rubyXL¶ ↑
This gem supports operating on xlsx
files (Open XML format). While it is capable of properly parsing the entire OOXML structure, its current main emphasis is on reading files produced by MS Excel, making minor modifications to them and saving them to be opened again, while preserving as much of the structure as possible.
Please note that proprietary binary xls
format is not supported by this gem. If you need to parse those files, try spreadsheet gem.
To Install:¶ ↑
gem install rubyXL
To Use:¶ ↑
require 'rubyXL' # Assuming rubygems is already required
Convenience methods¶ ↑
Starting with version 3.4.0, the main data structure has been separated from the convenience methods that provide access to individual features of the xlsx
format, in order to decrease the memory footprint. If you intend to use these features, you will need to additionally include the respective files:
require 'rubyXL/convenience_methods/cell' require 'rubyXL/convenience_methods/color' require 'rubyXL/convenience_methods/font' require 'rubyXL/convenience_methods/workbook' require 'rubyXL/convenience_methods/worksheet'
If you do not care about your RAM usage, just include them all at once by adding the following line to your code so it can continue operating just as before:
require 'rubyXL/convenience_methods'
Parsing an existing workbook¶ ↑
workbook = RubyXL::Parser.parse("path/to/Excel/file.xlsx")
Creating a new Workbook¶ ↑
workbook = RubyXL::Workbook.new
Accessing¶ ↑
Accessing a Worksheet¶ ↑
workbook.worksheets[0] # Returns first worksheet workbook[0] # Returns first worksheet workbook['Sheet1'] # Finds and returns worksheet titled "Sheet1". Note that sheet names in Excel are limited to 31 character.
Accessing a Row (Array of Cells)¶ ↑
Please note that worksheet is a sparse array of rows. Your code must expect that any row it plucks from the array may be nil
.
worksheet = workbook[0] worksheet.sheet_data[0] # Returns first row of the worksheet worksheet[0] # Returns first row of the worksheet
Accessing a Cell object¶ ↑
Please note that row is a sparse array of cells. Your code must expect that any cell it plucks from the array may be nil
.
worksheet = workbook[0] worksheet.sheet_data[0][0] # Returns cell A1 in the worksheet worksheet[0][0] # Returns cell A1 in the worksheet cell = worksheet[0][0] cell.value # Returns a properly converted value in the cell (if the file claims that the cell # is holding a number, returns a respective Integer or Float, and so on).
Or, if you prefer Excel-style references (single-cell only!)
cell = worksheet.cell_at('B11')
Wrappers for accessing Cell properties¶ ↑
cell = workbook[0][0][0] cell.is_struckthrough # Returns +true+ if the cell is struckthrough, other boolean properties have same syntax cell.font_name cell.font_size cell.font_color cell.fill_color cell.horizontal_alignment cell.vertical_alignment cell.get_border(:top) cell.get_border_color(:top) cell.text_rotation
Wrappers for accessing Row properties ¶ ↑
Please note: these methods are being phased out in favor of the OOXML object model.
worksheet = workbook[0] worksheet.get_row_fill(0) worksheet.get_row_font_name(0) worksheet.get_row_font_size(0) worksheet.get_row_font_color(0) worksheet.is_row_underlined(0) worksheet.get_row_height(0) worksheet.get_row_alignment(0, true) worksheet.get_row_alignment(0, false) worksheet.get_row_border(0, :right) worksheet.get_row_border_color(0, :right)
Accessing column properties¶ ↑
Please note: these methods are being phased out in favor of the OOXML object model.
worksheet = workbook[0] worksheet.get_column_fill(0) worksheet.get_column_font_name(0) worksheet.get_column_font_size(0) worksheet.get_column_font_color(0) worksheet.is_column_underlined(0) worksheet.get_column_width(0) worksheet.get_column_alignment(0, :horizontal) worksheet.get_column_alignment(0, :vertical) worksheet.get_column_border(0, :right) worksheet.get_column_border_color(0, :right)
Modifying¶ ↑
Adding Worksheets¶ ↑
worksheet = workbook.add_worksheet('Sheet2')
Renaming Worksheets¶ ↑
worksheet.sheet_name = 'Cool New Name' # Note that sheet name is limited to 31 characters by Excel.
Adding Cells¶ ↑
worksheet.add_cell(0, 0, 'A1') # Sets cell A1 to string "A1" worksheet.add_cell(0, 1, '', 'A1') # Sets formula in the cell B1 to '=A1'
Changing Cells¶ ↑
worksheet[0][0].change_contents("", worksheet[0][0].formula) # Sets value of cell A1 to empty string, preserves formula
Changing Fonts¶ ↑
worksheet.sheet_data[0][0].change_font_bold(true) # Makes A1 bold worksheet.change_row_italics(0,true) # Makes first row italicized worksheet.change_column_font_name(0, 'Courier') # Makes first column have font Courier
Changing Fills ¶ ↑
worksheet.sheet_data[0][0].change_fill('0ba53d') # Sets A1 to have fill #0ba53d worksheet.change_row_fill(0, '0ba53d') # Sets first row to have fill #0ba53d worksheet.change_column_fill(0, '0ba53d') # Sets first column to have fill #0ba53d
Changing Borders¶ ↑
# Possible weights: hairline, thin, medium, thick # Possible "directions": top, bottom, left, right, diagonal worksheet.sheet_data[0][0].change_border(:top, 'thin') # Sets A1 to have a top, thin border worksheet.change_row_border(0, :left, 'hairline') # Sets first row to have a left, hairline border worksheet.change_column_border(0, :diagonal, 'medium') # Sets first column to have diagonal, medium border # Set the border style first so there's something to color. worksheet.change_row_border_color(0, :top, '0ba53d') # Sets first row to have a green top border worksheet.change_column_border_color(0, :top, '0ba53d') # Sets first column to have a green top border
Changing Alignment¶ ↑
Horizontal¶ ↑
# Possible alignments: center, distributed, justify, left, right worksheet.sheet_data[0][0].change_horizontal_alignment('center') # Sets A1 to be centered worksheet.change_row_horizontal_alignment(0, 'justify') # Sets first row to be justified worksheet.change_column_horizontal_alignment(0, 'right') # Sets first column to be right-aligned
Vertical¶ ↑
# Possible alignments: bottom, center, distributed, top worksheet.sheet_data[0][0].change_vertical_alignment('bottom') # Sets A1 to be bottom aligned worksheet.change_row_vertical_alignment(0, 'distributed') # Sets first row to be distributed vertically worksheet.change_column_vertical_alignment(0, 'top') # Sets first column to be top aligned
Rotation¶ ↑
# Possible values: # * 0-90 - degrees counterclockwise, around the bottom LEFT corner of the cell; # * 91-179 - degrees clockwise, around the bottom RIGHT corner of the cell; # * 180-254 - degrees clockwise, around the bottom LEFT corner of the cell, text becomes progressively invisible # * 255 - text is in normal rotation but displayed vertically (one letter under another), line feed starts new line to the right of the previous. worksheet.sheet_data[0][0].change_text_rotation(90) # Sets A1 to be rotated by 90 degrees
Changing Row Height¶ ↑
worksheet.change_row_height(0, 30) # Sets first row height to 30
Changing Column Width¶ ↑
worksheet.change_column_width(0, 30) # Sets first column width to 30
Merging Cells¶ ↑
worksheet.merge_cells(0, 0, 1, 1) # Merges A1:B2
Insert Row¶ ↑
This method will insert a row at specified index, pushing all rows below it down. It also copies styles from row above.
WARNING: Use of this method WILL break formulas referencing cells which have been moved, as the formulas do not adapt to the shifted rows
worksheet.insert_row(1)
Insert Column¶ ↑
This method will insert a column at specified index, pushing all columns to the right of it one to the right. It also copies styles from column to the left
WARNING: Use of this method WILL break formulas referencing cells which have been moved, as the formulas do not adapt to the shifted columns
worksheet.insert_column(1)
Delete Row¶ ↑
This method will delete a row at specified index, pushing all rows below it up.
WARNING: Use of this method WILL break formulas referencing cells which have been moved, as the formulas do not adapt to the shifted rows
worksheet.delete_row(1)
Delete Column¶ ↑
This method will delete a column at specified index, pushing all columns to the right of it left.
WARNING: Use of this method WILL break formulas referencing cells which have been moved, as the formulas do not adapt to the shifted columns
worksheet.delete_column(1)
Insert Cell¶ ↑
This method will insert a cell at specified position. It takes a :right or :down option, to shift cells either left or down upon inserting (nil means replacing the cell)
WARNING: Use of this method WILL break formulas referencing cells which have been moved, as the formulas do not adapt to the shifted cells
worksheet.insert_cell(0, 0, "blah", formula = nil, :right) # Inserts cell at A1, shifts cells in first row right worksheet.insert_cell(0, 0, "blah", formula = nil, :down) # Inserts cell at A1, shifts cells in first column down worksheet.insert_cell(0, 0, "blah") # Inserts cell at A1, shifts nothing
Delete Cell¶ ↑
This method will delete a cell at specified position. It takes a :left or :up option, to shift cells either up or left upon deletion (nil means simply deleting the cell contents)
WARNING: Use of this method WILL break formulas referencing cells which have been moved, as the formulas do not adapt to the shifted cells
worksheet.delete_cell(0, 0, :left) # Deletes A1, shifts contents of first row left worksheet.delete_cell(0, 0, :up) # Deletes A1, shifts contents of first column up worksheet.delete_cell(0, 0) # Deletes A1, does not shift cells
Modifying Cell Format¶ ↑
cell = worksheet[0][0] cell.set_number_format '0.0000%' # For formats, see https://support.office.com/en-us/article/5026bbd6-04bc-48cd-bf33-80f18b4eae68 cell.change_text_wrap(true) # Makes the text in the cell to wrap. cell.change_shrink_to_fit(true) # Makes the text in the cell to shrink to fit. cell.change_text_indent(1) # Indents the text in the cell by 1 level
Add hyperlink to a Cell¶ ↑
cell.add_hyperlink('http://example.com') cell.add_hyperlink('http://example.com', 'Some tooltip text')
I/O¶ ↑
By default, the gem operates with files on the local filesystem:
workbook = RubyXL::Parser.parse("path/to/Excel/file.xlsx") workbook.write("path/to/desired/Excel/file.xlsx")
It can also operate on StringIO
objects, thus eliminating the need to save the xlsx
file to disk. This capability comes in handy for web servers.
workbook = RubyXL::Parser.parse_buffer(buffer) workbook.stream
Miscellaneous¶ ↑
RubyXL::Reference.ind2ref(0,0) == 'A1' # Converts row and column index to Excel-style cell reference RubyXL::Reference.ref2ind('A1') == [0, 0] # Converts Excel-style cell reference to row and column index
Suppress warnings about malformed input files¶ ↑
RubyXL.class_variable_set(:@@suppress_warnings, true)
Data validation (colloquially referred to as “dropdown list”)¶ ↑
worksheet.add_validation_list("A1", [ "value1", "value2" ])
For more information¶ ↑
Take a look at the files in spec/lib/ for rspecs on most methods
Contributing to rubyXL¶ ↑
-
Check out the latest master to make sure the feature hasn’t been implemented or the bug hasn’t been fixed yet
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Check out the issue tracker to make sure someone already hasn’t requested it and/or contributed it
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Fork the project
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Start a feature/bugfix branch
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Commit and push until you are happy with your contribution
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Make sure to add tests for it. This is important so I don’t break it in a future version unintentionally.
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Please try not to mess with the Rakefile, version, or history. If you want to have your own version, or is otherwise necessary, that is fine, but please isolate to its own commit so I can cherry-pick around it.
Copyright¶ ↑
Copyright © 2011 Vivek Bhagwat, 2013-2022 Wesha. See LICENSE.txt for further details.