---
sidebar_position: 1
title: Addresses and Ranges
---
export const g = {style: {backgroundColor:"green"}};
Each cell in a worksheet has a unique address which specifies the row and the
column that include the cell.
## Basic Concepts
### Rows
Spreadsheet applications typically display ordinal row numbers, where `1` is the
first row, `2` is the second row, etc. The numbering starts at `1`.
SheetJS follows JavaScript counting conventions, where `0` is the first row, `1`
is the second row, etc. The numbering starts at `0`.
The following table lists some example row labels:
| Ordinal | Row Label | SheetJS |
|:----------|----------:|----------:|
| First | `1` | `0` |
| Second | `2` | `1` |
| 26th | `26` | `25` |
| 420th | `420` | `419` |
| 7262nd | `7262` | `7261` |
| 1048576th | `1048576` | `1048575` |
### Columns
Spreadsheet applications typically use letters to represent columns.
The first column is `A`, the second column is `B`, and the 26th column is `Z`.
After `Z`, the next column is `AA` and counting continues through `AZ`. After
`AZ`, the count continues with `BA`. After `ZZ`, the count continues with `AAA`.
Some sample values, along with SheetJS column indices, are listed below:
| Ordinal | Column Label | SheetJS |
|:--------|:-------------|--------:|
| First | `A` | `0` |
| Second | `B` | `1` |
| 26th | `Z` | `25` |
| 27th | `AA` | `26` |
| 420th | `PD` | `419` |
| 702nd | `ZZ` | `701` |
| 703rd | `AAA` | `702` |
| 7262nd | `JSH` | `7261` |
| 16384th | `XFD` | `16383` |
## Cell Addresses
### A1-Style
A1-Style is the default address style in Lotus 1-2-3 and Excel.
A cell address is the concatenation of column label and row label.
For example, the cell in the third column and fourth row is `C4`, concatenating
the third column label (`C`) and the fourth row label (`4`)
### SheetJS Cell Address
Cell address objects are stored as `{c:C, r:R}` where `C` and `R` are 0-indexed
column and row numbers, respectively. For example, the cell address `B5` is
represented by the object `{c:1, r:4}`.
## Cell Ranges
### A1-Style
A cell range is represented as the top-left cell of the range, followed by `:`,
followed by the bottom-right cell of the range. For example, the range `"C2:D4"`
includes the 6 green cells in the following table:
<table><tbody>
<tr><th> </th><th>A</th><th>B</th><th>C</th><th>D</th><th>E</th></tr>
<tr><th>1</th><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr>
<tr><th>2</th><td> </td><td> </td><td {...g}></td><td {...g}></td><td> </td></tr>
<tr><th>3</th><td> </td><td> </td><td {...g}></td><td {...g}></td><td> </td></tr>
<tr><th>4</th><td> </td><td> </td><td {...g}></td><td {...g}></td><td> </td></tr>
<tr><th>5</th><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A column range is represented by the left-most column, followed by `:`, followed
by the right-most column. For example, the range `C:D` represents the third and
fourth columns.
A row range is represented by the top-most row, followed by `:`, followed by the
bottom-most column. For example, `2:4` represents the second/third/fourth rows.
### SheetJS Range
Cell range objects are stored as `{s:S, e:E}` where `S` is the first cell and
`E` is the last cell in the range. The ranges are inclusive. For example, the
range `A3:B7` is represented by the object `{s:{c:0, r:2}, e:{c:1, r:6}}`.
#### Column and Row Ranges
A column range (spanning every row) is represented with the starting row `0` and
the ending row `1048575`:
```js
{ s: { c: 0, r: 0 }, e: { c: 0, r: 1048575 } } // A:A
{ s: { c: 1, r: 0 }, e: { c: 2, r: 1048575 } } // B:C
```
A row range (spanning every column) is represented with the starting col `0` and
the ending col `16383`:
```js
{ s: { c: 0, r: 0 }, e: { c: 16383, r: 0 } } // 1:1
{ s: { c: 0, r: 1 }, e: { c: 16383, r: 2 } } // 2:3
```
## Utilities
### Column Names
_Get the SheetJS index from an A1-Style column_
```js
var col_index = XLSX.utils.decode_col("D");
```
The argument is expected to be a string representing a column.
_Get the A1-Style column string from a SheetJS index_
```js
var col_name = XLSX.utils.encode_col(3);
```
The argument is expected to be a SheetJS column (non-negative integer).
### Row Names
_Get the SheetJS index from an A1-Style row_
```js
var row_index = XLSX.utils.decode_row("4");
```
The argument is expected to be a string representing a row.
_Get the A1-Style row string from a SheetJS index_
```js
var row_name = XLSX.utils.encode_row(3);
```
The argument is expected to be a SheetJS column (non-negative integer).
### Cell Addresses
_Generate a SheetJS cell address from an A1-Style address string_
```js
var address = XLSX.utils.decode_cell("A2");
```
The argument is expected to be a string representing a single cell address.
_Generate an A1-Style address string from a SheetJS cell address_
```js
var a1_addr = XLSX.utils.encode_cell({r:1, c:0});
```
The argument is expected to be a SheetJS cell address
### Cell Ranges
_Generate a SheetJS cell range from an A1-Style range string_
```js
var range = XLSX.utils.decode_range("A1:D3");
```
The argument is expected to be a string representing a range or a single cell
address. The single cell address is interpreted as a single cell range, so
`XLSX.utils.decode_range("D3")` is the same as `XLSX.utils.decode_range("D3:D3")`
_Generate an A1-Style address string from a SheetJS cell address_
```js
var a1_range = XLSX.utils.encode_range({ s: { c: 0, r: 0 }, e: { c: 3, r: 2 } });
```
The argument is expected to be a SheetJS cell range.