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WriteXLSX

ruby gem for generating XLSX file.

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CONTENTS

PAGE SET-UP METHODS

Page set-up methods affect the way that a worksheet looks when it is printed. They control features such as page headers and footers and margins. These methods are really just standard worksheet methods. They are documented here in a separate section for the sake of clarity.

The following methods are available for page set-up:

A common requirement when working with WriteXLSX is to apply the same page set-up features to all of the worksheets in a workbook. To do this you can use the sheets() method of the workbook class to access the array of worksheets in a workbook:

workbook.sheets.each do |worksheet|
  worksheet.set_landscape
end

set_landscape()

This method is used to set the orientation of a worksheet’s printed page to landscape:

worksheet.set_landscape    # Landscape mode

set_portrait()

This method is used to set the orientation of a worksheet’s printed page to portrait. The default worksheet orientation is portrait, so you won’t generally need to call this method.

worksheet.set_portrait    # Portrait mode

set_page_view()

This method is used to display the worksheet in “Page View/Layout” mode.

worksheet.set_page_view

set_pagebreak_view()

This method is used to display the worksheet in “Page Break Preview” mode.

worksheet.set_pagebreak_view

paper=(index)

This method is used to set the paper format for the printed output of a worksheet. The following paper styles are available:

Index   Paper format            Paper size
=====   ============            ==========
  0     Printer default         -
  1     Letter                  8 1/2 x 11 in
  2     Letter Small            8 1/2 x 11 in
  3     Tabloid                 11 x 17 in
  4     Ledger                  17 x 11 in
  5     Legal                   8 1/2 x 14 in
  6     Statement               5 1/2 x 8 1/2 in
  7     Executive               7 1/4 x 10 1/2 in
  8     A3                      297 x 420 mm
  9     A4                      210 x 297 mm
 10     A4 Small                210 x 297 mm
 11     A5                      148 x 210 mm
 12     B4                      250 x 354 mm
 13     B5                      182 x 257 mm
 14     Folio                   8 1/2 x 13 in
 15     Quarto                  215 x 275 mm
 16     -                       10x14 in
 17     -                       11x17 in
 18     Note                    8 1/2 x 11 in
 19     Envelope  9             3 7/8 x 8 7/8
 20     Envelope 10             4 1/8 x 9 1/2
 21     Envelope 11             4 1/2 x 10 3/8
 22     Envelope 12             4 3/4 x 11
 23     Envelope 14             5 x 11 1/2
 24     C size sheet            -
 25     D size sheet            -
 26     E size sheet            -
 27     Envelope DL             110 x 220 mm
 28     Envelope C3             324 x 458 mm
 29     Envelope C4             229 x 324 mm
 30     Envelope C5             162 x 229 mm
 31     Envelope C6             114 x 162 mm
 32     Envelope C65            114 x 229 mm
 33     Envelope B4             250 x 353 mm
 34     Envelope B5             176 x 250 mm
 35     Envelope B6             176 x 125 mm
 36     Envelope                110 x 230 mm
 37     Monarch                 3.875 x 7.5 in
 38     Envelope                3 5/8 x 6 1/2 in
 39     Fanfold                 14 7/8 x 11 in
 40     German Std Fanfold      8 1/2 x 12 in
 41     German Legal Fanfold    8 1/2 x 13 in

Note, it is likely that not all of these paper types will be available to the end user since it will depend on the paper formats that the user’s printer supports. Therefore, it is best to stick to standard paper types.

worksheet.paper = 1    # US Letter
worksheet.paper = 9    # A4

If you do not specify a paper type the worksheet will print using the printer’s default paper.

set_paper(index)

deprecated. use paper=.

center_horizontally()

Center the worksheet data horizontally between the margins on the printed page:

worksheet.center_horizontally

center_vertically()

Center the worksheet data vertically between the margins on the printed page:

worksheet.center_vertically

margins=(inches)

There are several methods available for setting the worksheet margins on the printed page:

margins=() # Set all margins to the same value

margins_left_right=() # Set left and right margins to the same value

margins_top_bottom=() # Set top and bottom margins to the same value

margin_left=() # Set left margin

margin_right=() # Set right margin

margin_top=() # Set top margin

margin_bottom=() # Set bottom margin

All of these methods take a distance in inches as a parameter. Note: 1 inch = 25.4mm. ;-) The default left and right margin is 0.7 inch. The default top and bottom margin is 0.75 inch. Note, these defaults are different from the defaults used in the binary file format by writeexcel gem.

margins_left_right=(inches)

Set left and right margins to the same value.

margins_top_bottom=(inches)

Set top and bottom margins to the same value.

margin_left=(inches)

Set left margin to the same value.

margin_right=(inches)

Set right margin to the same value.

margin_top=(inches)

Set top margin to the same value.

margin_bottom=(inches)

Set bottom margin to the same value.

set_margins(inches)

deprecated. use margins=

set_margins_LR(inches)

deprecated. use margins_left_right=

set_margins_TB(inches)

deprecated. use margins_top_bottom=

set_margin_left(inches)

deprecated. use margin_left=

set_margin_right(inches)

deprecated. use margin_right=

set_margin_top(inches)

deprecated. use margin_top=

set_margin_bottom(inches)

deprecated. use margin_bottom=

set_header(string, margin)

Headers and footers are generated using a string which is a combination of plain text and control characters. The margin parameter is optional.

The available control character are:

Control             Category            Description
=======             ========            ===========
&L                  Justification       Left
&C                                      Center
&R                                      Right

&P                  Information         Page number
&N                                      Total number of pages
&D                                      Date
&T                                      Time
&F                                      File name
&A                                      Worksheet name
&Z                                      Workbook path

&fontsize           Font                Font size
&"font,style"                           Font name and style
&U                                      Single underline
&E                                      Double underline
&S                                      Strikethrough
&X                                      Superscript
&Y                                      Subscript

&&                  Miscellaneous       Literal ampersand &

Text in headers and footers can be justified (aligned) to the left, center and right by prefixing the text with the control characters &L, &C and &R.

For example (with ASCII art representation of the results):

worksheet.set_header('&LHello');

 ---------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                               |
| Hello                                                         |
|                                                               |


worksheet.set_header('&CHello');

 ---------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                               |
|                          Hello                                |
|                                                               |


worksheet.set_header('&RHello');

 ---------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                               |
|                                                         Hello |
|                                                               |

For simple text, if you do not specify any justification the text will be centred. However, you must prefix the text with &C if you specify a font name or any other formatting:

worksheet.set_header('Hello');

 ---------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                               |
|                          Hello                                |
|                                                               |

You can have text in each of the justification regions:

worksheet.set_header('&LCiao&CBello&RCielo');

 ---------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                               |
| Ciao                     Bello                          Cielo |
|                                                               |

The information control characters act as variables that Excel will update as the workbook or worksheet changes. Times and dates are in the users default format:

worksheet.set_header('&CPage &P of &N');

 ---------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                               |
|                        Page 1 of 6                            |
|                                                               |


worksheet.set_header('&CUpdated at &T');

 ---------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                               |
|                    Updated at 12:30 PM                        |
|                                                               |

You can specify the font size of a section of the text by prefixing it with the control character &n where n is the font size:

worksheet1.set_header('&C&30Hello Big')
worksheet2.set_header('&C&10Hello Small')

You can specify the font of a section of the text by prefixing it with the control sequence &”font,style” where fontname is a font name such as “Courier New” or “Times New Roman” and style is one of the standard Windows font descriptions: “Regular”, “Italic”, “Bold” or “Bold Italic”:

worksheet1.set_header('&C&"Courier New,Italic"Hello')
worksheet2.set_header('&C&"Courier New,Bold Italic"Hello')
worksheet3.set_header('&C&"Times New Roman,Regular"Hello')

It is possible to combine all of these features together to create sophisticated headers and footers. As an aid to setting up complicated headers and footers you can record a page set-up as a macro in Excel and look at the format strings that VBA produces. Remember however that VBA uses two double quotes “” to indicate a single double quote. For the last example above the equivalent VBA code looks like this:

.LeftHeader   = ""
.CenterHeader = "&""Times New Roman,Regular""Hello"
.RightHeader  = ""

To include a single literal ampersand & in a header or footer you should use a double ampersand &&:

worksheet1.set_header('&CCuriouser && Curiouser - Attorneys at Law')

As stated above the margin parameter is optional. As with the other margins the value should be in inches. The default header and footer margin is 0.3 inch. Note, the default margin is different from the default used in the binary file format by WriteExcel gem. The header and footer margin size can be set as follows:

worksheet.set_header('&CHello', 0.75)

The header and footer margins are independent of the top and bottom margins.

Note, the header or footer string must be less than 255 characters. Strings longer than this will not be written and a warning will be generated.

See, also the headers.rb program in the examples directory of the distribution.

set_footer(string, margin)

The syntax of the set_footer() method is the same as set_header(), see above.

repeat_rows(first_row, last_row)

Set the number of rows to repeat at the top of each printed page.

For large Excel documents it is often desirable to have the first row or rows of the worksheet print out at the top of each page. This can be achieved by using the repeat_rows() method. The parameters first_row and last_row are zero based. The last_row parameter is optional if you only wish to specify one row:

worksheet1.repeat_rows(0)    # Repeat the first row
worksheet2.repeat_rows(0, 1) # Repeat the first two rows

repeat_columns(first_col, last_col)

Set the columns to repeat at the left hand side of each printed page.

For large Excel documents it is often desirable to have the first column or columns of the worksheet print out at the left hand side of each page. This can be achieved by using the repeat_columns() method. The parameters first_column and last_column are zero based. The last_column parameter is optional if you only wish to specify one column. You can also specify the columns using A1 column notation, see the note about CELL NOTATION.

worksheet1.repeat_columns(0)        # Repeat the first column
worksheet2.repeat_columns(0, 1)     # Repeat the first two columns
worksheet3.repeat_columns('A:A')    # Repeat the first column
worksheet4.repeat_columns('A:B')    # Repeat the first two columns

hide_gridlines(option = 1)

This method is used to hide the gridlines on the screen and printed page.

Gridlines are the lines that divide the cells on a worksheet. Screen and printed gridlines are turned on by default in an Excel worksheet. If you have defined your own cell borders you may wish to hide the default gridlines.

worksheet.hide_gridlines

The following values of option are valid:

0 : Don't hide gridlines
1 : Hide printed gridlines only
2 : Hide screen and printed gridlines

If you don’t supply an argument or use nil, the default option is 1, i.e. only the printed gridlines are hidden.

Set the option to print the row and column headers on the printed page.

An Excel worksheet looks something like the following;

 ------------------------------------------
|   |   A   |   B   |   C   |   D   |  ...
 ------------------------------------------
| 1 |       |       |       |       |  ...
| 2 |       |       |       |       |  ...
| 3 |       |       |       |       |  ...
| 4 |       |       |       |       |  ...
|...|  ...  |  ...  |  ...  |  ...  |  ...

The headers are the letters and numbers at the top and the left of the worksheet. Since these headers serve mainly as a indication of position on the worksheet they generally do not appear on the printed page. If you wish to have them printed you can use the print_row_col_headers() method:

worksheet.print_row_col_headers

Do not confuse these headers with page headers as described in the set_header() section above.

hide_row_col_headers

Similar to ‘print_row_col_headers()’ above but set the option to hide the row and column headers within Excel so that they aren’t visible to the user:

worksheet.hide_row_col_headers

This method is used to specify the area of the worksheet that will be printed. All four parameters must be specified. You can also use A1 notation, see the note about CELL NOTATION.

worksheet1.print_area('A1:H20')    # Cells A1 to H20
worksheet2.print_area(0, 0, 19, 7) # The same
worksheet2.print_area('A:H')       # Columns A to H if rows have data

The print_across method is used to change the default print direction. This is referred to by Excel as the sheet “page order”.

worksheet.print_across

The default page order is shown below for a worksheet that extends over 4 pages. The order is called “down then across”:

[1] [3]
[2] [4]

However, by using the print_across method the print order will be changed to “across then down”:

[1] [2]
[3] [4]

fit_to_pages(width, height)

The fit_to_pages() method is used to fit the printed area to a specific number of pages both vertically and horizontally. If the printed area exceeds the specified number of pages it will be scaled down to fit. This guarantees that the printed area will always appear on the specified number of pages even if the page size or margins change.

worksheet1.fit_to_pages(1, 1)    # Fit to 1x1 pages
worksheet2.fit_to_pages(2, 1)    # Fit to 2x1 pages
worksheet3.fit_to_pages(1, 2)    # Fit to 1x2 pages

The print area can be defined using the print_area() method as described above.

A common requirement is to fit the printed output to n pages wide but have the height be as long as necessary. To achieve this set the height to zero:

worksheet1.fit_to_pages(1, 0)    # 1 page wide and as long as necessary

Note that although it is valid to use both fit_to_pages() and print_scale=() on the same worksheet only one of these options can be active at a time. The last method call made will set the active option.

Note that fit_to_pages() will override any manual page breaks that are defined in the worksheet.

Note: When using fit_to_pages() it may also be required to set the printer paper size using paper=() or else Excel will default to “US Letter”.

start_page=(start_page = 1)

The start_page=() method is used to set the number of the starting page when the worksheet is printed out. The default value is 1.

worksheet.set_start_page(2)

set_start_page(start_page = 1)

deprecated. use start_page=.

print_scale=(scale = 100)

Set the scale factor of the printed page. Scale factors in the range 10 <= scale <= 400 are valid:

worksheet1.print_scale = 50
worksheet2.print_scale = 75
worksheet3.print_scale = 300
worksheet4.print_scale = 400

The default scale factor is 100.

Note, print_scale=() does not affect the scale of the visible page in Excel. For that you should use zoom=().

Note also that although it is valid to use both fit_to_pages() and print_scale=() on the same worksheet only one of these options can be active at a time. The last method call made will set the active option.

set_print_scale(scale = 100)

deprecated. use print_scale=.

Set the option to print the worksheet in black and white:

worksheet.print_black_and_white

set_h_pagebreaks(breaks)

Add horizontal page breaks to a worksheet.

A page break causes all the data that follows it to be printed on the next page. Horizontal page breaks act between rows. To create a page break between rows 20 and 21 you must specify the break at row 21. However in zero index notation this is actually row 20. So you can pretend for a small while that you are using 1 index notation:

worksheet1.set_h_pagebreaks(20)    # Break between row 20 and 21

The set_h_pagebreaks() method will accept a list of page breaks and you can call it more than once:

worksheet2.set_h_pagebreaks(20,  40,  60,  80,  100 )    # Add breaks
worksheet2.set_h_pagebreaks(120, 140, 160, 180, 200 )    # Add some more

Note: If you specify the “fit to page” option via the fit_to_pages() method it will override all manual page breaks.

There is a silent limitation of about 1000 horizontal page breaks per worksheet in line with an Excel internal limitation.

set_v_pagebreaks(breaks)

Add vertical page breaks to a worksheet.

A page break causes all the data that follows it to be printed on the next page. Vertical page breaks act between columns. To create a page break between columns 20 and 21 you must specify the break at column 21. However in zero index notation this is actually column 20. So you can pretend for a small while that you are using 1 index notation:

worksheet1.set_v_pagebreaks(20) # Break between column 20 and 21

The set_v_pagebreaks() method will accept a list of page breaks and you can call it more than once:

worksheet2.set_v_pagebreaks(20,  40,  60,  80,  100)    # Add breaks
worksheet2.set_v_pagebreaks(120, 140, 160, 180, 200)    # Add some more

Note: If you specify the “fit to page” option via the fit_to_pages() method it will override all manual page breaks.