User Guide

Comprehensive guide to using the BoxLang Spreadsheet Module with the Fluent API

This comprehensive guide covers all aspects of working with spreadsheets in BoxLang using the modern Fluent API. The Fluent API provides a chainable, intuitive interface for all spreadsheet operations.

Recommended Approach: This guide focuses on the Fluent API, which is the recommended way to work with spreadsheets in BoxLang. For CFML migration scenarios, see the Built-In Functions Reference.

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🎯 Core Concepts

The SpreadsheetFile Object

The Fluent API centers around the SpreadsheetFile object, created using the Spreadsheet() function:

// Create new spreadsheet
sheet = Spreadsheet( "myfile.xlsx" );

// Load existing spreadsheet
sheet = Spreadsheet( "existing.xlsx", load = true );

// Create in-memory spreadsheet
sheet = Spreadsheet();

Method Chaining

Most methods return the SpreadsheetFile object, enabling fluent chaining:

Spreadsheet( "report.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Name", "Value" ] )
    .addRow( [ "Item 1", 100 ] )
    .formatRow( 1, { bold: true } )
    .autoSizeColumns()
    .save();

Working with Sheets

Every spreadsheet has one or more worksheets. Methods operate on the currently selected sheet:

sheet = Spreadsheet( "multi-sheet.xlsx" )
    .createSheet( "Data" )        // Create new sheet
    .selectSheet( "Data" )         // Switch to it
    .addRow( [ "value1", "value2" ] );

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📝 Creating Spreadsheets

Creating a New File

// Method 1: Direct save
Spreadsheet( "output.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Column 1", "Column 2" ] )
    .save();

// Method 2: Create, work with, then save
sheet = Spreadsheet();
sheet.setRowData( 1, [ "Header 1", "Header 2" ] );
sheet.addRow( [ "Data 1", "Data 2" ] );
sheet.save( "output.xlsx" );

Setting Cell Values

sheet = Spreadsheet( "data.xlsx" );

// Set individual cell
sheet.setCellValue( 1, 1, "Hello" );        // Row 1, Column 1
sheet.setCellValue( 1, 2, 42 );             // Row 1, Column 2
sheet.setCellValue( 1, 3, now() );          // Row 1, Column 3

// Set entire row
sheet.setRowData( 2, [ "Value1", "Value2", "Value3" ] );

// Set range of cells
sheet.setCellRangeValue(
    startRow = 3,
    startColumn = 1,
    endRow = 5,
    endColumn = 3,
    value = "Same value"
);

sheet.save();

Adding Rows

sheet = Spreadsheet( "employees.xlsx" );

// Add single row
sheet.addRow( [ "John Doe", "Engineering", 95000 ] );

// Add multiple rows from array
data = [
    [ "Jane Smith", "Marketing", 85000 ],
    [ "Bob Johnson", "Sales", 75000 ]
];
sheet.addRows( data );

// Add rows from query
employees = queryExecute( "SELECT name, dept, salary FROM employees" );
sheet.addRows( employees, includeColumnNames = true );

sheet.save();

Adding Columns

sheet = Spreadsheet( "report.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Q1", "Q2", "Q3" ] )
    .addRow( [ 100, 200, 300 ] );

// Add column at end
sheet.addColumn( [ "Q4", 400 ] );

// Insert column at position
sheet.insertColumn( 2, [ "Q1.5", 150 ] );

sheet.save();

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📖 Reading Spreadsheets

Loading Files

// Load file into SpreadsheetFile object
sheet = Spreadsheet( "data.xlsx", load = true );

// Or use explicit load method
sheet = Spreadsheet().load( "data.xlsx" );

Reading Cell Values

sheet = Spreadsheet( "data.xlsx", load = true );

// Read single cell
value = sheet.getCellValue( 1, 1 );

// Read with row/column names
value = sheet.getCellValue( row = 1, column = 1 );

// Check cell type
type = sheet.getCellType( 1, 1 );  // Returns: "blank", "numeric", "string", "formula", etc.

Reading Rows and Columns

sheet = Spreadsheet( "data.xlsx", load = true );

// Get entire row as array
row = sheet.getRow( 1 );

// Get entire column as array
column = sheet.getColumn( 1 );

// Get range of rows
rows = sheet.getRows( startRow = 2, endRow = 10 );

// Get range of columns
columns = sheet.getColumns( startColumn = 1, endColumn = 5 );

Converting to Data Structures

sheet = Spreadsheet( "employees.xlsx", load = true );

// Convert to array of structs (uses first row as headers)
employees = sheet.toArray();
// Result: [ { "Name": "John", "Dept": "Engineering" }, ... ]

// Convert to query object
qry = sheet.toQuery();

// Convert to JSON
json = sheet.toJson();

// Convert to CSV
csv = sheet.toCSV();

Streaming Large Files

For large spreadsheets with thousands of rows, use the process() method to stream data row-by-row without loading the entire file into memory:

// Stream all rows from a file
Spreadsheet().process( "large-file.xlsx", ( row ) => {
    // Process each row immediately
    println( "Processing: #row[1]#" );
    saveToDatabase( row );
});

// Stream specific sheet
Spreadsheet().process( "report.xlsx", "Sales Data", ( row ) => {
    processOrder( row );
});

// Stream with filtering
rowCount = 0;
Spreadsheet().process( "huge-file.xlsx", ( row ) => {
    if ( row[1] != "Header" ) {  // Skip header
        importData( row );
        rowCount++;
    }
});
println( "Imported #rowCount# rows" );

Memory Efficient: Streaming keeps only ~100 rows in memory at a time, allowing you to process files with millions of rows. See the Large File Streaming Guide for complete details.

When to use streaming:

• Files with > 10,000 rows

• Import/export operations

• Sequential data processing

• Memory-constrained environments

When to use traditional loading:

• Files with < 10,000 rows

• Random access to rows

• Modifying and saving files

• Multiple passes over data

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🎨 Formatting

Cell Formatting

sheet = Spreadsheet( "styled.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Product", "Price", "Status" ] )
    .addRow( [ "Widget", 29.99, "Available" ] );

// Format single cell
sheet.formatCell( 1, 1, {
    bold: true,
    italic: false,
    underline: false,
    strikeout: false,
    fontsize: 14,
    font: "Arial",
    fontColor: "white",
    fgcolor: "blue",
    alignment: "center",
    verticalalignment: "center"
} );

// Format with data format
sheet.formatCell( 2, 2, {
    dataformat: "$#,##0.00"  // Currency format
} );

sheet.save();

Row and Column Formatting

sheet = Spreadsheet( "report.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4", "Total" ] )
    .addRow( [ 1000, 1200, 1100, 1300, 4600 ] );

// Format entire row
sheet.formatRow( 1, {
    bold: true,
    fgcolor: "darkblue",
    fontColor: "white",
    alignment: "center"
} );

// Format specific column
sheet.formatColumn( 2, {
    dataformat: "#,##0",
    alignment: "right"
} );

// Format multiple columns
sheet.formatColumns( "2-5", {
    dataformat: "#,##0",
    alignment: "right"
} );

sheet.save();

Range Formatting

sheet = Spreadsheet( "dashboard.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Region", "Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4" ] )
    .addRow( [ "North", 1000, 1200, 1100, 1300 ] )
    .addRow( [ "South", 800, 900, 950, 1050 ] );

// Format specific range
sheet.formatCellRange(
    startRow = 2,
    endRow = 3,
    startColumn = 2,
    endColumn = 5,
    format = {
        dataformat: "#,##0",
        fgcolor: "lightgray"
    }
);

sheet.save();

Column Widths

sheet = Spreadsheet( "sized.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Short", "Medium Column", "Very Long Column Name" ] );

// Auto-size all columns
sheet.autoSizeColumns();

// Set specific column width
sheet.setColumnWidth( 1, 15 );

// Set multiple column widths
sheet.setColumnWidth( "2-3", 25 );

sheet.save();

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🔢 Working with Formulas

Adding Formulas

sheet = Spreadsheet( "calculations.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Item", "Price", "Qty", "Total" ] )
    .addRow( [ "Widget", 29.99, 5 ] )
    .addRow( [ "Gadget", 49.99, 3 ] );

// Add formula to cell
sheet.setCellFormula( 2, 4, "B2*C2" );
sheet.setCellFormula( 3, 4, "B3*C3" );

// Add SUM formula
sheet.setCellFormula( 4, 4, "SUM(D2:D3)" );

sheet.save();

Working with Formula Results

sheet = Spreadsheet( "with-formulas.xlsx", load = true );

// Get formula text
formula = sheet.getCellFormula( 2, 4 );  // Returns: "B2*C2"

// Get calculated value
value = sheet.getCellValue( 2, 4 );      // Returns: 149.95

// Force recalculation
sheet.recalculateAllFormulas();

Advanced Formulas

sheet = Spreadsheet( "advanced.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Value", "Status" ] )
    .addRow( [ 85 ] );

// IF formula
sheet.setCellFormula( 2, 2, "IF(A2>=90,'Excellent',IF(A2>=70,'Good','Needs Improvement'))" );

// VLOOKUP example
sheet.createSheet( "Lookup" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "ID", "Name" ] )
    .addRow( [ 1, "Product A" ] )
    .addRow( [ 2, "Product B" ] );

sheet.selectSheet( "Sheet1" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "ID", "Product Name" ] )
    .addRow( [ 2 ] )
    .setCellFormula( 2, 2, "VLOOKUP(A2,Lookup!A:B,2,FALSE)" );

sheet.save();

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📊 Multiple Sheets

Creating and Managing Sheets

sheet = Spreadsheet( "workbook.xlsx" );

// Create new sheet (default name: "Sheet2", "Sheet3", etc.)
sheet.createSheet();

// Create sheet with custom name
sheet.createSheet( "Sales Data" );

// Create and immediately select
sheet.createAndSelectSheet( "Summary" );

// Rename sheet
sheet.renameSheet( "Sheet1", "Overview" );

// Get all sheet names
names = sheet.getSheetNames();  // Returns: [ "Overview", "Sales Data", "Summary" ]

// Delete sheet
sheet.deleteSheet( "Sales Data" );

sheet.save();

Working Across Sheets

sheet = Spreadsheet( "multi-sheet.xlsx" );

// Add data to first sheet
sheet.selectSheet( "Sheet1" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Summary" ] )
    .addRow( [ "Total Sales: 100,000" ] );

// Switch to second sheet
sheet.createAndSelectSheet( "Details" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Date", "Amount" ] )
    .addRow( [ "2024-01-15", 1000 ] )
    .addRow( [ "2024-01-16", 1500 ] );

// Use cross-sheet formulas
sheet.selectSheet( "Sheet1" )
    .setCellFormula( 2, 2, "SUM(Details!B2:B100)" );

sheet.save();

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🔀 Advanced Operations

Merging Cells

sheet = Spreadsheet( "merged.xlsx" )
    .setCellValue( 1, 1, "Merged Header" )
    .mergeCells(
        startRow = 1,
        startColumn = 1,
        endRow = 1,
        endColumn = 5
    )
    .formatCell( 1, 1, {
        bold: true,
        alignment: "center",
        fontsize: 16
    } )
    .save();

Adding Comments

sheet = Spreadsheet( "with-comments.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Name", "Salary" ] )
    .addRow( [ "John Doe", 95000 ] );

// Add comment to cell
sheet.setCellComment( 2, 2, "Includes annual bonus", "Manager" );

// Add comment without author
sheet.setCellComment( 2, 1, "Employee of the month" );

sheet.save();

Hiding Rows and Columns

sheet = Spreadsheet( "hidden.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Visible", "Hidden", "Also Visible" ] )
    .addRow( [ "Data 1", "Secret", "Data 2" ] );

// Hide column
sheet.hideColumn( 2 );

// Hide row
sheet.hideRow( 3 );

// Show hidden column
sheet.showColumn( 2 );

sheet.save();

Freeze Panes

sheet = Spreadsheet( "frozen.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Name", "Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4" ] )
    .addRow( [ "Product A", 100, 200, 150, 175 ] );

// Freeze first row (header)
sheet.addFreezePane( 0, 1 );

// Freeze first column and first row
sheet.addFreezePane( 1, 1 );

sheet.save();

Data Validation

sheet = Spreadsheet( "validated.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Product", "Status" ] );

// Add dropdown validation
sheet.addDataValidation(
    startRow = 2,
    startColumn = 2,
    endRow = 100,
    endColumn = 2,
    type = "list",
    values = [ "Active", "Inactive", "Pending" ]
);

sheet.save();

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💾 Saving and Exporting

Save Methods

sheet = Spreadsheet()
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Data" ] );

// Save to file
sheet.save( "output.xlsx" );

// Save and overwrite
sheet.save( "output.xlsx", overwrite = true );

// Get as binary
binary = sheet.toBinary();

// Save binary manually
fileWrite( "output.xlsx", binary );

Export Formats

sheet = Spreadsheet( "data.xlsx", load = true );

// Export to CSV
csv = sheet.toCSV();
fileWrite( "export.csv", csv );

// Export to JSON
json = sheet.toJson();
fileWrite( "export.json", json );

// Export to HTML
html = sheet.toHtml();
fileWrite( "export.html", html );

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🔧 Utility Operations

Sheet Information

sheet = Spreadsheet( "data.xlsx", load = true );

// Get row count
rowCount = sheet.getRowCount();

// Get column count
colCount = sheet.getColumnCount();

// Get cell info
info = sheet.getCellInfo( 1, 1 );
// Returns struct with: value, formula, type, format, etc.

// Get sheet info
sheetInfo = sheet.getSheetInfo();
// Returns struct with sheet properties

Clearing Content

sheet = Spreadsheet( "data.xlsx", load = true );

// Clear specific cell
sheet.clearCell( 1, 1 );

// Clear range
sheet.clearCellRange( startRow = 2, endRow = 10, startColumn = 1, endColumn = 5 );

// Clear entire row
sheet.clearRow( 5 );

// Clear entire sheet
sheet.clearSheet();

sheet.save();

Deleting Rows and Columns

sheet = Spreadsheet( "data.xlsx", load = true );

// Delete row
sheet.deleteRow( 3 );

// Delete multiple rows
sheet.deleteRows( startRow = 5, endRow = 10 );

// Delete column
sheet.deleteColumn( 2 );

// Delete multiple columns
sheet.deleteColumns( startColumn = 3, endColumn = 5 );

sheet.save();

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🎯 Best Practices

1. Use Method Chaining

Good:

Spreadsheet( "report.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, headers )
    .addRows( data )
    .formatRow( 1, { bold: true } )
    .autoSizeColumns()
    .save();

Avoid:

sheet = Spreadsheet( "report.xlsx" );
sheet.setRowData( 1, headers );
sheet.addRows( data );
sheet.formatRow( 1, { bold: true } );
sheet.autoSizeColumns();
sheet.save();

2. Format After Adding Data

Add all data first, then apply formatting for better performance:

Spreadsheet( "report.xlsx" )
    // Add all data
    .setRowData( 1, headers )
    .addRows( data )
    // Then format
    .formatRow( 1, { bold: true } )
    .formatColumns( "2-5", { dataformat: "#,##0" } )
    .autoSizeColumns()
    .save();

3. Use Auto-sizing Wisely

Call autoSizeColumns() once after all data is added:

Spreadsheet( "data.xlsx" )
    .setRowData( 1, headers )
    .addRows( largeDataset )
    .autoSizeColumns()  // Call once at end
    .save();

4. Handle Errors Gracefully

try {
    sheet = Spreadsheet( "data.xlsx", load = true )
        .addRow( newData )
        .save();
} catch ( any e ) {
    writeLog( "Error processing spreadsheet: #e.message#" );
    // Handle error appropriately
}

5. Close Large Files

For very large files, explicitly clear references:

sheet = Spreadsheet( "large-file.xlsx", load = true );
data = sheet.toArray();
sheet = null;  // Release memory

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🔍 Common Patterns

Pattern: Database Export with Formatting

// Query data
employees = queryExecute(
    "SELECT name, department, salary, hire_date FROM employees ORDER BY name"
);

// Create formatted export
Spreadsheet( "employee-report.xlsx" )
    // Add headers
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Name", "Department", "Salary", "Hire Date" ] )
    // Add data
    .addRows( employees )
    // Format header
    .formatRow( 1, {
        bold: true,
        fgcolor: "darkblue",
        fontColor: "white",
        alignment: "center"
    } )
    // Format currency column
    .formatColumn( 3, { dataformat: "$#,##0.00" } )
    // Format date column
    .formatColumn( 4, { dataformat: "mm/dd/yyyy" } )
    // Auto-size
    .autoSizeColumns()
    .save();

Pattern: Template-Based Reporting

// Load template
report = Spreadsheet( "monthly-template.xlsx", load = true );

// Fill in report details
report.setCellValue( 2, 2, "January 2024" )
    .setCellValue( 3, 2, dateFormat( now(), "yyyy-mm-dd" ) );

// Add data to specific sheet and location
report.selectSheet( "Data" )
    .addRows( getData(), startRow = 5 );

// Recalculate formulas in template
report.recalculateAllFormulas();

// Save with new name
report.save( "January-2024-Report.xlsx" );

Pattern: Multi-Sheet Workbook

// Create workbook with multiple related sheets
workbook = Spreadsheet( "annual-report.xlsx" );

// Summary sheet
workbook.createAndSelectSheet( "Summary" )
    .setRowData( 1, [ "Annual Summary 2024" ] )
    .mergeCells( 1, 1, 1, 5 )
    .formatCell( 1, 1, { bold: true, fontsize: 16, alignment: "center" } )
    .addRow( [ "Total Revenue:", "=SUM(Q1!B:B,Q2!B:B,Q3!B:B,Q4!B:B)" ] );

// Quarterly sheets
[ "Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4" ].each( ( quarter ) => {
    workbook.createAndSelectSheet( quarter )
        .setRowData( 1, [ "Month", "Revenue" ] )
        .addRows( getQuarterlyData( quarter ) )
        .formatRow( 1, { bold: true } );
} );

workbook.save();

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📚 Next Steps

Explore specific topics in detail:

FormattingFormulasData ExportAdvanced FeaturesExamples

Complete API Reference

Fluent API