally only required when used in con
junction with merged cells. See the "merge_cells()" method
and the "merge" property of a Format object, "CELL FORMAT
TING".

There is no way to force this behaviour through the
"write()" method.

The parameters $string and the $format are optional and
their position is interchangeable. However, they are
applied only to the first cell in the range.

Note: Hyperlinks are not available in Excel 5. They will
appear as a string only.

See also, the note about "Cell notation".

insert_bitmap($row, $col, $filename, $x, $y, $scale_x, $scale_y)

This method can be used to insert a bitmap into a work
sheet. The bitmap must be a 24 bit, true colour, bitmap.
No other format is supported. The $x, $y, $scale_x and
$scale_y parameters are optional.

$worksheet1->insert_bitmap('A1', 'perl.bmp');
$worksheet2->insert_bitmap('A1', '../im

ages/perl.bmp');
$worksheet3->insert_bitmap('A1',

Note: you must call "set_row()" or "set_column()" before
"insert_bitmap()" if you wish to change the default dimen
sions of any of the rows or columns that the images occu
pies. Also, if you use large fonts then the height of the
row that they occupy may change automatically. This in
turn could affect the scaling of your image. To avoid this
you should explicitly set the height of the row using
"set_row()".

The parameters $x and $y can be used to specify an offset
from the top left hand corner of the the cell specified by
$row and $col. The offset values are in pixels.

$worksheet1->insert_bitmap('A1', 'perl.bmp', 32, 10);

The default width of a cell is 63 pixels. The default
height of a cell is 17 pixels. The offsets are ignored if
they are greater than the width or height of the underly
ing cell.

The pixels offsets can be calculated using the following
relationships:

Wp = 7We +5
Hp = 4/3He

where:
We is the cell width in Excels units
Wp is width in pixels
He is the cell height in Excels units
Hp is height in pixels

The parameters $scale_x and $scale_y can be used to scale
the inserted image horizontally and vertically:

# Scale the inserted image: width x 2.0, height x 0.8
$worksheet->insert_bitmap('A1', 'perl.bmp', 0, 0, 2,

0.8);

Note: although Excel allows you to import several graphics
formats such as gif, jpeg, png and eps these are converted
internally into a proprietary format. One of the few nonproprietary formats that Excel supports is 24 bit, true
colour, bitmaps. Therefore if you wish to use images in
any other format you must first use an external applica
tion such as ImageMagick/Perl::Magick to convert them to
24 bit bitmaps.

A later release will support the use of file handles and
pre-encoded bitmap strings.

See also the "images.pl" program in the "examples" direc
tory of the distro.

get_name()

The "get_name()" method is used to retrieve the name of a
worksheet. For example:

foreach my $sheet ($workbook->sheets()) {
print $sheet->get_name();

}

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 selected. You probably won't
need to use the "select()" method very often.

set_first_sheet()

The "activate()" method determines which worksheet is ini
tially 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.

protect($password)

The "protect()" method is used to protect a worksheet from
modification:

$worksheet->protect();

It can be turned off in Excel via the "Tools->Protec
tion->Unprotect Sheet" menu command.

The "protect()" method also has the effect of enabling a
cell's "locked" and "hidden" properties if they have been
set. A "locked" cell cannot be edited. A "hidden" cell
will display the results of a formula but not the formula
itself. In Excel a cell's locked property is on by
default.

# Set some format properties
my $unlocked = $workbook->addformat(locked => 0);
my $hidden = $workbook->addformat(hidden => 1);

# Enable worksheet protection
$worksheet->protect();

# This cell cannot be edited, it is locked by default
$worksheet->write('A1', '=1+2');

# This cell can be edited
$worksheet->write('A2', '=1+2', $unlocked);

# The formula in this cell isn't visible
$worksheet->write('A3', '=1+2', $hidden);

See also the "set_locked" and "set_hidden" format methods
in "CELL FORMATTING".

You can optionally add a password to the worksheet protec
tion:

$worksheet->protect('drowssap');

Note, the worksheet level password in Excel provides very
weak protection. It does not encrypt your data in any way
and it is very easy to deactivate. Therefore, do not use
the above method if you wish to protect sensitive data or
calculations. However, before you get worried, Excel's own
workbook level password protection does provide strong
encryption in Excel 97+. For technical reasons this will
never be supported by "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel".

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 can be omitted. 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 selections is (0, 0), 'A1'.

set_row($row, $height, $format)

This method can be used to specify the height and format
of a row. The $format parameter is optional, for addi
tional information, see "CELL FORMATTING".

$worksheet->set_row(0, 20); # Row 1 height set to 20

If 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 be applied to any cells in the
row that don't have a format. For example

$worksheet->set_row(0, undef, $format1); # Set the

format for row 1
$worksheet->write('A1', "Hello"); # Defaults

to $format1
$worksheet->write('B1', "Hello", $format2); # Keeps

$format2

If you wish to define a row format in this way you should
call the method before any calls to "write()". If you call
it afterwards it will overwrite any format that was pre
viously specified.

set_column($first_col, $last_col, $width, $format, $hid den)

This method can be used to specify the width and format 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 spec
ify 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 30

The 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. Unfor
tunately, there is no way to specify "AutoFit" for a col
umn in the Excel file format. This feature is only avail
able at runtime from within Excel.

The $format parameter is optional, for additional informa
tion, 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 be applied to any cells in the
column that don't have a format. For example

$worksheet->set_column('A:A', undef, $format1); # Set

the format for col 1
$worksheet->write('A1', "Hello"); # De

faults to $format1
$worksheet->write('A2', "Hello", $format2); #

Keeps $format2

If you wish to define a column format in this way you
should call the method before any calls to "write()". If
you call it afterwards it won't have any effect.

A default row format takes precedence over a default col
umn format

$worksheet->set_row(0, undef, $format1); # Set

the format for row 1
$worksheet->set_column('A:A', undef, $format2); # Set

the format for col 1
$worksheet->write('A1', "Hello"); # De

faults to $format1
$worksheet->write('A2', "Hello"); # De

faults to $format2

The $hidden parameter is optional. It should be set to 1
if you wish to hide a column. This can be used, for exam
ple, to hide intermediary steps in a complicated calcula
tion:

$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 hori
zontal 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 loca
tion 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 nota

tion
$worksheet->freeze_panes(0, 1); # Freeze the first

column
$worksheet->freeze_panes('B1'); # Same using A1 nota

tion
$worksheet->freeze_panes(1, 2); # Freeze the first row

and first 2 columns
$worksheet->freeze_panes('C2'); # Same using A1 nota

tion

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 scrolling region of the panes. For exam
ple 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" direc
tory of the distribution.

thaw_panes($y, $x, $top_row, $left_col)

This method can be used to divide a worksheet into hori
zontal 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 hori
zontal 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 column

You 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($first_row, $first_col, $last_row, $last_col)

Merging cells is generally achieved by setting the "merge"
property of a Format object, see "CELL FORMATTING". How
ever, in certain circumstances this is not sufficient and
you must additionally specify the cells to be merged via
the "merge_cells()" method.

The main use of the "merge_cells()" method is to merge
cells vertically.

The "merge_cells()" method can also be used to merge cells
that contain hyperlinks although this can also be achieved
via the "write_url_range()" method.

For an example of how to use this method 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".

set_zoom($scale)

Set the worksheet zoom factor in the range "10 <= $scale
<= 400":

$worksheet1->set_zoom(50);
$worksheet2->set_zoom(75);
$worksheet3->set_zoom(300);
$worksheet4->set_zoom(400);

The default zoom factor is 100. You cannot zoom to "Selec
tion" because it is calculated by Excel at run-time.

Note, "set_zoom()" does not affect the scale of the
printed page. For that you should use "set_print_scale()".

PAGE SET-UP METHODS

Page set-up methods affect the way that a worksheet looks
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.

The following methods are available for page set-up:

set_landscape()
set_portrait()
set_paper()
center_horizontally()
center_vertically()
set_margins()
set_header()
set_footer()
repeat_rows()
repeat_columns()
hide_gridlines()
print_row_col_headers()
print_area()
fit_to_pages()
set_print_scale()
set_h_pagebreaks()
set_v_pagebreaks()

A common requirement when working with Spreadsheet::Write
Excel is to apply the same page set-up features to all of
the worksheets in a workbook. To do this you can use the
"sheets()" method of the "workbook" class to access the
array of worksheets in a workbook:

foreach $worksheet ($workbook->sheets()) {
$worksheet->set_landscape();

}

set_landscape()

This method is used to set the orientation of a work
sheet's printed page to landscape:

$worksheet->set_landscape(); # Landscape mode

set_portrait()

This method is used to set the orientation of a work
sheet'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 mode

set_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 in

Note, 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); # A4

If 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 work
sheet 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 margin

All of these methods take a distance in inches as a param
eter. Note: 1 inch = 25.4mm. ;-) The default left and
right margin is 0.75 inch. The default top and bottom mar
gin 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 Category 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

style
&U Single under

line
&E Double under

line
&S Strikethrough
&X Superscript
&Y Subscript

&& Miscellaneous Literal amper

sand &

Text 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

For simple text, if you do not specify any justification
the text will be centred. However, you must prefix the
text with &C if you specify a font name or any other for
matting:

$worksheet->set_header('Hello');

--------------------------------------------------------------

| Hello

You can 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('&CPage &P of &N');

--------------------------------------------------------------

| Page 1 of 6

$worksheet->set_header('&CUpdated 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:

$worksheet1->set_header('&C&30Hello Big' );
$worksheet2->set_header('&C&10Hello Small');

You can specify the font of a section of the text by pre
fixing 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('&C&"Courier New,Italic"Hel

lo');
$worksheet2->set_header('&C&"Courier New,Bold Ital

ic"Hello');
$worksheet3->set_header('&C&"Times New Roman,Regu

lar"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
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 = ""

To include a single literal ampersand "&" in a header or
footer you should use a double ampersand "&&":

$worksheet1->set_header('&CCuriouser && Curiouser

Attorneys at Law');

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);

The header and footer margins are independent of the top
and bottom margins.

Note, the header or footer string must be less than 255
characters. Strings longer than this will not be written
and a warning will be generated.

See, also the "headers.pl" program in the "examples"
directory of the distribution.

set_footer()

The syntax of the "set_footer()" method is the same as
"set_header()", see 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

rows

repeat_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 columns

hide_gridlines($option)

This method is used to hide the gridlines on the screen
and printed page. Gridlines are the lines that divide the
cells on a worksheet. Screen and printed gridlines are
turned on by default in an Excel worksheet. If you have
defined your own cell borders you may wish to hide the
default gridlines.

$worksheet->hide_gridlines();

The following values of $option are valid:

0 : Don't hide gridlines
1 : Hide printed gridlines only
2 : Hide screen and printed gridlines

If you don't supply an argument or use "undef" the default
option is 1, i.e. only the printed gridlines are hidden.

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 :

$worksheet->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 speci
fied. 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 same

fit_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 guar
antees 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 pages

The print area can be defined using the "print_area()"
method as described above.

A common requirement is to fit the printed output to n
pages wide but have the height be as long as necessary. To
achieve this set the $height to zero or leave it blank:

$worksheet1->fit_to_pages(1, 0); # 1 page wide and as

long as necessary
$worksheet2->fit_to_pages(1); # The same

Note that although it is valid to use both
"fit_to_pages()" and "set_print_scale()" on the same work
sheet only one of these options can be active at a time.
The last method call made will set the active option.

Note that "fit_to_pages()" will override any manual page
breaks that are defined in the worksheet.

set_print_scale($scale)

Set the scale factor of the printed page. Scale factors in
the range "10 <= $scale <= 400" are valid:

$worksheet1->set_print_scale(50);
$worksheet2->set_print_scale(75);
$worksheet3->set_print_scale(300);
$worksheet4->set_print_scale(400);

The default scale factor is 100. Note, "set_print_scale()"
does not affect the scale of the visible page in Excel.
For that you should use "set_zoom()".

Note also that although it is valid to use both
"fit_to_pages()" and "set_print_scale()" on the same work
sheet only one of these options can be active at a time.
The last method call made will set the active option.

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 spec
ify 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 21

The "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 more

Note: If you specify the "fit to page" option via the
"fit_to_pages()" method it will override all manual page
breaks.

There is a silent limitation of about 1000 horizontal page
breaks per worksheet in line with an Excel internal limi
tation.

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 21

The "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 more

Note: 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. The properties of
a cell that can be formatted include: fonts, colours, pat
terns, 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 creation

The 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 sec
tion.

Once a Format object has been constructed and it proper
ties 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);

Format methods and Format properties

The following table shows the Excel format categories, the
formatting properties that can be applied and the equiva
lent object method:

Category Description Property Method

Name
-------- ----------- -------

----------Font Font type font

set_font()
Font size size

set_size()
Font color color set_col

or()
Bold bold

set_bold()
Italic italic set_ital

ic()
Underline underline set_un

derline()
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()

Protection Lock cells locked

set_locked()Hide formulas hidden set_hid

den()

Alignment Horizontal align align

set_align()
Vertical align valign

set_align()
Rotation rotation set_rota

tion()
Text wrap text_wrap

set_text_wrap()
Justify last text_justlast

set_text_justlast()
Merge merge

set_merge()

Pattern Cell pattern pattern set_pat

tern()
Background color bg_color

set_bg_color()
Foreground color fg_color

set_fg_color()

Border Cell border border set_bor

der()Bottom border bottom set_bot

tom()
Top border top set_top()
Left border left

set_left()
Right border right

set_right()
Border color border_color set_bor

der_color()
Bottom color bottom_color set_bot

tom_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 inter
face would be as follows:

my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_bold();
$format->set_color('red');

By comparison the properties can be set directly by pass
ing 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 shading

The 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 circumstances
it proved very cumbersome in programs that required a
large amount of formatting. In addition the mechanism for
reusing properties between Format objects was complicated.

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 defin
ing properties is also supported:

my %font = (
-font => 'Arial',
-size => 12,
-color => 'blue',
-bold => 1,

);

An additional advantage of working with hashes of proper
ties 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->addfor

mat(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 con
verts Excel files to Spreadsheet::WriteExcel files. There
fore, 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 off

FORMAT METHODS

The Format object methods are described in more detail in
the following sections. In addition, there is a Perl pro
gram 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_locked()
set_hidden()
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 proper
ties. 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 meth
ods that are detailed in the following sections.

set_font($fontname)

Default state: Font is Arial
Default action: None
Valid args: Any valid font name

Specify 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 follow

ing strings:
'black'
'blue'
'brown'
'cyan'
'gray'
'green'
'lime'
'magenta'
'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 'Stan
dard colors' worksheets created by formats.pl in the exam
ples directory.

See also "COLOURS IN EXCEL".

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, 1

Set the italic property of the font:

$format->set_italic(); # Turn italic on

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 underline

Set the underline property of the font.

$format->set_underline(); # Single underline

set_strikeout()

Default state: Strikeout is off
Default action: Turn strikeout on
Valid args: 0, 1

Set 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 = Subscript

Set 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, 1

Macintosh only.

set_shadow()

Default state: Shadow is off
Default action: Turn shadow on
Valid args: 0, 1

Macintosh only.

set_num_format()

Default state: General format
Default action: Format index 1
Valid args: See the following table

This 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 for
mats:

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-01

Using 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]-Gener

al;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 colour

# Zip code
$format13->set_num_format('00000');
$worksheet->write(14, 0, '01209', $format13);

The 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 cre
ated by formats.pl.

For more information refer to the documentation on format
ting 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/For
mats/default.asp and http://support.microsoft.com/sup
port/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_locked()

Default state: Cell locking is on
Default action: Turn locking on
Valid args: 0, 1

This property can be used to prevent modification of a
cells contents. Following Excel's convention, cell locking
is turned on by default. However, it only has an effect if
the worksheet has been protected, see the worksheet "pro
tect()" method.

my $locked = $workbook->addformat();
$locked->set_locked(1); # A non-op

my $unlocked = $workbook->addformat();
$locked->set_locked(0);

# Enable worksheet protection
$worksheet->protect();

# This cell cannot be edited.
$worksheet->write('A1', '=1+2', $locked);

# This cell can be edited.
$worksheet->write('A2', '=1+2', $unlocked);

Note: This offers weak protection even with a password,
see the note in relation to the "protect()" method.

set_hidden()

Default state: Formula hiding is off
Default action: Turn hiding on
Valid args: 0, 1

This property is used to hide a formula while still dis
playing its result. This is generally used to hide complex
calculations from end users who are only interested in the
result. It only has an effect if the worksheet has been
protected, see the worksheet "protect()" method.

my $hidden = $workbook->addformat();
$hidden->set_hidden();

# Enable worksheet protection
$worksheet->protect();

# The formula in this cell isn't visible
$worksheet->write('A1', '=1+2', $hidden);

Note: This offers weak protection even with a password,
see the note in relation to the "protect()" method.

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: 1

Text 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" pro
grams in the "examples" directory and the "merge_cells()"
method.

set_text_wrap()

Default state: Text wrap is off
Default action: Turn text wrap on
Valid args: 0, 1

Here is an example using the text wrap property, the
escape character "0 is used to indicate the end of line:

my $format = $workbook->addformat();
$format->set_text_wrap();
$worksheet->write(0, 0, "It's0 bum0rap", $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° clockwise

Set the rotation of the text in a cell. See the 'Align
ment' worksheet created by formats.pl. Note, fractional
rotations aren't possible with the Excel 5 format.

set_text_justlast()

Default state: Justify last is off
Default action: Turn justify last on
Valid args: 0, 1

Only applies to Far Eastern versions of Excel.

set_pattern()

Default state: Pattern is off
Default action: Solid fill is on
Valid args: 0 .. 31

Examples of the available patterns are shown in the 'Pat
terns' worksheet created by formats.pl. However, it is
unlikely that you will ever need anything other than Pat
tern 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 border

A 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 for
mats.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 yellow

It 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.

COLOURS IN EXCEL

Excel provides a colour palette of 56 colours. In Spread
sheet::WriteExcel these colours are accessed via their
palette index in the range 8..63. This index is used to
set the colour of fonts, cell patterns and cell borders.
For example:

my $format = $workbook->addformat(color => 12, # in

dex for blue
font => 'Arial',
size => 12,
bold => 1,

);

The most commonly used colours can also be accessed by
name. The name acts as a simple alias for the colour
index:

black => 8
blue => 12
brown => 16
cyan => 15
gray => 23
green => 17
lime => 11
magenta => 14
navy => 18
orange => 53
purple => 20
red => 10
silver => 22
white => 9
yellow => 13

For example:

my $font = $workbook->addformat(color => 'red');

Users of VBA in Excel should note that the equivalent
colour indices are in the range 1..56 instead of 8..63.

If the default palette does not provide a required colour
you can override one of the built-in values. This is
achieved by using the "set_custom_color()" workbook method
to adjust the RGB (red green blue) components of the
colour:

my $ferrari = $workbook->set_custom_color(40, 216, 12,

12);

my $format = $workbook->addformat(fg_color => $fer

rari,
pattern => 1,
border => 1

);

$worksheet->write_blank('A1', $format);

Spreadsheet::WriteExcel uses the Excel 97/2000 default
colour palette. However, for backward compatibility the
Excel 5 palette can be specified instead using the
"set_palette_xl5()" workbook method.

The default Excel colour palette is shown in
"palette.html" in the "doc" directory of the distro. You
can generate an Excel version of the palette using "col
ors.pl" in the "examples" directory.

A comparison of the colour components in the Excel 5 and
Excel 97+ colour palettes is shown in "rgb5-97.txt" in the
"doc" directory.

You may also find the following links helpful:

A detailed look at Excel's colour palette:
http://www.geocities.com/davemcritchie/excel/colors.htm

A decimal RGB chart: http://www.hypersolu
tions.org/pages/rgbdec.html

A hex RGB chart: : http://www.hypersolu
tions.org/pages/rgbhex.html

DATES IN EXCEL

Dates and times in Excel are represented by real numbers,
for example "Jan 1 2001 12:30 AM" is represented by the
number 36892.521.

The integer part of the number stores the number of days
since the epoch and the fractional part stores the per
centage of the day.

The epoch can be either 1900 or 1904. Excel for Windows
uses 1900 and Excel for Macintosh uses 1904. The epochs
are:

1900: 0 January 1900 i.e. 31 December 1899
1904: 1 January 1904

By default Spreadsheet::WriteExcel uses the Windows/1900
format although it generally isn't an issue since Excel on
Windows and the Macintosh will convert automatically
between one system and the other. To use the 1904 epoch
you must use the "set_1904()" workbook method.

There are two 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 deliber
ately treated as a leap year. Therefore you must add an
extra day to dates after 28 February 1900. The reason for
this anomaly is explained at http://sup
port.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q181/3/70.asp

A date or time in Excel is like any other number. To dis
play the number as a date you must apply a number format
to it. Refer to the "set_num_format()" method above:

$format->set_num_format('mmm d yyyy hh:mm AM/PM');
$worksheet->write('A1', 36892.521 , $format); # Jan 1

2001 12:30 AM

The "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility" module that is
included in the distro contains helper functions for deal
ing with dates and times in Excel, for example:

$date = xl_date_list(2002, 1, 1); # 37257
$date = xl_parse_date("11 July 1997"); # 35622
$time = xl_parse_time('3:21:36 PM'); # 0.64
$date = xl_decode_date_EU("13 May 2002"); # 37389

These functions deal automatically with the s1900 leap
year issue described above.

The date and time functions are based on functions pro
vided by the "Date::Calc" and "Date::Manip" modules. These
modules are very useful if you plan to manipulate dates in
different formats.

There is also the "excel_date1.pl" program in the "exam
ples" directory of the WriteExcel distribution which was
written by Andrew Benham. It contains a detailed descrip
tion of the problems involved in calculating dates in
Excel. It does not require any external 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 Spread
sheet::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 out
standing 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 ver
sions. They are here because of a trade-off between fea
tures 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 equals 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. The "Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Util
ity" module that is included in the distro contains helper
functions for dealing with A1 notation, for example:

use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility;

($row, $col) = xl_cell_to_rowcol('C2'); # (1, 2)
$str = xl_rowcol_to_cell(1, 2); # C2

The Excel "$" notation in cell references is also sup
ported. 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 absolute

Formulas 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 that the name is
enclosed in single quotes as shown in the last two exam
ples 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 # Equiva

lent to **
- Unary minus -(1+2) # Not yet

supported
% Percent (Not modulus) 13% # Not

supported, [1]

Comparison operators:
=====================
Operator Meaning Example= Equal to A1 = B1 # Equiva

lent to ==
<> Not equal to A1 <> B1 # Equiva

lent 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 mod

ulus 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. European
users of Excel take note:

$worksheet->write('A1', '=SUM(1; 2; 3)'); # Wrong!!
$worksheet->write('A1', '=SUM(1, 2, 3)'); # Okay

The following table lists all of the core functions sup
ported by Excel 5 and Spreadsheet::WriteExcel. Any addi
tional functions that are available through the "Analysis
ToolPak" or other add-ins are not supported. These func
tions 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

ZTEST

You can also modify the module to support function names
in the following languages: German, French, Spanish, Por
tuguese, 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=/li

brary/officedev/office97/s88f2.htm
and
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?URL=/li

brary/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 ':' as the range opera

tor, A1:A4.
5. Ensure that you are using ',' as the union opera

tor, SUM(1,2,3).
6. Ensure the function is in the above table.

If you go through steps 1-6 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("sim

ple.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("re

gions.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->sheets()) {
$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 for
mat 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::WriteEx

cel->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 ex

ample 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 format

ted 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_for

mat('[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::WriteEx

cel->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', $for

mat);
$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::WriteEx

cel->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('', $_);

my $col = 0;
foreach my $token (@Fld) {
$worksheet->write($row, $col, $token);
$col++;

}
$row++;

}

Additional Examples

If you performed a normal installation the following exam
ples files should have been copied to your "~site/Spread
sheet/WriteExcel/examples" directory:

The following is a description of the example files that
are provided with Spreadsheet::WriteExcel. They are
intended to demonstrate the different features and options
of the module.

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.
demo.pl Creates a demo of some of the fea

tures.

Advanced
========
sales.pl An example of a simple sales

spreadsheet.
stocks.pl Demonstrates conditional format

ting.
headers.pl Examples of worksheet headers and

footers.
write_array.pl Example of writing 1D or 2D arrays

of data.
chess.pl An example of formatting using

properties.
colors.pl Demo of the colour palette and

named colours.
images.pl Adding bitmap images to work

sheets.
stats_ext.pl Same as stats.pl with external

references.
long_string.pl Workaround long string limitation

with a formula.
cgi.pl A simple CGI program.
mod_perl.pl A simple mod_perl program.
hyperlink1.pl Shows how to create web hyper

links.
hyperlink2.pl Examples of internal and external

hyperlinks.
merge1.pl A simple example of cell merging.
merge2.pl A more advanced example of cell

merging.
merge3.pl Merge hyperlinks and merge verti

cally.
textwrap.pl Demonstrates text wrapping op

tions.
panes.pl An examples of how to create

panes.
protection.pl Example of cell locking and formu

la hiding.
copyformat.pl Example of copying a cell format.
win32ole.pl A sample Win32::OLE example for

comparison.
easter_egg.pl Expose the Excel97 flight simula

tor. 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 filehan

dles.
writeA1.pl Example of how to extend the mod

ule.
comments.pl Add cell comments to Excel 5 work

sheets.
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 All

versions
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 31 Excel All

versions
Maximum chars in a header/footer 254 Excel All

versions

Note: the maximum row reference in a formula is the Excel
5 row limit of 16384.

The 255 character limit will be removed when the module
moves to the Excel 97+ format. In the meantime, you can
work around this limit using a formula. See the
"long_string.pl" program in the "examples" directory of
the distro.

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), Parse::RecDes
cent and File::Temp:

http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Parse-RecDescent
http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=File-Temp

PORTABILITY

Spreadsheet::WriteExcel will work on the majority of Win
dows, UNIX and Macintosh platforms. Specifically, the mod
ule will work on any system where perl packs floats in the
64 bit IEEE format. The float must also be in littleendian format but it will be reversed if necessary. Thus:

print join(" ", map { sprintf "%#02x", $_ } un

pack("C*", pack "d", 1.2345)), "0;

should give (or in reverse order):

0x8d 0x97 0x6e 0x12 0x83 0xc0 0xf3 0x3f

In general, if you don't know whether your system supports
a 64 bit IEEE float or not, it probably does. If your sys
tem 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=Spread
sheet-WriteExcel

DIAGNOSTICS

Filename required by Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new()

A filename must be given in the constructor.

Can't open filename. It may be in use or protected.
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.

Unable to create tmp files via File::Temp::tempfile()... This is a "-w" warning. 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 creation but it
will affect the speed of execution for large files.
See the "set_tempdir" workbook method.

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. You should also check the for
mula in Excel to ensure that it is valid.

Required floating point format not supported on this plat
form.
Operating system doesn't support 64 bit IEEE float or
it is byte-ordered in a way unknown to WriteExcel.

THE EXCEL BINARY FORMAT

The following is some general information about the Excel
binary format for anyone who may be interested.

Excel data is stored in the "Binary Interchange File For
mat" (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/file
form/misc/excel.txt

Charles Wybble has collected together almost all of the
available information about the Excel file format. See
"The Chicago Project" at http://chicago.source
forge.net/devel/

Daniel Rentz of OpenOffice has also written a detailed
description of the Excel workbook records, see
http://sc.openoffice.org/excelfileformat.pdf

The BIFF portion of the Excel file is comprised of con
tiguous 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 = variable

The 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 com
prised 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. The Digital Imaging Group have
also detailed the OLE format in the JPEG2000 specifica
tion: see Appendix A of
http://www.i3a.org/pdf/wg1n1017.pdf

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.samag.com/documents/s=1272/sam05030004/ 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:

* 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/Prod
ucts/ActivePerl-5.6/faq/Windows/ActivePerl-Winfaq12.html
and http://www.activestate.com/ASPN/Reference/Prod
ucts/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 Doc
server: http://search.cpan.org/search?mode=mod
ule&query=docserver

* CSV, comma separated variables or text. If the file
extension is "csv", Excel will open and convert this for
mat automatically. Generating a valid CSV file isn't as
easy as it seems. Have a look at the DBD::RAM, DBD::CSV,
Text::xSV 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 Takanori Kawai's
DBD::Excel module
http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=DBD-Excel.

* Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Simple for an easier interface
to a new Excel file:
http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Spreadsheet-WriteEx
cel-Simple

* Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::FromDB to create an Excel file
directly from a DB table:
http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Spreadsheet-WriteEx
cel-FromDB

* HTML tables. This is an easy way of adding formatting
via a text based format.

* XML, the Excel XML and HTML file specification are
available from
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/of

ficedev/ofxml2k/ofxml2k.htm

For other Perl-Excel modules try the following search:
http://search.cpan.org/search?mode=module&query=excel

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

* Spreadsheet::ParseExcel_XLHTML. This module uses Spread
sheet::ParseExcel's interface but uses xlHtml (see below)
to do the conversion:
http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Spreadsheet-ParseEx
cel_XLHTML Spreadsheet::ParseExcel_XLHTML

* There are also open source C/C++ projects. Try the
xlHtml "Excel to HTML Converter" project at
http://www.xlhtml.org/ and the OLE Filters Project at
http://atena.com/libole2.php.

* DBD::Excel, you can also access Spreadsheet::ParseExcel
using the standard DBI interface via Takanori Kawai's
DBD::Excel module
http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=DBD-Excel.

* Win32::OLE module and office automation. See, the sec
tion "WRITING EXCEL FILES".

* 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 "WRIT
ING EXCEL FILES".

* XML::Excel converts Excel files to XML using Spread
sheet::ParseExcel
http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=XML-Excel.

* 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.

For other Perl-Excel modules try the following search:
http://search.cpan.org/search?mode=module&query=excel

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://officeup
date.microsoft.com/2000/downloaddetails/xlviewer.htm

BUGS

Formulas are formulae.

Nested formulas sometimes aren't parsed correctly and give
a result of "#VALUE". This will be fixed in a later
release.

Spreadsheet::ParseExcel: All formulas created by Spread
sheet::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. 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 mod
ule are not compatible with MS Access. Use DBI or ODBC
instead.

The lack of a portable way of writing a little-endian 64
bit IEEE float.

TO DO

The roadmap is as follows:

· Add formula caching to speed up the writing of formulas.
· 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
feature.

You can keep up to date with future release by registering
as a user with Freshmeat http://freshmeat.net/ and sub
scribing 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

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 fea
tures in an Excel graph. So that's two too much works.
Nevertheless, I do hope to *try* implement graphs. How
ever, it is a long term goal. It won't be available for at
least 6 months, even if you read this in 6 months time.
· 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 you could consider connecting
to a Windows server via Docserver "WRITING EXCEL FILES" or
SOAP.

SEE ALSO

Spreadsheet::ParseExcel.
http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Spreadsheet-ParseExcel

Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Simple.
http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Spreadsheet-WriteEx
cel-Simple

Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::FromDB.
http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=Spreadsheet-WriteEx
cel-FromDB

"Reading and writing Excel files with Perl" by Teodor Zla
tanov, atIBM developerWorks: http://www-106.ibm.com/devel
operworks/library/l-pexcel/

"Excel-Dateien mit Perl erstellen - Controller im Glück"
by Peter Dintelmann and Christian Kirsch in the German
Unix/web journal iX:
http://www.heise.de/ix/artikel/2001/06/175/

"Spreadsheet::WriteExcel" in The Perl Journal:
http://www.samag.com/documents/s=1272/sam05030004/

Spreadsheet::WriteExcel documentation in Japanese by
Takanori Kawai. http://mem
ber.nifty.ne.jp/hippo2000/perltips/Spreadsheet/WriteEx
cel.htm

Oesterly user brushes with fame:
http://oesterly.com/releases/12102000.html

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The following people contributed to the debugging and
testing of Spreadsheet::WriteExcel:

Alexander Farber, Arthur@ais, Artur Silveira da Cunha,
Borgar Olsen, Brian White, Cedric Bouvier, CPAN testers,
Daniel Berger, Daniel Gardner, Ernesto Baschny, Felipe
Pérez Galiana, Hanc Pavel, Harold Bamford, James Holmes,
Johan Ekenberg, J.C. Wren, Kenneth Stacey, Keith Miller,
Kyle Krom, Markus Schmitz, Michael Buschauer, Mike Blazer,
Michael Erickson, Paul J. Falbe, Paul Medynski, Peter Din
telmann, Reto Badertscher, Rich Sorden, Shane Ashby,
Shenyu Zheng, Steve Sapovits, Sven Passig, Vahe
Sarkissian.

The following people contributed code, examples or Excel
information:

Andrew Benham, Bill Young, Cedric Bouvier, Charles Wybble,
Daniel Rentz, Ian Penman, Pierre-Jean Vouette, Marco Geri,
Sam Kington, Takanori Kawai, Tom O'Sullivan.

Additional thanks to Takanori Kawai for translating the
documentation into Japanese.

Dirk Eddelbuettel maintains the Debian distro.

Thanks to Damian Conway for the excellent Parse::RecDes
cent.

Thanks to Tim Jenness for the File::Temp.

Thanks to Michael Meeks and Jody Goldberg for their work
on Gnumeric.

AUTHOR

John McNamara jmcnamara@cpan.org

got me a movie
i want you to know
slicing up eyeballs
i want you to know
girlie so groovie
i want you to know
don't know about you
but i am un chien andalusia
wanna grow
up to be
be a debaser

-- Black Francis

COPYRIGHT

© MM-MMII, 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.

perl v5.8.0 2002-04-29 WriteExcel(3)