--- title: Sheets in VueJS Sites sidebar_label: VueJS description: Build interactive websites with VueJS. Seamlessly integrate spreadsheets into your app using SheetJS. Bring Excel-powered workflows and data to the modern web. pagination_prev: demos/index pagination_next: demos/grid/index sidebar_position: 2 --- import current from '/version.js'; import Tabs from '@theme/Tabs'; import TabItem from '@theme/TabItem'; import CodeBlock from '@theme/CodeBlock'; [VueJS](https://vuejs.org/) is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. [SheetJS](https://sheetjs.com) is a JavaScript library for reading and writing data from spreadsheets. This demo uses VueJS and SheetJS to process and generate spreadsheets. We'll explore how to load SheetJS in a VueJS SFC (single-file component) and compare common state models and data flow strategies. :::note pass This demo focuses on VueJS concepts. Other demos cover general deployments: - [Static Site Generation powered by NuxtJS](/docs/demos/static/nuxtjs) - [iOS and Android applications powered by Quasar](/docs/demos/mobile/quasar) - [Desktop application powered by Tauri](/docs/demos/desktop/tauri) - [`vue3-table-lite` UI component](/docs/demos/grid/vtl) ::: ## Installation [The "Frameworks" section](/docs/getting-started/installation/frameworks) covers installation with Yarn and other package managers. The library can be imported directly from JS or JSX code with: ```js import { read, utils, writeFile } from 'xlsx'; ``` ## Internal State The various SheetJS APIs work with various data shapes. The preferred state depends on the application. ### Array of Objects Typically, some users will create a spreadsheet with source data that should be loaded into the site. This sheet will have known columns. #### State The example [presidents sheet](https://sheetjs.com/pres.xlsx) has one header row with "Name" and "Index" columns. The natural JS representation is an object for each row, using the values in the first rows as keys:
SpreadsheetState
![`pres.xlsx` data](pathname:///pres.png) ```js [ { Name: "Bill Clinton", Index: 42 }, { Name: "GeorgeW Bush", Index: 43 }, { Name: "Barack Obama", Index: 44 }, { Name: "Donald Trump", Index: 45 }, { Name: "Joseph Biden", Index: 46 } ] ```
Using the VueJS Composition API, the `ref`[^1] function creates state objects: ```html ``` ```html ``` When the spreadsheet header row is known ahead of time, row typing is possible: ```html ``` :::caution pass The types are informative. They do not enforce that worksheets include the named columns. A runtime data validation library should be used to verify the dataset. When the file header is not known in advance, `any` should be used. ::: #### Updating State The SheetJS [`read`](/docs/api/parse-options) and [`sheet_to_json`](/docs/api/utilities/array#array-output) functions simplify state updates. They are best used in the function bodies of lifecycle hooks including `onMounted`[^2]. The `onMounted` hook can download and update state when a person loads the site: ```mermaid flowchart LR url[(Remote\nFile)] ab[(Data\nArrayBuffer)] wb(SheetJS\nWorkbook) ws(SheetJS\nWorksheet) aoo(array of\nobjects) state((component\nstate)) url --> |fetch\n\n| ab ab --> |read\n\n| wb wb --> |wb.Sheets\nselect sheet| ws ws --> |sheet_to_json\n\n| aoo aoo --> |setPres\nfrom `setState`| state ``` ```html ``` ```html ``` #### Rendering Data A component will typically map over the data with `v-for`[^3]. The following example generates a TABLE with a row for each President: ```html title="Example SFC for displaying arrays of objects" ``` #### Exporting Data The [`writeFile`](/docs/api/write-options) and [`json_to_sheet`](/docs/api/utilities/array#array-of-objects-input) functions simplify exporting data. They are best used in the function bodies of `v-on` event handlers like `@click`[^4]. A callback can generate a local file when a user clicks a button: ```mermaid flowchart LR state((component\nstate)) ws(SheetJS\nWorksheet) wb(SheetJS\nWorkbook) file[(XLSX\nexport)] state --> |json_to_sheet\n\n| ws ws --> |book_new\nbook_append_sheet| wb wb --> |writeFile\n\n| file ``` ```html ``` #### Complete Component This complete component example fetches a test file and displays the contents in a HTML table. When the export button is clicked, a callback will export a file: ```html title="src/SheetJSVueAoO.vue" ```
How to run the example (click to show) :::note This demo was last run on 2023 August 27 using `vue@3.3.4`. When running `npm init`, the package `create-vue@3.7.3` was installed. ::: 1) Run `npm init vue@latest -- sheetjs-vue --default`. 2) Install the SheetJS dependency and start the dev server: {`\ cd sheetjs-vue npm i npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz npm run dev`} 3) Open a web browser and access the displayed URL (`http://localhost:5173`) 4) Replace `src/App.vue` with the `src/SheetJSVueAoO.vue` example. The page will refresh and show a table with an Export button. Click the button and the page will attempt to download `SheetJSVueAoA.xlsx`. There may be a delay since Vite will try to optimize the SheetJS library on the fly. 5) Build the site: ```bash npm run build ``` The generated site will be placed in the `dist` folder. 6) Start a local web server: ```bash npx http-server dist ``` Access the displayed URL (typically `http://localhost:8080`) with a web browser and test the page.
### HTML The main disadvantage of the Array of Objects approach is the specific nature of the columns. For more general use, passing around an Array of Arrays works. However, this does not handle merge cells well! The [`sheet_to_html`](/docs/api/utilities/html#html-table-output) function generates HTML that is aware of merges and other worksheet features. VueJS `v-html`[^5] attribute allows code to set the `innerHTML` attribute, effectively inserting the code into the page. In this example, the component attaches a `ref` to the `DIV` container. During export, the first `TABLE` child element can be parsed with [`table_to_book`](/docs/api/utilities/html#html-table-input) to generate a workbook object. ```html title="src/SheetJSVueHTML.vue" ```
How to run the example (click to show) :::note This demo was last run on 2023 August 27 using `vue@3.3.4`. When running `npm init`, the package `create-vue@3.7.3` was installed. ::: 1) Run `npm init vue@latest -- sheetjs-vue --default`. 2) Install the SheetJS dependency and start the dev server: {`\ cd sheetjs-vue npm i npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-${current}/xlsx-${current}.tgz npm run dev`} 3) Open a web browser and access the displayed URL (`http://localhost:5173`) 4) Replace `src/App.vue` with the `src/SheetJSVueHTML.vue` example. The page will refresh and show a table with an Export button. Click the button and the page will attempt to download `SheetJSVueHTML.xlsx`. There may be a delay since Vite will try to optimize the SheetJS library on the fly. 5) Build the site: ```bash npm run build ``` The generated site will be placed in the `dist` folder. 6) Start a local web server: ```bash npx http-server dist ``` Access the displayed URL (typically `http://localhost:8080`) with a web browser and test the page. 5) Build the site: ```bash npm run build ``` The generated site will be placed in the `dist` folder. 6) Start a local web server: ```bash npx http-server dist ``` Access the displayed URL (typically `http://localhost:8080`) with a web browser and test the page.
### Rows and Columns Some data grids and UI components split worksheet state in two parts: an array of column attribute objects and an array of row objects. The former is used to generate column headings and for indexing into the row objects. The safest approach is to use an array of arrays for state and to generate column objects that map to A1-Style column headers. The [`vue3-table-lite` demo](/docs/demos/grid/vtl#rows-and-columns-bindings) generates rows and columns objects with the following structure: ```js /* rows are generated with a simple array of arrays */ rows.value = utils.sheet_to_json(worksheet, { header: 1 }); /* column objects are generated based on the worksheet range */ const range = utils.decode_range(ws["!ref"]||"A1"); columns.value = Array.from({ length: range.e.c + 1 }, (_, i) => ({ /* for an array of arrays, the keys are "0", "1", "2", ... */ field: String(i), /* column labels: encode_col translates 0 -> "A", 1 -> "B", 2 -> "C", ... */ label: XLSX.utils.encode_col(i) })); ``` ## Legacy Deployments [The Standalone Scripts](/docs/getting-started/installation/standalone) play nice with legacy deployments that do not use a bundler. The legacy demos show a simple VueJS component. It is written in ES5 syntax. The pages are not minified and "View Source" should be used to inspect. - [VueJS version 2](pathname:///vue/index2.html) - [VueJS version 3](pathname:///vue/index3.html) There is a shared component [`SheetJS-vue.js`](pathname:///vue/SheetJS-vue.js) :::caution pass The entire demo is designed to run in Internet Explorer and does not reflect modern design patterns. ::: [^1]: See [`ref()`](https://vuejs.org/api/reactivity-core.html#ref) in the VueJS documentation. [^2]: See [`onMounted()`](https://vuejs.org/api/composition-api-lifecycle.html#onmounted) in the VueJS documentation. [^3]: See [`v-for`](https://vuejs.org/api/built-in-directives.html#v-for) in the VueJS documentation. [^4]: See [`v-on`](https://vuejs.org/api/built-in-directives.html#v-on) in the VueJS documentation. [^5]: See [`v-html`](https://vuejs.org/api/built-in-directives.html#v-html) in the VueJS documentation.