docs.sheetjs.com/docz/docs/06-solutions/05-output.md

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Data Export

Writing Workbooks

API

Generate spreadsheet bytes (file) from data

var data = XLSX.write(workbook, opts);

The write method attempts to package data from the workbook into a file in memory. By default, XLSX files are generated, but that can be controlled with the bookType property of the opts argument. Based on the type option, the data can be stored as a "binary string", JS string, Uint8Array or Buffer.

The second opts argument is required. "Writing Options" covers the supported properties and behaviors.

Generate and attempt to save file

XLSX.writeFile(workbook, filename, opts);

The writeFile method packages the data and attempts to save the new file. The export file format is determined by the extension of filename (SheetJS.xlsx signals XLSX export, SheetJS.xlsb signals XLSB export, etc).

The writeFile method uses platform-specific APIs to initiate the file save. In NodeJS, fs.readFileSync can create a file. In the web browser, a download is attempted using the HTML5 download attribute, with fallbacks for IE.

Generate and attempt to save an XLSX file

XLSX.writeFileXLSX(workbook, filename, opts);

The writeFile method embeds a number of different export functions. This is great for developer experience but not amenable to tree shaking using the current developer tools. When only XLSX exports are needed, this method avoids referencing the other export functions.

The second opts argument is optional. "Writing Options" covers the supported properties and behaviors.

Examples

Local file in a NodeJS server (click to show)

writeFile uses fs.writeFileSync in server environments:

var XLSX = require("xlsx");

/* output format determined by filename */
XLSX.writeFile(workbook, "out.xlsb");

For Node ESM, the writeFile helper is not enabled. Instead, fs.writeFileSync should be used to write the file data to a Buffer for use with XLSX.write:

import { writeFileSync } from "fs";
import { write } from "xlsx/xlsx.mjs";

const buf = write(workbook, {type: "buffer", bookType: "xlsb"});
/* buf is a Buffer */
const workbook = writeFileSync("out.xlsb", buf);

Local file in a Deno application (click to show)

writeFile uses Deno.writeFileSync under the hood:

// @deno-types="https://deno.land/x/sheetjs/types/index.d.ts"
import * as XLSX from 'https://deno.land/x/sheetjs/xlsx.mjs'

XLSX.writeFile(workbook, "test.xlsx");

Applications writing files must be invoked with the --allow-write flag. The deno demo has more examples

Local file in a PhotoShop or InDesign plugin (click to show)

writeFile wraps the File logic in Photoshop and other ExtendScript targets. The specified path should be an absolute path:

#include "xlsx.extendscript.js"

/* output format determined by filename */
XLSX.writeFile(workbook, "out.xlsx");
/* at this point, out.xlsx is a file that you can distribute */

The extendscript demo includes a more complex example.

Download a file in the browser to the user machine (click to show)

XLSX.writeFile wraps a few techniques for triggering a file save:

• URL browser API creates an object URL for the file, which the library uses by creating a link and forcing a click. It is supported in modern browsers.
• msSaveBlob is an IE10+ API for triggering a file save.
• IE_FileSave uses VBScript and ActiveX to write a file in IE6+ for Windows XP and Windows 7. The shim must be included in the containing HTML page.

There is no standard way to determine if the actual file has been downloaded.

/* output format determined by filename */
XLSX.writeFile(workbook, "out.xlsb");
/* at this point, out.xlsb will have been downloaded */

Download a file in legacy browsers (click to show)

XLSX.writeFile techniques work for most modern browsers as well as older IE. For much older browsers, there are workarounds implemented by wrapper libraries.

Downloadify uses a Flash SWF button to generate local files, suitable for environments where ActiveX is unavailable:

Downloadify.create(id,{
  /* other options are required! read the downloadify docs for more info */
  filename: "test.xlsx",
  data: function() { return XLSX.write(wb, {bookType:"xlsx", type:"base64"}); },
  append: false,
  dataType: "base64"
});

The oldie demo shows an IE-compatible fallback scenario.

Browser upload file (ajax) (click to show)

A complete example using XHR is included in the XHR demo, along with examples for fetch and wrapper libraries. This example assumes the server can handle Base64-encoded files (see the demo for a basic nodejs server):

/* in this example, send a base64 string to the server */
var wopts = { bookType:"xlsx", bookSST:false, type:"base64" };

var wbout = XLSX.write(workbook,wopts);

var req = new XMLHttpRequest();
req.open("POST", "/upload", true);
var formdata = new FormData();
formdata.append("file", "test.xlsx"); // <-- server expects `file` to hold name
formdata.append("data", wbout); // <-- `data` holds the base64-encoded data
req.send(formdata);

PhantomJS (Headless Webkit) File Generation (click to show)

The headless demo includes a complete demo to convert HTML files to XLSB workbooks using PhantomJS. PhantomJS fs.write supports writing files from the main process but has a different interface from the NodeJS fs module:

var XLSX = require('xlsx');
var fs = require('fs');

/* generate a binary string */
var bin = XLSX.write(workbook, { type:"binary", bookType: "xlsx" });
/* write to file */
fs.write("test.xlsx", bin, "wb");

Note: The section "Processing HTML Tables" shows how to generate a workbook from HTML tables in a page in "Headless WebKit".

The included demos cover mobile apps and other special deployments.

Writing Examples

• http://sheetjs.com/demos/table.html exporting an HTML table
• http://sheetjs.com/demos/writexlsx.html generates a simple file

Streaming Write

The streaming write functions are available in the XLSX.stream object. They take the same arguments as the normal write functions but return a NodeJS Readable Stream.

• XLSX.stream.to_csv is the streaming version of XLSX.utils.sheet_to_csv.
• XLSX.stream.to_html is the streaming version of XLSX.utils.sheet_to_html.
• XLSX.stream.to_json is the streaming version of XLSX.utils.sheet_to_json.

nodejs convert to CSV and write file (click to show)

var output_file_name = "out.csv";
var stream = XLSX.stream.to_csv(worksheet);
stream.pipe(fs.createWriteStream(output_file_name));

nodejs write JSON stream to screen (click to show)

/* to_json returns an object-mode stream */
var stream = XLSX.stream.to_json(worksheet, {raw:true});

/* the following stream converts JS objects to text via JSON.stringify */
var conv = new Transform({writableObjectMode:true});
conv._transform = function(obj, e, cb){ cb(null, JSON.stringify(obj) + "\n"); };

stream.pipe(conv); conv.pipe(process.stdout);

https://github.com/sheetjs/sheetaki pipes write streams to nodejs response.

Generating JSON and JS Data

JSON and JS data tend to represent single worksheets. The utility functions in this section work with single worksheets.

The "Common Spreadsheet Format" section describes the object structure in more detail. workbook.SheetNames is an ordered list of the worksheet names. workbook.Sheets is an object whose keys are sheet names and whose values are worksheet objects.

The "first worksheet" is stored at workbook.Sheets[workbook.SheetNames[0]].

API

Create an array of JS objects from a worksheet

var jsa = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_json(worksheet, opts);

Create an array of arrays of JS values from a worksheet

var aoa = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_json(worksheet, {...opts, header: 1});

The sheet_to_json utility function walks a workbook in row-major order, generating an array of objects. The second opts argument controls a number of export decisions including the type of values (JS values or formatted text). The "JSON" section describes the argument in more detail.

By default, sheet_to_json scans the first row and uses the values as headers. With the header: 1 option, the function exports an array of arrays of values.

Examples

x-spreadsheet is an interactive data grid for previewing and modifying structured data in the web browser. The xspreadsheet demo includes a sample script with the stox function for converting from a workbook to x-spreadsheet data object. https://oss.sheetjs.com/sheetjs/x-spreadsheet is a live demo.

Previewing data in a React data grid (click to show)

react-data-grid is a data grid tailored for react. It expects two properties: rows of data objects and columns which describe the columns. For the purposes of massaging the data to fit the react data grid API it is easiest to start from an array of arrays.

This demo starts by fetching a remote file and using XLSX.read to extract:

import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
import DataGrid from "react-data-grid";
import { read, utils } from "xlsx";

const url = "https://oss.sheetjs.com/test_files/RkNumber.xls";

export default function App() {
  const [columns, setColumns] = useState([]);
  const [rows, setRows] = useState([]);
  useEffect(() => {(async () => {
    const wb = read(await (await fetch(url)).arrayBuffer(), { WTF: 1 });

    /* use sheet_to_json with header: 1 to generate an array of arrays */
    const data = utils.sheet_to_json(wb.Sheets[wb.SheetNames[0]], { header: 1 });

    /* see react-data-grid docs to understand the shape of the expected data */
    setColumns(data[0].map((r) => ({ key: r, name: r })));
    setRows(data.slice(1).map((r) => r.reduce((acc, x, i) => {
      acc[data[0][i]] = x;
      return acc;
    }, {})));
  })(); });

  return <DataGrid columns={columns} rows={rows} />;
}

Previewing data in a VueJS data grid (click to show)

vue3-table-lite is a simple VueJS 3 data table. It is featured in the VueJS demo.

Populating a database (SQL or no-SQL) (click to show)

The database demo includes examples of working with databases and query results.

Numerical Computations with TensorFlow.js (click to show)

@tensorflow/tfjs and other libraries expect data in simple arrays, well-suited for worksheets where each column is a data vector. That is the transpose of how most people use spreadsheets, where each row is a vector.

A single Array#map can pull individual named rows from sheet_to_json export:

const XLSX = require("xlsx");
const tf = require('@tensorflow/tfjs');

const key = "age"; // this is the field we want to pull
const ages = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_json(worksheet).map(r => r[key]);
const tf_data = tf.tensor1d(ages);

All fields can be processed at once using a transpose of the 2D tensor generated with the sheet_to_json export with header: 1. The first row, if it contains header labels, should be removed with a slice:

const XLSX = require("xlsx");
const tf = require('@tensorflow/tfjs');

/* array of arrays of the data starting on the second row */
const aoa = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_json(worksheet, {header: 1}).slice(1);
/* dataset in the "correct orientation" */
const tf_dataset = tf.tensor2d(aoa).transpose();
/* pull out each dataset with a slice */
const tf_field0 = tf_dataset.slice([0,0], [1,tensor.shape[1]]).flatten();
const tf_field1 = tf_dataset.slice([1,0], [1,tensor.shape[1]]).flatten();

The array demo shows a complete example.

Generating HTML Tables

API

Generate HTML Table from Worksheet

var html = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_html(worksheet);

The sheet_to_html utility function generates HTML code based on the worksheet data. Each cell in the worksheet is mapped to a <TD> element. Merged cells in the worksheet are serialized by setting colspan and rowspan attributes.

Examples

The sheet_to_html utility function generates HTML code that can be added to any DOM element by setting the innerHTML:

var container = document.getElementById("tavolo");
container.innerHTML = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_html(worksheet);

Combining with fetch, constructing a site from a workbook is straightforward:

Vanilla JS + HTML fetch workbook and generate table previews (click to show)

<body>
  <style>TABLE { border-collapse: collapse; } TD { border: 1px solid; }</style>
  <div id="tavolo"></div>
  <script src="https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-latest/package/dist/xlsx.full.min.js"></script>
  <script type="text/javascript">
(async() => {
  /* fetch and parse workbook -- see the fetch example for details */
  const workbook = XLSX.read(await (await fetch("sheetjs.xlsx")).arrayBuffer());

  let output = [];
  /* loop through the worksheet names in order */
  workbook.SheetNames.forEach(name => {

    /* generate HTML from the corresponding worksheets */
    const worksheet = workbook.Sheets[name];
    const html = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_html(worksheet);

    /* add a header with the title name followed by the table */
    output.push(`<H3>${name}</H3>${html}`);
  });
  /* write to the DOM at the end */
  tavolo.innerHTML = output.join("\n");
})();
  </script>
</body>

React fetch workbook and generate HTML table previews (click to show)

It is generally recommended to use a React-friendly workflow, but it is possible to generate HTML and use it in React with dangerouslySetInnerHTML:

function Tabeller(props) {
  /* the workbook object is the state */
  const [workbook, setWorkbook] = React.useState(XLSX.utils.book_new());

  /* fetch and update the workbook with an effect */
  React.useEffect(() => { (async() => {
    /* fetch and parse workbook -- see the fetch example for details */
    const wb = XLSX.read(await (await fetch("sheetjs.xlsx")).arrayBuffer());
    setWorkbook(wb);
  })(); });

  return workbook.SheetNames.map(name => (<>
    <h3>name</h3>
    <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{
      /* this __html mantra is needed to set the inner HTML */
      __html: XLSX.utils.sheet_to_html(workbook.Sheets[name])
    }} />
  </>));
}

The react demo includes more React examples.

VueJS fetch workbook and generate HTML table previews (click to show)

It is generally recommended to use a VueJS-friendly workflow, but it is possible to generate HTML and use it in VueJS with the v-html directive:

import { read, utils } from 'xlsx';
import { reactive } from 'vue';

const S5SComponent = {
  mounted() { (async() => {
    /* fetch and parse workbook -- see the fetch example for details */
    const workbook = read(await (await fetch("sheetjs.xlsx")).arrayBuffer());
    /* loop through the worksheet names in order */
    workbook.SheetNames.forEach(name => {
      /* generate HTML from the corresponding worksheets */
      const html = utils.sheet_to_html(workbook.Sheets[name]);
      /* add to state */
      this.wb.wb.push({ name, html });
    });
  })(); },
  /* this state mantra is required for array updates to work */
  setup() { return { wb: reactive({ wb: [] }) }; },
  template: `
  <div v-for="ws in wb.wb" :key="ws.name">
    <h3>{{ ws.name }}</h3>
    <div v-html="ws.html"></div>
  </div>`
};

The vuejs demo includes more React examples.

Generating Single-Worksheet Snapshots

The sheet_to_* functions accept a worksheet object.

API

Generate a CSV from a single worksheet

var csv = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_csv(worksheet, opts);

This snapshot is designed to replicate the "CSV UTF8 (.csv)" output type. "Delimiter-Separated Output" describes the function and the optional opts argument in more detail.

Generate "Text" from a single worksheet

var txt = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_txt(worksheet, opts);

This snapshot is designed to replicate the "UTF16 Text (.txt)" output type. "Delimiter-Separated Output" describes the function and the optional opts argument in more detail.

Generate a list of formulae from a single worksheet

var fmla = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_formulae(worksheet);

This snapshot generates an array of entries representing the embedded formulae. Array formulae are rendered in the form range=formula while plain cells are rendered in the form cell=formula or value. String literals are prefixed with an apostrophe ', consistent with Excel's formula bar display.

"Formulae Output" describes the function in more detail.