# canvas-datagrid The `sheet_to_json` utility function generates output arrays suitable for use with other JS libraries such as data grids for previewing data. After extensive testing, [`canvas-datagrid`](https://canvas-datagrid.js.org/demo.html) stood out as a very high-performance grid with an incredibly simple API. This demo is available at ## Obtaining the Library The `canvas-datagrid` NodeJS packages include a minified script that can be directly inserted as a script tag. The unpkg CDN also serves this script: ```html ``` ## Previewing Data The HTML document needs a container element: ```html
``` Grid initialization is a one-liner: ```js var grid = canvasDatagrid({ parentNode: document.getElementById('gridctr'), data: [] }); ``` For large data sets, it's necessary to constrain the size of the grid. ```js grid.style.height = '100%'; grid.style.width = '100%'; ``` Once the workbook is read and the worksheet is selected, assigning the data variable automatically updates the view: ```js grid.data = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_json(ws, {header:1}); ``` This demo previews the first worksheet. ## Editing `canvas-datagrid` handles the entire edit cycle. No intervention is necessary. ## Saving Data `grid.data` is immediately readable and can be converted back to a worksheet. Some versions return an array-like object without the length, so a little bit of preparation may be needed: ```js /* converts an array of array-like objects into an array of arrays */ function prep(arr) { var out = []; for(var i = 0; i < arr.length; ++i) { if(!arr[i]) continue; if(Array.isArray(arr[i])) { out[i] = arr[i]; continue }; var o = new Array(); Object.keys(arr[i]).forEach(function(k) { o[+k] = arr[i][k] }); out[i] = o; } return out; } /* build worksheet from the grid data */ var ws = XLSX.utils.aoa_to_sheet(prep(grid.data)); /* build up workbook */ var wb = XLSX.utils.book_new(); XLSX.utils.book_append_sheet(wb, ws, 'SheetJS'); /* generate download */ XLSX.writeFile(wb, "SheetJS.xlsx"); ``` ## Additional Features This demo barely scratches the surface. The underlying grid component includes many additional features including massive data streaming, sorting and styling. [![Analytics](https://ga-beacon.appspot.com/UA-36810333-1/SheetJS/js-xlsx?pixel)](https://github.com/SheetJS/js-xlsx)