docs.sheetjs.com/06-content.md at aa252651d59b6f324bb5c8d68f28c7f5573245a5

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Content and Site Generation

With the advent of server-side frameworks and content management systems, it is possible to build sites whose source of truth is a spreadsheet! This demo explores a number of approaches.

Lume

Lume is a static site generator for the Deno platform.

The official Sheets plugin uses SheetJS to load data from spreadsheets.

Lume Demo

:::note

This was tested against lume v1.12.0 on 2022 October 4.

:::

Complete Example (click to show)

Create a stock site:

mkdir -p sheetjs-lume
cd sheetjs-lume
deno run -A https://deno.land/x/lume/init.ts

When prompted, enter the following options:

Use TypeScript for the configuration file: press Enter (use default N)
Do you want to use plugins: type sheets and press Enter

The project will be configured and modules will be installed.

Download https://sheetjs.com/pres.numbers and place in a _data folder:

mkdir -p _data
curl -LO https://sheetjs.com/pres.numbers
mv pres.numbers _data

Create a index.njk file that references the file. Since the file is pres.numbers, the parameter name is pres:

<h2>Presidents</h2>
<table><thead><th>Name</th><th>Index</th></thead>
  <tbody>
  {% for row in pres %}{% if (loop.index >= 1) %}
    <tr>
      <td>{{ row.Name }}</td>
      <td>{{ row.Index }}</td>
    </tr>
  {% endif %}{% endfor %}
  </tbody>
</table>

Run the development server:

deno task lume --serve

To verify it works, access http://localhost:3000 from your web browser. Adding a new row and saving pres.numbers should refresh the data

Stop the server (press CTRL+C in the terminal window) and run

deno task lume

This will create a static site in the _site folder, which can be served with:

npx http-server _site

Accessing the page http://localhost:8080 will show the page contents.

GatsbyJS

gatsby-transformer-excel generates nodes for each data row of each worksheet. The official documentation includes examples and more detailed usage instructions.

:::note

gatsby-transformer-excel is maintained by the Gatsby core team and all bugs should be directed to the main Gatsby project. If it is determined to be a bug in the parsing logic, issues should then be raised with the SheetJS project.

:::

ViteJS

:::note

Library integration in ViteJS is covered in "Bundlers" demo

:::

ViteJS supports static asset imports, but the default raw loader interprets data as UTF-8 strings. This corrupts binary formats like XLSX and XLS, but a custom loader can override the default behavior.

For a pure static site, a plugin can load data into an array of row objects. The SheetJS work is performed in the plugin. The library is not loaded in the page!

import { readFileSync } from 'fs';
import { read, utils } from 'xlsx';
import { defineConfig } from 'vite';

export default defineConfig({
  assetsInclude: ['**/*.xlsx'], // mark that xlsx file should be treated as assets

  plugins: [
    { // this plugin handles ?sheetjs tags
      name: "vite-sheet",
      transform(code, id) {
        if(!id.match(/\?sheetjs$/)) return;
        var path = id.replace(/\?sheetjs/, "");
        var wb = read(readFileSync(path));
        var data = utils.sheet_to_json(wb.Sheets[wb.SheetNames[0]]);
        return `export default JSON.parse('${JSON.stringify(data)}')`;
      }
    }
  ]
})

This loader uses the query sheetjs:

import data from './data.xlsx?sheetjs';

document.querySelector('#app').innerHTML = `<div><pre>
${data.map(row => JSON.stringify(row)).join("\n")}
</pre></div>`;

Base64 plugin (click to show)

This loader pulls in data as a Base64 string that can be read with XLSX.read. While this approach works, it is not recommended since it loads the library in the front-end site.

import { readFileSync } from 'fs';
import { defineConfig } from 'vite';

export default defineConfig({
  assetsInclude: ['**/*.xlsx'], // mark that xlsx file should be treated as assets

  plugins: [
    { // this plugin handles ?b64 tags
      name: "vite-b64-plugin",
      transform(code, id) {
        if(!id.match(/\?b64$/)) return;
        var path = id.replace(/\?b64/, "");
        var data = readFileSync(path, "base64");
        return `export default '${data}'`;
      }
    }
  ]
});

When importing using the b64 query, the raw Base64 string will be exposed. This can be read directly with XLSX.read in JS code:

import { read, utils } from "xlsx";

/* reference workbook */
import b64 from './data.xlsx?b64';
/* parse workbook and export first sheet to CSV */
const wb = await read(b64);
const wsname = wb.SheetNames[0];
const csv = utils.sheet_to_csv(wb.Sheets[wsname]);

document.querySelector('#app').innerHTML = `<div><pre>
<b>${wsname}</b>
${csv}
</pre></div>`;

NextJS

:::note

This was tested against next v12.2.5 on 2022 August 16.

:::

:::info

At a high level, there are two ways to pull spreadsheet data into NextJS apps: loading an asset module or performing the file read operations from the NextJS lifecycle. At the time of writing, NextJS does not offer an out-of-the-box asset module solution, so this demo focuses on raw operations. NextJS does not watch the spreadsheets, so next dev hot reloading will not work!

:::

The general strategy with NextJS apps is to generate HTML snippets or data from the lifecycle functions and reference them in the template.

HTML output can be generated using XLSX.utils.sheet_to_html and inserted into the document using the dangerouslySetInnerHTML attribute:

export default function Index({html, type}) { return (
  // ...
// highlight-next-line
  <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: html }} />
  // ...
); }

:::warning

fs cannot be statically imported from the top level in NextJS pages. The dynamic import must happen within a lifecycle function. For example:

/* it is safe to import the library from the top level */
import { readFile, utils, set_fs } from 'xlsx';
/* it is not safe to import 'fs' from the top level ! */
// import * as fs from 'fs'; // this will fail
import { join } from 'path';
import { cwd } from 'process';

export async function getServerSideProps() {
// highlight-next-line
  set_fs(await import("fs")); // dynamically import 'fs' when needed
  const wb = readFile(join(cwd(), "public", "sheetjs.xlsx")); // works
  // ...
}

:::

Strategies

"Static Site Generation" using `getStaticProps`

When using getStaticProps, the file will be read once during build time.

import { readFile, set_fs, utils } from 'xlsx';

export async function getStaticProps() {
  /* read file */
  set_fs(await import("fs"));
  const wb = readFile(path_to_file)

  /* generate and return the html from the first worksheet */
  const html = utils.sheet_to_html(wb.Sheets[wb.SheetNames[0]]);
  return { props: { html } };
};

"Static Site Generation with Dynamic Routes" using `getStaticPaths`

Typically a static site with dynamic routes has an endpoint /sheets/[id] that implements both getStaticPaths and getStaticProps.

getStaticPaths should return an array of worksheet indices:

export async function getStaticPaths() {
  /* read file */
  set_fs(await import("fs"));
  const wb = readFile(path);

  /* generate an array of objects that will be used for generating pages */
  const paths = wb.SheetNames.map((name, idx) => ({ params: { id: idx.toString() } }));
  return { paths, fallback: false };
};

:::note

For a pure static site, fallback must be set to false!

:::

getStaticProps will generate the actual HTML for each page:

export async function getStaticProps(ctx) {
  /* read file */
  set_fs(await import("fs"));
  const wb = readFile(path);

  /* get the corresponding worksheet and generate HTML */
  const ws = wb.Sheets[wb.SheetNames[ctx.params.id]]; // id from getStaticPaths
  const html = utils.sheet_to_html(ws);
  return { props: { html } };
};

"Server-Side Rendering" using `getServerSideProps`

:::caution Do not use on a static site

These routes require a NodeJS dynamic server. Static page generation will fail!

getStaticProps and getStaticPaths support static site generation (SSG).

getServerSideProps is suited for NodeJS hosted deployments where the workbook changes frequently and a static site is undesirable.

:::

When using getServerSideProps, the file will be read on each request.

import { readFile, set_fs, utils } from 'xlsx';

export async function getServerSideProps() {
  /* read file */
  set_fs(await import("fs"));
  const wb = readFile(path_to_file);

  /* generate and return the html from the first worksheet */
  const html = utils.sheet_to_html(wb.Sheets[wb.SheetNames[0]]);
  return { props: { html } };
};

Demo

Complete Example (click to show)

Disable NextJS telemetry:

npx next telemetry disable

Confirm it is disabled by running

npx next telemetry status

Set up folder structure. At the end, a pages folder with a sheets subfolder must be created. On Linux or MacOS or WSL:

mkdir -p pages/sheets/

Download the test file and place in the project root. On Linux or MacOS or WSL:

curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/next/sheetjs.xlsx

Install dependencies:

npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-latest/xlsx-latest.tgz next

Download test scripts:

Download and place the following scripts in the pages subfolder:

Download [id].js and place in the pages/sheets subfolder.

:::caution Percent-Encoding in the script name

The [id].js script must have the literal square brackets in the name. If your browser saved the file to %5Bid%5D.js. rename the file.

:::

On Linux or MacOS or WSL:

cd pages
curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/next/index.js
curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/next/getServerSideProps.js
curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/next/getStaticPaths.js
curl -LO https://docs.sheetjs.com/next/getStaticProps.js
cd sheets
curl -LOg 'https://docs.sheetjs.com/next/[id].js'
cd ../..

Test the deployment:

npx next

Open a web browser and access:

http://localhost:3000 landing page
http://localhost:3000/getStaticProps shows data from the first sheet
http://localhost:3000/getServerSideProps shows data from the first sheet
http://localhost:3000/getStaticPaths shows a list (3 sheets)

The individual worksheets are available at

Stop the server and run a production build:

npx next build

The final output will show a list of the routes and types:

Route (pages)                              Size     First Load JS
┌ ○ /                                      551 B          81.7 kB
├ ○ /404                                   194 B          77.2 kB
├ λ /getServerSideProps                    602 B          81.7 kB
├ ● /getStaticPaths                        2.7 kB         83.8 kB
├ ● /getStaticProps                        600 B          81.7 kB
└ ● /sheets/[id] (312 ms)                  580 B          81.7 kB
    ├ /sheets/0
    ├ /sheets/1
    └ /sheets/2

As explained in the summary, the /getStaticPaths and /getStaticProps routes are completely static. 3 /sheets/# pages were generated, corresponding to 3 worksheets in the file. /getServerSideProps is server-rendered.

Try to build a static site:

npx next export

:::note The static export will fail!

A static page cannot be generated at this point because /getServerSideProps is still server-rendered.

:::

Remove pages/getServerSideProps.js and rebuild with npx next build.

Inspecting the output, there should be no lines with the λ symbol:

Route (pages)                              Size     First Load JS
┌ ○ /                                      551 B          81.7 kB
├ ○ /404                                   194 B          77.2 kB
├ ● /getStaticPaths                        2.7 kB         83.8 kB
├ ● /getStaticProps                        600 B          81.7 kB
└ ● /sheets/[id] (312 ms)                  580 B          81.7 kB
    ├ /sheets/0
    ├ /sheets/1
    └ /sheets/2

Generate the static site:

npx next export

The static site will be written to the out subfolder, which can be hosted with

npx http-server out

The command will start a local HTTP server on port 8080.

NuxtJS

@nuxt/content is a file-based CMS for Nuxt, enabling static-site generation and on-demand server rendering powered by spreadsheets.

nuxt.config.js configuration

Through an override in nuxt.config.js, Nuxt Content will use custom parsers. Differences from a stock create-nuxt-app config are shown below:

import { readFile, utils } from 'xlsx';

// This will be called when the files change
const parseSheet = (file, { path }) => {
  // `path` is a path that can be read with `XLSX.readFile`
  const wb = readFile(path);
  const o = wb.SheetNames.map(name => ({ name, data: utils.sheet_to_json(wb.Sheets[name])}));
  return { data: o };
}

export default {
// ...

  // content.extendParser allows us to hook into the parsing step
  content: {
    extendParser: {
      // the keys are the extensions that will be matched.  The "." is required
      ".numbers": parseSheet,
      ".xlsx": parseSheet,
      ".xls": parseSheet,
      // can add other extensions like ".fods" as desired
    }
  },

// ...
}

Template Use

When a spreadsheet is placed in the content folder, Nuxt will find it. The data can be referenced in a view with asyncData. The name should not include the extension, so "sheetjs.numbers" would be referenced as "sheetjs":

  async asyncData ({$content}) {
    return {
      // $content('sheetjs') will match files with extensions in nuxt.config.js
      data: await $content('sheetjs').fetch()
    };
  }

In the template, data.data is an array of objects. Each object has a name property for the worksheet name and a data array of row objects. This maps neatly with nested v-for:

  <!-- loop over the worksheets -->
  <div v-for="item in data.data" v-bind:key="item.name">
    <table>
      <!-- loop over the rows of each worksheet -->
      <tr v-for="row in item.data" v-bind:key="row.Index">
        <!-- here `row` is a row object generated from sheet_to_json -->
        <td>{{ row.Name }}</td>
        <td>{{ row.Index }}</td>
      </tr>
    </table>
  </div>

Nuxt Content Demo

Complete Example (click to show)

:::note

This was tested against create-nuxt-app v4.0.0 on 2022 August 13.

:::

Create a stock app:

npx create-nuxt-app SheetJSNuxt

When prompted, enter the following options:

Project name: press Enter (use default SheetJSNuxt)
Programming language: press Down Arrow (TypeScript selected) then Enter
Package manager: select Npm and press Enter
UI framework: select None and press Enter
Nuxt.js modules: scroll to Content, select with Space, then press Enter
Linting tools: press Enter (do not select any Linting tools)
Testing framework: select None and press Enter
Rendering mode: select Universal (SSR / SSG) and press Enter
Deployment target: select Static (Static/Jamstack hosting) and press Enter
Development tools: press Enter (do not select any Development tools)
What is your GitHub username?: press Enter
Version control system: select None

The project will be configured and modules will be installed.

Install the SheetJS library and start the server:

cd SheetJSNuxt
npm i --save https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-latest/xlsx-latest.tgz
npm run dev

When the build finishes, the terminal will display a URL like:

ℹ Listening on: http://localhost:64688/

The server is listening on that URL. Open the link in a web browser.

Download https://sheetjs.com/pres.xlsx and move to the content folder.
Modify nuxt.config.js as described earlier
Replace pages/index.vue with the following:

<!-- sheetjs (C) 2013-present  SheetJS -- https://sheetjs.com -->
<template><div>
  <div v-for="item in data.data" v-bind:key="item.name">
    <h2>{{ item.name }}</h2>
    <table><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Index</th></tr></thead><tbody>
      <tr v-for="row in item.data" v-bind:key="row.Index">
        <td>{{ row.Name }}</td>
        <td>{{ row.Index }}</td>
      </tr>
    </tbody></table>
  </div>
</div></template>

<script>
export default {
  async asyncData ({$content}) {
    return {
      data: await $content('pres').fetch()
    };
  }
}
</script>

The browser should refresh to show the contents of the spreadsheet. If it does not, click Refresh manually or open a new browser window.

To verify that hot loading works, open pres.xlsx from the content folder in Excel. Add a new row to the bottom and save the file:

The server terminal window should show a line like:

ℹ Updated ./content/pres.xlsx                                       @nuxt/content 05:43:37

The page should automatically refresh with the new content:

Stop the server (press CTRL+C in the terminal window) and run

npm run generate

This will create a static site in the dist folder, which can be served with:

npx http-server dist

Accessing the page http://localhost:8080 will show the page contents. Verifying the static nature is trivial: make another change in Excel and save. The page will not change.

18 KiB Raw Blame History Unescape Escape

Lume

Lume Demo

GatsbyJS

ViteJS

NextJS

Strategies

"Static Site Generation" using getStaticProps

"Static Site Generation with Dynamic Routes" using getStaticPaths

"Server-Side Rendering" using getServerSideProps

Demo

NuxtJS

nuxt.config.js configuration

Template Use

Nuxt Content Demo

18 KiB

Raw Blame History

"Static Site Generation" using `getStaticProps`

"Static Site Generation with Dynamic Routes" using `getStaticPaths`

"Server-Side Rendering" using `getServerSideProps`