@shabashab/exceljs

Excel Workbook Manager - Read and Write xlsx and csv Files.

Usage no npm install needed!

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  import shabashabExceljs from 'https://cdn.skypack.dev/@shabashab/exceljs';
</script>

README

ExcelJS

Build status Code Quality: Javascript Total Alerts

Read, manipulate and write spreadsheet data and styles to XLSX and JSON.

Reverse engineered from Excel spreadsheet files as a project.

Translations

Installation

npm install exceljs

New Features!

Contributions

Contributions are very welcome! It helps me know what features are desired or what bugs are causing the most pain.

I have just one request; If you submit a pull request for a bugfix, please add a unit-test or integration-test (in the spec folder) that catches the problem. Even a PR that just has a failing test is fine - I can analyse what the test is doing and fix the code from that.

Note: Please try to avoid modifying the package version in a PR. Versions are updated on release and any change will most likely result in merge collisions.

To be clear, all contributions added to this library will be included in the library's MIT licence.

Contents

Importing

const ExcelJS = require('exceljs');

ES5 Imports

To use the ES5 transpiled code, for example for node.js versions older than 10, use the dist/es5 path.

const ExcelJS = require('exceljs/dist/es5');

Note: The ES5 build has an implicit dependency on a number of polyfills which are no longer explicitly added by exceljs. You will need to add "core-js" and "regenerator-runtime" to your dependencies and include the following requires in your code before the exceljs import:

// polyfills required by exceljs
require('core-js/modules/es.promise');
require('core-js/modules/es.string.includes');
require('core-js/modules/es.object.assign');
require('core-js/modules/es.object.keys');
require('core-js/modules/es.symbol');
require('core-js/modules/es.symbol.async-iterator');
require('regenerator-runtime/runtime');

const ExcelJS = require('exceljs/dist/es5');

For IE 11, you'll also need a polyfill to support unicode regex patterns. For example,

const rewritePattern = require('regexpu-core');
const {generateRegexpuOptions} = require('@babel/helper-create-regexp-features-plugin/lib/util');

const {RegExp} = global;
try {
  new RegExp('a', 'u');
} catch (err) {
  global.RegExp = function(pattern, flags) {
    if (flags && flags.includes('u')) {
      return new RegExp(rewritePattern(pattern, flags, generateRegexpuOptions({flags, pattern})));
    }
    return new RegExp(pattern, flags);
  };
  global.RegExp.prototype = RegExp;
}

Browserify

ExcelJS publishes two browserified bundles inside the dist/ folder:

One with implicit dependencies on core-js polyfills...

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/babel-polyfill/6.26.0/polyfill.js"></script>
<script src="exceljs.js"></script>

And one without...

<script src="--your-project's-pollyfills-here--"></script>
<script src="exceljs.bare.js"></script>

Interface

Create a Workbook

const workbook = new ExcelJS.Workbook();

Set Workbook Properties

workbook.creator = 'Me';
workbook.lastModifiedBy = 'Her';
workbook.created = new Date(1985, 8, 30);
workbook.modified = new Date();
workbook.lastPrinted = new Date(2016, 9, 27);
// Set workbook dates to 1904 date system
workbook.properties.date1904 = true;

Set Calculation Properties

// Force workbook calculation on load
workbook.calcProperties.fullCalcOnLoad = true;

Workbook Views

The Workbook views controls how many separate windows Excel will open when viewing the workbook.

workbook.views = [
  {
    x: 0, y: 0, width: 10000, height: 20000,
    firstSheet: 0, activeTab: 1, visibility: 'visible'
  }
]

Add a Worksheet

const sheet = workbook.addWorksheet('My Sheet');

Use the second parameter of the addWorksheet function to specify options for the worksheet.

For Example:

// create a sheet with red tab colour
const sheet = workbook.addWorksheet('My Sheet', {properties:{tabColor:{argb:'FFC0000'}}});

// create a sheet where the grid lines are hidden
const sheet = workbook.addWorksheet('My Sheet', {views: [{showGridLines: false}]});

// create a sheet with the first row and column frozen
const sheet = workbook.addWorksheet('My Sheet', {views:[{state: 'frozen', xSplit: 1, ySplit:1}]});

// Create worksheets with headers and footers
const sheet = workbook.addWorksheet('My Sheet', {
  headerFooter:{firstHeader: "Hello Exceljs", firstFooter: "Hello World"}
});

// create new sheet with pageSetup settings for A4 - landscape
const worksheet =  workbook.addWorksheet('My Sheet', {
  pageSetup:{paperSize: 9, orientation:'landscape'}
});

Remove a Worksheet

Use the worksheet id to remove the sheet from workbook.

For Example:

// Create a worksheet
const sheet = workbook.addWorksheet('My Sheet');

// Remove the worksheet using worksheet id
workbook.removeWorksheet(sheet.id)

Access Worksheets

// Iterate over all sheets
// Note: workbook.worksheets.forEach will still work but this is better
workbook.eachSheet(function(worksheet, sheetId) {
  // ...
});

// fetch sheet by name
const worksheet = workbook.getWorksheet('My Sheet');

// fetch sheet by id
// INFO: Be careful when using it!
// It tries to access to `worksheet.id` field. Sometimes (really very often) workbook has worksheets with id not starting from 1.
// For instance It happens when any worksheet has been deleted.
// It's much more safety when you assume that ids are random. And stop to use this function.
// If you need to access all worksheets in a loop please look to the next example.
const worksheet = workbook.getWorksheet(1);

// access by `worksheets` array:
workbook.worksheets[0]; //the first one;

It's important to know that workbook.getWorksheet(1) != Workbook.worksheets[0] and workbook.getWorksheet(1) != Workbook.worksheets[1], becouse workbook.worksheets[0].id may have any value.

Worksheet State

// make worksheet visible
worksheet.state = 'visible';

// make worksheet hidden
worksheet.state = 'hidden';

// make worksheet hidden from 'hide/unhide' dialog
worksheet.state = 'veryHidden';

Worksheet Properties

Worksheets support a property bucket to allow control over some features of the worksheet.

// create new sheet with properties
const worksheet = workbook.addWorksheet('sheet', {properties:{tabColor:{argb:'FF00FF00'}}});

// create a new sheet writer with properties
const worksheetWriter = workbookWriter.addWorksheet('sheet', {properties:{outlineLevelCol:1}});

// adjust properties afterwards (not supported by worksheet-writer)
worksheet.properties.outlineLevelCol = 2;
worksheet.properties.defaultRowHeight = 15;

Supported Properties

Name Default Description
tabColor undefined Color of the tabs
outlineLevelCol 0 The worksheet column outline level
outlineLevelRow 0 The worksheet row outline level
defaultRowHeight 15 Default row height
defaultColWidth (optional) Default column width
dyDescent 55 TBD

Worksheet Metrics

Some new metrics have been added to Worksheet...

Name Description
rowCount The total row size of the document. Equal to the row number of the last row that has values.
actualRowCount A count of the number of rows that have values. If a mid-document row is empty, it will not be included in the count.
columnCount The total column size of the document. Equal to the maximum cell count from all of the rows
actualColumnCount A count of the number of columns that have values.

Page Setup

All properties that can affect the printing of a sheet are held in a pageSetup object on the sheet.

// create new sheet with pageSetup settings for A4 - landscape
const worksheet =  workbook.addWorksheet('sheet', {
  pageSetup:{paperSize: 9, orientation:'landscape'}
});

// create a new sheet writer with pageSetup settings for fit-to-page
const worksheetWriter = workbookWriter.addWorksheet('sheet', {
  pageSetup:{fitToPage: true, fitToHeight: 5, fitToWidth: 7}
});

// adjust pageSetup settings afterwards
worksheet.pageSetup.margins = {
  left: 0.7, right: 0.7,
  top: 0.75, bottom: 0.75,
  header: 0.3, footer: 0.3
};

// Set Print Area for a sheet
worksheet.pageSetup.printArea = 'A1:G20';

// Set multiple Print Areas by separating print areas with '&&'
worksheet.pageSetup.printArea = 'A1:G10&&A11:G20';

// Repeat specific rows on every printed page
worksheet.pageSetup.printTitlesRow = '1:3';

// Repeat specific columns on every printed page
worksheet.pageSetup.printTitlesColumn = 'A:C';

Supported pageSetup settings

Name Default Description
margins Whitespace on the borders of the page. Units are inches.
orientation 'portrait' Orientation of the page - i.e. taller (portrait) or wider (landscape)
horizontalDpi 4294967295 Horizontal Dots per Inch. Default value is -1
verticalDpi 4294967295 Vertical Dots per Inch. Default value is -1
fitToPage Whether to use fitToWidth and fitToHeight or scale settings. Default is based on presence of these settings in the pageSetup object - if both are present, scale wins (i.e. default will be false)
pageOrder 'downThenOver' Which order to print the pages - one of ['downThenOver', 'overThenDown']
blackAndWhite false Print without colour
draft false Print with less quality (and ink)
cellComments 'None' Where to place comments - one of ['atEnd', 'asDisplayed', 'None']
errors 'displayed' Where to show errors - one of ['dash', 'blank', 'NA', 'displayed']
scale 100 Percentage value to increase or reduce the size of the print. Active when fitToPage is false
fitToWidth 1 How many pages wide the sheet should print on to. Active when fitToPage is true
fitToHeight 1 How many pages high the sheet should print on to. Active when fitToPage is true
paperSize What paper size to use (see below)
showRowColHeaders false Whether to show the row numbers and column letters
showGridLines false Whether to show grid lines
firstPageNumber Which number to use for the first page
horizontalCentered false Whether to center the sheet data horizontally
verticalCentered false Whether to center the sheet data vertically

Example Paper Sizes

Name Value
Letter undefined
Legal 5
Executive 7
A3 8
A4 9
A5 11
B5 (JIS) 13
Envelope #10 20
Envelope DL 27
Envelope C5 28
Envelope B5 34
Envelope Monarch 37
Double Japan Postcard Rotated 82
16K 197x273 mm 119

Headers and Footers

Here's how to add headers and footers. The added content is mainly text, such as time, introduction, file information, etc., and you can set the style of the text. In addition, you can set different texts for the first page and even page.

Note: Images are not currently supported.


// Create worksheets with headers and footers
var sheet = workbook.addWorksheet('sheet', {
  headerFooter:{firstHeader: "Hello Exceljs", firstFooter: "Hello World"}
});
// Create worksheets with headers and footers
var worksheetWriter = workbookWriter.addWorksheet('sheet', {
  headerFooter:{firstHeader: "Hello Exceljs", firstFooter: "Hello World"}
});
// Set footer (default centered), result: "Page 2 of 16"
worksheet.headerFooter.oddFooter = "Page &P of &N";

// Set the footer (default centered) to bold, resulting in: "Page 2 of 16"
worksheet.headerFooter.oddFooter = "Page &P of &N";

// Set the left footer to 18px and italicize. Result: "Page 2 of 16"
worksheet.headerFooter.oddFooter = "&LPage &P of &N";

// Set the middle header to gray Aril, the result: "52 exceljs"
worksheet.headerFooter.oddHeader = "&C&KCCCCCC&\"Aril\"52 exceljs";

// Set the left, center, and right text of the footer. Result: “Exceljs” in the footer left. “demo.xlsx” in the footer center. “Page 2” in the footer right
worksheet.headerFooter.oddFooter = "&Lexceljs&C&F&RPage &P";

// Add different header & footer for the first page
worksheet.headerFooter.differentFirst = true;
worksheet.headerFooter.firstHeader = "Hello Exceljs";
worksheet.headerFooter.firstFooter = "Hello World"

Supported headerFooter settings

Name Default Description
differentFirst false Set the value of differentFirst as true, which indicates that headers/footers for first page are different from the other pages
differentOddEven false Set the value of differentOddEven as true, which indicates that headers/footers for odd and even pages are different
oddHeader null Set header string for odd(default) pages, could format the string
oddFooter null Set footer string for odd(default) pages, could format the string
evenHeader null Set header string for even pages, could format the string
evenFooter null Set footer string for even pages, could format the string
firstHeader null Set header string for the first page, could format the string
firstFooter null Set footer string for the first page, could format the string

Script Commands

Commands Description
&L Set position to the left
&C Set position to the center
&R Set position to the right
&P The current page number
&N The total number of pages
&D The current date
&T The current time
&G A picture
&A The worksheet name
&F The file name
&B Make text bold
&I Italicize text
&U Underline text
&"font name" font name, for example &"Aril"
&font size font size, for example 12
&KHEXCode font color, for example &KCCCCCC

Worksheet Views

Worksheets now support a list of views, that control how Excel presents the sheet:

  • frozen - where a number of rows and columns to the top and left are frozen in place. Only the bottom right section will scroll
  • split - where the view is split into 4 sections, each semi-independently scrollable.

Each view also supports various properties:

Name Default Description
state 'normal' Controls the view state - one of normal, frozen or split
rightToLeft false Sets the worksheet view's orientation to right-to-left
activeCell undefined The currently selected cell
showRuler true Shows or hides the ruler in Page Layout
showRowColHeaders true Shows or hides the row and column headers (e.g. A1, B1 at the top and 1,2,3 on the left
showGridLines true Shows or hides the gridlines (shown for cells where borders have not been defined)
zoomScale 100 Percentage zoom to use for the view
zoomScaleNormal 100 Normal zoom for the view
style undefined Presentation style - one of pageBreakPreview or pageLayout. Note pageLayout is not compatible with frozen views

Frozen Views

Frozen views support the following extra properties:

Name Default Description
xSplit 0 How many columns to freeze. To freeze rows only, set this to 0 or undefined
ySplit 0 How many rows to freeze. To freeze columns only, set this to 0 or undefined
topLeftCell special Which cell will be top-left in the bottom-right pane. Note: cannot be a frozen cell. Defaults to first unfrozen cell
worksheet.views = [
  {state: 'frozen', xSplit: 2, ySplit: 3, topLeftCell: 'G10', activeCell: 'A1'}
];

Split Views

Split views support the following extra properties:

Name Default Description
xSplit 0 How many points from the left to place the splitter. To split vertically, set this to 0 or undefined
ySplit 0 How many points from the top to place the splitter. To split horizontally, set this to 0 or undefined
topLeftCell undefined Which cell will be top-left in the bottom-right pane.
activePane undefined Which pane will be active - one of topLeft, topRight, bottomLeft and bottomRight
worksheet.views = [
  {state: 'split', xSplit: 2000, ySplit: 3000, topLeftCell: 'G10', activeCell: 'A1'}
];

Auto filters

It is possible to apply an auto filter to your worksheet.

worksheet.autoFilter = 'A1:C1';

While the range string is the standard form of the autoFilter, the worksheet will also support the following values:

// Set an auto filter from A1 to C1
worksheet.autoFilter = {
  from: 'A1',
  to: 'C1',
}

// Set an auto filter from the cell in row 3 and column 1
// to the cell in row 5 and column 12
worksheet.autoFilter = {
  from: {
    row: 3,
    column: 1
  },
  to: {
    row: 5,
    column: 12
  }
}

// Set an auto filter from D3 to the
// cell in row 7 and column 5
worksheet.autoFilter = {
  from: 'D3',
  to: {
    row: 7,
    column: 5
  }
}

Columns

// Add column headers and define column keys and widths
// Note: these column structures are a workbook-building convenience only,
// apart from the column width, they will not be fully persisted.
worksheet.columns = [
  { header: 'Id', key: 'id', width: 10 },
  { header: 'Name', key: 'name', width: 32 },
  { header: 'D.O.B.', key: 'DOB', width: 10, outlineLevel: 1 }
];

// Access an individual columns by key, letter and 1-based column number
const idCol = worksheet.getColumn('id');
const nameCol = worksheet.getColumn('B');
const dobCol = worksheet.getColumn(3);

// set column properties

// Note: will overwrite cell value C1
dobCol.header = 'Date of Birth';

// Note: this will overwrite cell values C1:C2
dobCol.header = ['Date of Birth', 'A.K.A. D.O.B.'];

// from this point on, this column will be indexed by 'dob' and not 'DOB'
dobCol.key = 'dob';

dobCol.width = 15;

// Hide the column if you'd like
dobCol.hidden = true;

// set an outline level for columns
worksheet.getColumn(4).outlineLevel = 0;
worksheet.getColumn(5).outlineLevel = 1;

// columns support a readonly field to indicate the collapsed state based on outlineLevel
expect(worksheet.getColumn(4).collapsed).to.equal(false);
expect(worksheet.getColumn(5).collapsed).to.equal(true);

// iterate over all current cells in this column
dobCol.eachCell(function(cell, rowNumber) {
  // ...
});

// iterate over all current cells in this column including empty cells
dobCol.eachCell({ includeEmpty: true }, function(cell, rowNumber) {
  // ...
});

// add a column of new values
worksheet.getColumn(6).values = [1,2,3,4,5];

// add a sparse column of values
worksheet.getColumn(7).values = [,,2,3,,5,,7,,,,11];

// cut one or more columns (columns to the right are shifted left)
// If column properties have been defined, they will be cut or moved accordingly
// Known Issue: If a splice causes any merged cells to move, the results may be unpredictable
worksheet.spliceColumns(3,2);

// remove one column and insert two more.
// Note: columns 4 and above will be shifted right by 1 column.
// Also: If the worksheet has more rows than values in the column inserts,
//  the rows will still be shifted as if the values existed
const newCol3Values = [1,2,3,4,5];
const newCol4Values = ['one', 'two', 'three', 'four', 'five'];
worksheet.spliceColumns(3, 1, newCol3Values, newCol4Values);

Rows

// Get a row object. If it doesn't already exist, a new empty one will be returned
const row = worksheet.getRow(5);

// Get multiple row objects. If it doesn't already exist, new empty ones will be returned
const rows = worksheet.getRows(5, 2); // start, length (>0, else undefined is returned)

// Get the last editable row in a worksheet (or undefined if there are none)
const row = worksheet.lastRow;

// Set a specific row height
row.height = 42.5;

// make row hidden
row.hidden = true;

// set an outline level for rows
worksheet.getRow(4).outlineLevel = 0;
worksheet.getRow(5).outlineLevel = 1;

// rows support a readonly field to indicate the collapsed state based on outlineLevel
expect(worksheet.getRow(4).collapsed).to.equal(false);
expect(worksheet.getRow(5).collapsed).to.equal(true);


row.getCell(1).value = 5; // A5's value set to 5
row.getCell('name').value = 'Zeb'; // B5's value set to 'Zeb' - assuming column 2 is still keyed by name
row.getCell('C').value = new Date(); // C5's value set to now

// Get a row as a sparse array
// Note: interface change: worksheet.getRow(4) ==> worksheet.getRow(4).values
row = worksheet.getRow(4).values;
expect(row[5]).toEqual('Kyle');

// assign row values by contiguous array (where array element 0 has a value)
row.values = [1,2,3];
expect(row.getCell(1).value).toEqual(1);
expect(row.getCell(2).value).toEqual(2);
expect(row.getCell(3).value).toEqual(3);

// assign row values by sparse array  (where array element 0 is undefined)
const values = []
values[5] = 7;
values[10] = 'Hello, World!';
row.values = values;
expect(row.getCell(1).value).toBeNull();
expect(row.getCell(5).value).toEqual(7);
expect(row.getCell(10).value).toEqual('Hello, World!');

// assign row values by object, using column keys
row.values = {
  id: 13,
  name: 'Thing 1',
  dob: new Date()
};

// Insert a page break below the row
row.addPageBreak();

// Iterate over all rows that have values in a worksheet
worksheet.eachRow(function(row, rowNumber) {
  console.log('Row ' + rowNumber + ' = ' + JSON.stringify(row.values));
});

// Iterate over all rows (including empty rows) in a worksheet
worksheet.eachRow({ includeEmpty: true }, function(row, rowNumber) {
  console.log('Row ' + rowNumber + ' = ' + JSON.stringify(row.values));
});

// Iterate over all non-null cells in a row
row.eachCell(function(cell, colNumber) {
  console.log('Cell ' + colNumber + ' = ' + cell.value);
});

// Iterate over all cells in a row (including empty cells)
row.eachCell({ includeEmpty: true }, function(cell, colNumber) {
  console.log('Cell ' + colNumber + ' = ' + cell.value);
});

// Commit a completed row to stream
row.commit();

// row metrics
const rowSize = row.cellCount;
const numValues = row.actualCellCount;

Add Rows

// Add a couple of Rows by key-value, after the last current row, using the column keys
worksheet.addRow({id: 1, name: 'John Doe', dob: new Date(1970,1,1)});
worksheet.addRow({id: 2, name: 'Jane Doe', dob: new Date(1965,1,7)});

// Add a row by contiguous Array (assign to columns A, B & C)
worksheet.addRow([3, 'Sam', new Date()]);

// Add a row by sparse Array (assign to columns A, E & I)
const rowValues = [];
rowValues[1] = 4;
rowValues[5] = 'Kyle';
rowValues[9] = new Date();
worksheet.addRow(rowValues);

// Add a row with inherited style
// This new row will have same style as last row
// And return as row object
const newRow = worksheet.addRow(rowValues, 'i');

// Add an array of rows
const rows = [
  [5,'Bob',new Date()], // row by array
  {id:6, name: 'Barbara', dob: new Date()}
];
// add new rows and return them as array of row objects
const newRows = worksheet.addRows(rows);

// Add an array of rows with inherited style
// These new rows will have same styles as last row
// and return them as array of row objects
const newRowsStyled = worksheet.addRows(rows, 'i');
Parameter Description Default Value
value/s The new row/s values
style 'i' for inherit from row above, 'i+' to include empty cells, 'n' for none 'n'

Handling Individual Cells

const cell = worksheet.getCell('C3');

// Modify/Add individual cell
cell.value = new Date(1968, 5, 1);

// query a cell's type
expect(cell.type).toEqual(Excel.ValueType.Date);

// use string value of cell
myInput.value = cell.text;

// use html-safe string for rendering...
const html = '<div>' + cell.html + '</div>';

Merged Cells

// merge a range of cells
worksheet.mergeCells('A4:B5');

// ... merged cells are linked
worksheet.getCell('B5').value = 'Hello, World!';
expect(worksheet.getCell('B5').value).toBe(worksheet.getCell('A4').value);
expect(worksheet.getCell('B5').master).toBe(worksheet.getCell('A4'));

// ... merged cells share the same style object
expect(worksheet.getCell('B5').style).toBe(worksheet.getCell('A4').style);
worksheet.getCell('B5').style.font = myFonts.arial;
expect(worksheet.getCell('A4').style.font).toBe(myFonts.arial);

// unmerging the cells breaks the style links
worksheet.unMergeCells('A4');
expect(worksheet.getCell('B5').style).not.toBe(worksheet.getCell('A4').style);
expect(worksheet.getCell('B5').style.font).not.toBe(myFonts.arial);

// merge by top-left, bottom-right
worksheet.mergeCells('K10', 'M12');

// merge by start row, start column, end row, end column (equivalent to K10:M12)
worksheet.mergeCells(10,11,12,13);

Insert Rows

insertRow(pos, value, style = 'n')
insertRows(pos, values, style = 'n')

// Insert a couple of Rows by key-value, shifting down rows every time
worksheet.insertRow(1, {id: 1, name: 'John Doe', dob: new Date(1970,1,1)});
worksheet.insertRow(1, {id: 2, name: 'Jane Doe', dob: new Date(1965,1,7)});

// Insert a row by contiguous Array (assign to columns A, B & C)
worksheet.insertRow(1, [3, 'Sam', new Date()]);

// Insert a row by sparse Array (assign to columns A, E & I)
var rowValues = [];
rowValues[1] = 4;
rowValues[5] = 'Kyle';
rowValues[9] = new Date();
// insert new row and return as row object
const insertedRow = worksheet.insertRow(1, rowValues);

// Insert a row, with inherited style
// This new row will have same style as row on top of it
// And return as row object
const insertedRowInherited = worksheet.insertRow(1, rowValues, 'i');

// Insert a row, keeping original style
// This new row will have same style as it was previously
// And return as row object
const insertedRowOriginal = worksheet.insertRow(1, rowValues, 'o');

// Insert an array of rows, in position 1, shifting down current position 1 and later rows by 2 rows
var rows = [
  [5,'Bob',new Date()], // row by array
  {id:6, name: 'Barbara', dob: new Date()}
];
// insert new rows and return them as array of row objects
const insertedRows = worksheet.insertRows(1, rows);

// Insert an array of rows, with inherited style
// These new rows will have same style as row on top of it
// And return them as array of row objects
const insertedRowsInherited = worksheet.insertRows(1, rows, 'i');

// Insert an array of rows, keeping original style
// These new rows will have same style as it was previously in 'pos' position
const insertedRowsOriginal = worksheet.insertRows(1, rows, 'o');

Parameter Description Default Value
pos Row number where you want to insert, pushing down all rows from there
value/s The new row/s values
style 'i' for inherit from row above, , 'i+' to include empty cells, 'o' for original style, 'o+' to include empty cells, 'n' for none 'n'

Splice

// Cut one or more rows (rows below are shifted up)
// Known Issue: If a splice causes any merged cells to move, the results may be unpredictable
worksheet.spliceRows(4, 3);

// remove one row and insert two more.
// Note: rows 4 and below will be shifted down by 1 row.
const newRow3Values = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
const newRow4Values = ['one', 'two', 'three', 'four', 'five'];
worksheet.spliceRows(3, 1, newRow3Values, newRow4Values);

// Cut one or more cells (cells to the right are shifted left)
// Note: this operation will not affect other rows
row.splice(3, 2);

// remove one cell and insert two more (cells to the right of the cut cell will be shifted right)
row.splice(4, 1, 'new value 1', 'new value 2');
Parameter Description Default Value
start Starting point to splice from
count Number of rows/cells to remove
...inserts New row/cell values to insert

Duplicate a Row

duplicateRow(start, amount = 1, insert = true)

const wb = new ExcelJS.Workbook();
const ws = wb.addWorksheet('duplicateTest');
ws.getCell('A1').value = 'One';
ws.getCell('A2').value = 'Two';
ws.getCell('A3').value = 'Three';
ws.getCell('A4').value = 'Four';

// This line will duplicate the row 'One' twice but it will replace rows 'Two' and 'Three'
// if third param was true so it would insert 2 new rows with the values and styles of row 'One'
ws.duplicateRow(1,2,false);
Parameter Description Default Value
start Row number you want to duplicate (first in excel is 1)
amount The times you want to duplicate the row 1
insert true if you want to insert new rows for the duplicates, or false if you want to replace them true

Defined Names

Individual cells (or multiple groups of cells) can have names assigned to them. The names can be used in formulas and data validation (and probably more).

// assign (or get) a name for a cell (will overwrite any other names that cell had)
worksheet.getCell('A1').name = 'PI';
expect(worksheet.getCell('A1').name).to.equal('PI');

// assign (or get) an array of names for a cell (cells can have more than one name)
worksheet.getCell('A1').names = ['thing1', 'thing2'];
expect(worksheet.getCell('A1').names).to.have.members(['thing1', 'thing2']);

// remove a name from a cell
worksheet.getCell('A1').removeName('thing1');
expect(worksheet.getCell('A1').names).to.have.members(['thing2']);

Data Validations

Cells can define what values are valid or not and provide prompting to the user to help guide them.

Validation types can be one of the following:

Type Description
list Define a discrete set of valid values. Excel will offer these in a dropdown for easy entry
whole The value must be a whole number
decimal The value must be a decimal number
textLength The value may be text but the length is controlled
custom A custom formula controls the valid values

For types other than list or custom, the following operators affect the validation:

Operator Description
between Values must lie between formula results
notBetween Values must not lie between formula results
equal Value must equal formula result
notEqual Value must not equal formula result
greaterThan Value must be greater than formula result
lessThan Value must be less than formula result
greaterThanOrEqual Value must be greater than or equal to formula result
lessThanOrEqual Value must be less than or equal to formula result
// Specify list of valid values (One, Two, Three, Four).
// Excel will provide a dropdown with these values.
worksheet.getCell('A1').dataValidation = {
  type: 'list',
  allowBlank: true,
  formulae: ['"One,Two,Three,Four"']
};

// Specify list of valid values from a range.
// Excel will provide a dropdown with these values.
worksheet.getCell('A1').dataValidation = {
  type: 'list',
  allowBlank: true,
  formulae: ['$D$5:$F$5']
};

// Specify Cell must be a whole number that is not 5.
// Show the user an appropriate error message if they get it wrong
worksheet.getCell('A1').dataValidation = {
  type: 'whole',
  operator: 'notEqual',
  showErrorMessage: true,
  formulae: [5],
  errorStyle: 'error',
  errorTitle: 'Five',
  error: 'The value must not be Five'
};

// Specify Cell must be a decimal number between 1.5 and 7.
// Add 'tooltip' to help guid the user
worksheet.getCell('A1').dataValidation = {
  type: 'decimal',
  operator: 'between',
  allowBlank: true,
  showInputMessage: true,
  formulae: [1.5, 7],
  promptTitle: 'Decimal',
  prompt: 'The value must between 1.5 and 7'
};

// Specify Cell must be have a text length less than 15
worksheet.getCell('A1').dataValidation = {
  type: 'textLength',
  operator: 'lessThan',
  showErrorMessage: true,
  allowBlank: true,
  formulae: [15]
};

// Specify Cell must be have be a date before 1st Jan 2016
worksheet.getCell('A1').dataValidation = {
  type: 'date',
  operator: 'lessThan',
  showErrorMessage: true,
  allowBlank: true,
  formulae: [new Date(2016,0,1)]
};

Cell Comments

Add old style comment to a cell

// plain text note
worksheet.getCell('A1').note = 'Hello, ExcelJS!';

// colourful formatted note
ws.getCell('B1').note = {
  texts: [
    {'font': {'size': 12, 'color': {'theme': 0}, 'name': 'Calibri', 'family': 2, 'scheme': 'minor'}, 'text': 'This is '},
    {'font': {'italic': true, 'size': 12, 'color': {'theme': 0}, 'name': 'Calibri', 'scheme': 'minor'}, 'text': 'a'},
    {'font': {'size': 12, 'color': {'theme': 1}, 'name': 'Calibri', 'family': 2, 'scheme': 'minor'}, 'text': ' '},
    {'font': {'size': 12, 'color': {'argb': 'FFFF6600'}, 'name': 'Calibri', 'scheme': 'minor'}, 'text': 'colorful'},
    {'font': {'size': 12, 'color': {'theme': 1}, 'name': 'Calibri', 'family': 2, 'scheme': 'minor'}, 'text': ' text '},
    {'font': {'size': 12, 'color': {'argb': 'FFCCFFCC'}, 'name': 'Calibri', 'scheme': 'minor'}, 'text': 'with'},
    {'font': {'size': 12, 'color': {'theme': 1}, 'name': 'Calibri', 'family': 2, 'scheme': 'minor'}, 'text': ' in-cell '},
    {'font': {'bold': true, 'size': 12, 'color': {'theme': 1}, 'name': 'Calibri', 'family': 2, 'scheme': 'minor'}, 'text': 'format'},
  ],
  margins: {
    insetmode: 'custom',
    inset: [0.25, 0.25, 0.35, 0.35]
  },
  protection: {
    locked: True,
    lockText: False
  },
  editAs: 'twoCells',
};

Cell Comments Properties

The following table defines the properties supported by cell comments.

Field Required Default Value Description
texts Y The text of the comment
margins N {} Determines the value of margins for automatic or custom cell comments
protection N {} Specifying the lock status of objects and object text using protection attributes
editAs N 'absolute' Use the 'editAs' attribute to specify how the annotation is anchored to the cell

Cell Comments Margins

Determine the page margin setting mode of the cell annotation, automatic or custom mode.

ws.getCell('B1').note.margins = {
  insetmode: 'custom',
  inset: [0.25, 0.25, 0.35, 0.35]
}

Supported Margins Properties

Property Required Default Value Description
insetmode N 'auto' Determines whether comment margins are set automatically and the value is 'auto' or 'custom'
inset N [0.13, 0.13, 0.25, 0.25] Whitespace on the borders of the comment. Units are centimeter. Direction is left, top, right, bottom

Note: This inset setting takes effect only when the value of insetmode is 'custom'.

Cell Comments Protection

Specifying the lock status of objects and object text using protection attributes.

ws.getCell('B1').note.protection = {
  locked: 'False',
  lockText: 'False',
};

Supported Protection Properties

Property Required Default Value Description
locked N 'True' This element specifies that the object is locked when the sheet is protected
lockText N 'True' This element specifies that the text of the object is locked

Note: Locked objects are valid only when the worksheet is protected.

Cell Comments EditAs

The cell comments can also have the property 'editAs' which will control how the comments is anchored to the cell(s). It can have one of the following values:

ws.getCell('B1').note.editAs = 'twoCells';
Value Description
twoCells It specifies that the size and position of the note varies with cells
oneCells It specifies that the size of the note is fixed and the position changes with the cell
absolute This is the default. Comments will not be moved or sized with cells

Tables

Tables allow for in-sheet manipulation of tabular data.

To add a table to a worksheet, define a table model and call addTable:

// add a table to a sheet
ws.addTable({
  name: 'MyTable',
  ref: 'A1',
  headerRow: true,
  totalsRow: true,
  style: {
    theme: 'TableStyleDark3',
    showRowStripes: true,
  },
  columns: [
    {name: 'Date', totalsRowLabel: 'Totals:', filterButton: true},
    {name: 'Amount', totalsRowFunction: 'sum', filterButton: false},
  ],
  rows: [
    [new Date('2019-07-20'), 70.10],
    [new Date('2019-07-21'), 70.60],
    [new Date('2019-07-22'), 70.10],
  ],
});

Note: Adding a table to a worksheet will modify the sheet by placing headers and row data to the sheet. Any data on the sheet covered by the resulting table (including headers and totals) will be overwritten.

Table Properties

The following table defines the properties supported by tables.

Table Property Description Required Default Value
name The name of the table Y
displayName The display name of the table N name
ref Top left cell of the table Y
headerRow Show headers at top of table N true
totalsRow Show totals at bottom of table N false
style Extra style properties N {}
columns Column definitions Y
rows Rows of data Y

Table Style Properties

The following table defines the properties supported within the table style property.

Style Property Description Required Default Value
theme The colour theme of the table N 'TableStyleMedium2'
showFirstColumn Highlight the first column (bold) N false
showLastColumn Highlight the last column (bold) N false
showRowStripes Alternate rows shown with background colour N false
showColumnStripes Alternate rows shown with background colour N false

Table Column Properties

The following table defines the properties supported within each table column.

Column Property Description Required Default Value
name The name of the column, also used in the header Y
filterButton Switches the filter control in the header N false
totalsRowLabel Label to describe the totals row (first column) N 'Total'
totalsRowFunction Name of the totals function N 'none'
totalsRowFormula Optional formula for custom functions N

Totals Functions

The following table list the valid values for the totalsRowFunction property defined by columns. If any value other than 'custom' is used, it is not necessary to include the associated formula as this will be inserted by the table.

Totals Functions Description
none No totals function for this column
average Compute average for the column
countNums Count the entries that are numbers
count Count of entries
max The maximum value in this column
min The minimum value in this column
stdDev The standard deviation for this column
var The variance for this column
sum The sum of entries for this column
custom A custom formula. Requires an associated totalsRowFormula value.

Table Style Themes

Valid theme names follow the following pattern:

  • "TableStyle[Shade][Number]"

Shades, Numbers can be one of:

  • Light, 1-21
  • Medium, 1-28
  • Dark, 1-11

For no theme, use the value null.

Note: custom table themes are not supported by exceljs yet.

Modifying Tables

Tables support a set of manipulation functions that allow data to be added or removed and some properties to be changed. Since many of these operations may have on-sheet effects, the changes must be committed once complete.

All index values in the table are zero based, so the first row number and first column number is 0.

Adding or Removing Headers and Totals

const table = ws.getTable('MyTable');

// turn header row on
table.headerRow = true;

// turn totals row off
table.totalsRow = false;

// commit the table changes into the sheet
table.commit();

Relocating a Table

const table = ws.getTable('MyTable');

// table top-left move to D4
table.ref = 'D4';

// commit the table changes into the sheet
table.commit();

Adding and Removing Rows

const table = ws.getTable('MyTable');

// remove first two rows
table.removeRows(0, 2);

// insert new rows at index 5
table.addRow([new Date('2019-08-05'), 5, 'Mid'], 5);

// append new row to bottom of table
table.addRow([new Date('2019-08-10'), 10, 'End']);

// commit the table changes into the sheet
table.commit();

Adding and Removing Columns

const table = ws.getTable('MyTable');

// remove second column
table.removeColumns(1, 1);

// insert new column (with data) at index 1
table.addColumn(
  {name: 'Letter', totalsRowFunction: 'custom', totalsRowFormula: 'ROW()', totalsRowResult: 6, filterButton: true},
  ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'],
  2
);

// commit the table changes into the sheet
table.commit();

Change Column Properties

const table = ws.getTable('MyTable');

// Get Column Wrapper for second column
const column = table.getColumn(1);

// set some properties
column.name = 'Code';
column.filterButton = true;
column.style = {font:{bold: true, name: 'Comic Sans MS'}};
column.totalsRowLabel = 'Totals';
column.totalsRowFunction = 'custom';
column.totalsRowFormula = 'ROW()';
column.totalsRowResult = 10;

// commit the table changes into the sheet
table.commit();

Styles

Cells, Rows and Columns each support a rich set of styles and formats that affect how the cells are displayed.

Styles are set by assigning the following properties:

// assign a style to a cell
ws.getCell('A1').numFmt = '0.00%';

// Apply styles to worksheet columns
ws.columns = [
  { header: 'Id', key: 'id', width: 10 },
  { header: 'Name', key: 'name', width: 32, style: { font: { name: 'Arial Black' } } },
  { header: 'D.O.B.', key: 'DOB', width: 10, style: { numFmt: 'dd/mm/yyyy' } }
];

// Set Column 3 to Currency Format
ws.getColumn(3).numFmt = '"£"#,##0.00;[Red]\-"£"#,##0.00';

// Set Row 2 to Comic Sans.
ws.getRow(2).font = { name: 'Comic Sans MS', family: 4, size: 16, underline: 'double', bold: true };

When a style is applied to a row or column, it will be applied to all currently existing cells in that row or column. Also, any new cell that is created will inherit its initial styles from the row and column it belongs to.

If a cell's row and column both define a specific style (e.g. font), the cell will use the row style over the column style. However if the row and column define different styles (e.g. column.numFmt and row.font), the cell will inherit the font from the row and the numFmt from the column.

Caveat: All the above properties (with the exception of numFmt, which is a string), are JS object structures. If the same style object is assigned to more than one spreadsheet entity, then each entity will share the same style object. If the style object is later modified before the spreadsheet is serialized, then all entities referencing that style object will be modified too. This behaviour is intended to prioritize performance by reducing the number of JS objects created. If you want the style objects to be independent, you will need to clone them before assigning them. Also, by default, when a document is read from file (or stream) if spreadsheet entities share similar styles, then they will reference the same style object too.

Number Formats

// display value as '1 3/5'
ws.getCell('A1').value = 1.6;
ws.getCell('A1').numFmt = '# ?/?';

// display value as '1.60%'
ws.getCell('B1').value = 0.016;
ws.getCell('B1').numFmt = '0.00%';

Fonts


// for the wannabe graphic designers out there
ws.getCell('A1').font = {
  name: 'Comic Sans MS',
  family: 4,
  size: 16,
  underline: true,
  bold: true
};

// for the graduate graphic designers...
ws.getCell('A2').font = {
  name: 'Arial Black',
  color: { argb: 'FF00FF00' },
  family: 2,
  size: 14,
  italic: true
};

// for the vertical align
ws.getCell('A3').font = {
  vertAlign: 'superscript'
};

// note: the cell will store a reference to the font object assigned.
// If the font object is changed afterwards, the cell font will change also...
const font = { name: 'Arial', size: 12 };
ws.getCell('A3').font = font;
font.size = 20; // Cell A3 now has font size 20!

// Cells that share similar fonts may reference the same font object after
// the workbook is read from file or stream
Font Property Description Example Value(s)
name Font name. 'Arial', 'Calibri', etc.
family Font family for fallback. An integer value. 1 - Serif, 2 - Sans Serif, 3 - Mono, Others - unknown
scheme Font scheme. 'minor', 'major', 'none'
charset Font charset. An integer value. 1, 2, etc.
size Font size. An integer value. 9, 10, 12, 16, etc.
color Colour description, an object containing an ARGB value. { argb: 'FFFF0000'}
bold Font weight true, false
italic Font slope true, false
underline Font underline style true, false, 'none', 'single', 'double', 'singleAccounting', 'doubleAccounting'
strike Font strikethrough true, false
outline Font outline true, false
vertAlign Vertical align 'superscript', 'subscript'

Alignment

// set cell alignment to top-left, middle-center, bottom-right
ws.getCell('A1').alignment = { vertical: 'top', horizontal: 'left' };
ws.getCell('B1').alignment = { vertical: 'middle', horizontal: 'center' };
ws.getCell('C1').alignment = { vertical: 'bottom', horizontal: 'right' };

// set cell to wrap-text
ws.getCell('D1').alignment = { wrapText: true };

// set cell indent to 1
ws.getCell('E1').alignment = { indent: 1 };

// set cell text rotation to 30deg upwards, 45deg downwards and vertical text
ws.getCell('F1').alignment = { textRotation: 30 };
ws.getCell('G1').alignment = { textRotation: -45 };
ws.getCell('H1').alignment = { textRotation: 'vertical' };

Valid Alignment Property Values

horizontal vertical wrapText shrinkToFit indent readingOrder textRotation
left top true true integer rtl 0 to 90
center middle false false ltr -1 to -90
right bottom vertical
fill distributed
justify justify
centerContinuous
distributed

Borders

// set single thin border around A1
ws.getCell('A1').border = {
  top: {style:'thin'},
  left: {style:'thin'},
  bottom: {style:'thin'},
  right: {style:'thin'}
};

// set double thin green border around A3
ws.getCell('A3').border = {
  top: {style:'double', color: {argb:'FF00FF00'}},
  left: {style:'double', color: {argb:'FF00FF00'}},
  bottom: {style:'double', color: {argb:'FF00FF00'}},
  right: {style:'double', color: {argb:'FF00FF00'}}
};

// set thick red cross in A5
ws.getCell('A5').border = {
  diagonal: {up: true, down: true, style:'thick', color: {argb:'FFFF0000'}}
};

Valid Border Styles

  • thin
  • dotted
  • dashDot
  • hair
  • dashDotDot
  • slantDashDot
  • mediumDashed
  • mediumDashDotDot
  • mediumDashDot
  • medium
  • double
  • thick

Fills

// fill A1 with red darkVertical stripes
ws.getCell('A1').fill = {
  type: 'pattern',
  pattern:'darkVertical',
  fgColor:{argb:'FFFF0000'}
};

// fill A2 with yellow dark trellis and blue behind
ws.getCell('A2').fill = {
  type: 'pattern',
  pattern:'darkTrellis',
  fgColor:{argb:'FFFFFF00'},
  bgColor:{argb:'FF0000FF'}
};

// fill A3 with solid coral
ws.getCell('A3').fill = {
  type: 'pattern',
  pattern:'solid',
  fgColor:{argb:'F08080'},
};

// fill A4 with blue-white-blue gradient from left to right
ws.getCell('A4').fill = {
  type: 'gradient',
  gradient: 'angle',
  degree: 0,
  stops: [
    {position:0, color:{argb:'FF0000FF'}},
    {position:0.5, color:{argb:'FFFFFFFF'}},
    {position:1, color:{argb:'FF0000FF'}}
  ]
};


// fill A5 with red-green gradient from center
ws.getCell('A5').fill = {
  type: 'gradient',
  gradient: 'path',
  center:{left:0.5,top:0.5},
  stops: [
    {position:0, color:{argb:'FFFF0000'}},
    {position:1, color:{argb:'FF00FF00'}}
  ]
};

Pattern Fills

Property Required Description
type Y Value: 'pattern'
Specifies this fill uses patterns
pattern Y Specifies type of pattern (see Valid Pattern Types below)
fgColor N Specifies the pattern foreground color. Default is black.
bgColor N Specifies the pattern background color. Default is white.

Note: If you want to fill a cell using the solid pattern, then you don't need to specify bgColor. See example above for cell A3 with a solid pattern and a coral fgColor.

Valid Pattern Types

  • none
  • solid
  • darkGray
  • mediumGray
  • lightGray
  • gray125
  • gray0625
  • darkHorizontal
  • darkVertical
  • darkDown
  • darkUp
  • darkGrid
  • darkTrellis
  • lightHorizontal
  • lightVertical
  • lightDown
  • lightUp
  • lightGrid
  • lightTrellis

Gradient Fills

Property Required Description
type Y Value: 'gradient'
Specifies this fill uses gradients
gradient Y Specifies gradient type. One of ['angle', 'path']
degree angle For 'angle' gradient, specifies the direction of the gradient. 0 is from the left to the right. Values from 1 - 359 rotates the direction clockwise
center path For 'path' gradient. Specifies the relative coordinates for the start of the path. 'left' and 'top' values range from 0 to 1
stops Y Specifies the gradient colour sequence. Is an array of objects containing position and color starting with position 0 and ending with position 1. Intermediary positions may be used to specify other colours on the path.

Caveats

Using the interface above it may be possible to create gradient fill effects not possible using the XLSX editor program. For example, Excel only supports angle gradients of 0, 45, 90 and 135. Similarly the sequence of stops may also be limited by the UI with positions [0,1] or [0,0.5,1] as the only options. Take care with this fill to be sure it is supported by the target XLSX viewers.

Rich Text

Individual cells now support rich text or in-cell formatting. Rich text values can control the font properties of any number of sub-strings within the text value. See Fonts for a complete list of details on what font properties are supported.


ws.getCell('A1').value = {
  'richText': [
    {'font': {'size': 12,'color': {'theme': 0},'name': 'Calibri','family': 2,'scheme': 'minor'},'text': 'This is '},
    {'font': {'italic': true,'size': 12,'color': {'theme': 0},'name': 'Calibri','scheme': 'minor'},'text': 'a'},
    {'font': {'size': 12,'color': {'theme': 1},'name': 'Calibri','family': 2,'scheme': 'minor'},'text': ' '},
    {'font': {'size': 12,'color': {'argb': 'FFFF6600'},'name': 'Calibri','scheme': 'minor'},'text': 'colorful'},
    {'font': {'size': 12,'color': {'theme': 1},'name': 'Calibri','family': 2,'scheme': 'minor'},'text': ' text '},
    {'font': {'size': 12,'color': {'argb': 'FFCCFFCC'},'name': 'Calibri','scheme': 'minor'},'text': 'with'},
    {'font': {'size': 12,'color': {'theme': 1},'name': 'Calibri','family': 2,'scheme': 'minor'},'text': ' in-cell '},
    {'font': {'bold': true,'size': 12,'color': {'theme': 1},'name': 'Calibri','family': 2,'scheme': 'minor'},'text': 'format'}
  ]
};

expect(ws.getCell('A1').text).to.equal('This is a colorful text with in-cell format');
expect(ws.getCell('A1').type).to.equal(Excel.ValueType.RichText);

Cell Protection<!