Provided by: libspreadsheet-writeexcel-perl_2.40-4_all 
NAME
Utility - Helper functions for Spreadsheet::WriteExcel.
SYNOPSIS
Functions to help with some common tasks when using Spreadsheet::WriteExcel.
These functions mainly relate to dealing with rows and columns in A1 notation and to
handling dates and times.
use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility; # Import everything
($row, $col) = xl_cell_to_rowcol('C2'); # (1, 2)
$str = xl_rowcol_to_cell(1, 2); # C2
$str = xl_inc_col('Z1' ); # AA1
$str = xl_dec_col('AA1' ); # Z1
$date = xl_date_list(2002, 1, 1); # 37257
$date = xl_parse_date("11 July 1997"); # 35622
$time = xl_parse_time('3:21:36 PM'); # 0.64
$date = xl_decode_date_EU("13 May 2002"); # 37389
DESCRIPTION
This module provides a set of functions to help with some common tasks encountered when
using the Spreadsheet::WriteExcel module. The two main categories of function are:
Row and column functions: these are used to deal with Excel's A1 representation of cells.
The functions in this category are:
xl_rowcol_to_cell
xl_cell_to_rowcol
xl_range_formula
xl_inc_row
xl_dec_row
xl_inc_col
xl_dec_col
Date and Time functions: these are used to convert dates and times to the numeric format
used by Excel. The functions in this category are:
xl_date_list
xl_date_1904
xl_parse_time
xl_parse_date
xl_parse_date_init
xl_decode_date_EU
xl_decode_date_US
All of these functions are exported by default. However, you can use import lists if you
wish to limit the functions that are imported:
use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility; # Import everything
use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility qw(xl_date_list); # xl_date_list only
use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility qw(:rowcol); # Row/col functions
use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel::Utility qw(:dates); # Date functions
ROW AND COLUMN FUNCTIONS
Spreadsheet::WriteExcel supports two forms of notation to designate the position of cells:
Row-column notation and A1 notation.
Row-column notation uses a zero based index for both row and column while A1 notation uses
the standard Excel alphanumeric sequence of column letter and 1-based row. Columns range
from A to IV i.e. 0 to 255, rows range from 1 to 16384 in Excel 5 and 65536 in Excel 97.
For example:
(0, 0) # The top left cell in row-column notation.
('A1') # The top left cell in A1 notation.
(1999, 29) # Row-column notation.
('AD2000') # The same cell in A1 notation.
Row-column notation is useful if you are referring to cells programmatically:
for my $i (0 .. 9) {
$worksheet->write($i, 0, 'Hello'); # Cells A1 to A10
}
A1 notation is useful for setting up a worksheet manually and for working with formulas:
$worksheet->write('H1', 200);
$worksheet->write('H2', '=H7+1');
The functions in the following sections can be used for dealing with A1 notation, for
example:
($row, $col) = xl_cell_to_rowcol('C2'); # (1, 2)
$str = xl_rowcol_to_cell(1, 2); # C2
Cell references in Excel can be either relative or absolute. Absolute references are
prefixed by the dollar symbol as shown below:
A1 # Column and row are relative
$A1 # Column is absolute and row is relative
A$1 # Column is relative and row is absolute
$A$1 # Column and row are absolute
An absolute reference only has an effect if the cell is copied. Refer to the Excel
documentation for further details. All of the following functions support absolute
references.
xl_rowcol_to_cell($row, $col, $row_absolute, $col_absolute)
Parameters: $row: Integer
$col: Integer
$row_absolute: Boolean (1/0) [optional, default is 0]
$col_absolute: Boolean (1/0) [optional, default is 0]
Returns: A string in A1 cell notation
This function converts a zero based row and column cell reference to a A1 style string:
$str = xl_rowcol_to_cell(0, 0); # A1
$str = xl_rowcol_to_cell(0, 1); # B1
$str = xl_rowcol_to_cell(1, 0); # A2
The optional parameters $row_absolute and $col_absolute can be used to indicate if the row
or column is absolute:
$str = xl_rowcol_to_cell(0, 0, 0, 1); # $A1
$str = xl_rowcol_to_cell(0, 0, 1, 0); # A$1
$str = xl_rowcol_to_cell(0, 0, 1, 1); # $A$1
See "ROW AND COLUMN FUNCTIONS" for an explanation of absolute cell references.
xl_cell_to_rowcol($string)
Parameters: $string String in A1 format
Returns: List ($row, $col)
This function converts an Excel cell reference in A1 notation to a zero based row and
column. The function will also handle Excel's absolute, "$", cell notation.
my ($row, $col) = xl_cell_to_rowcol('A1'); # (0, 0)
my ($row, $col) = xl_cell_to_rowcol('B1'); # (0, 1)
my ($row, $col) = xl_cell_to_rowcol('C2'); # (1, 2)
my ($row, $col) = xl_cell_to_rowcol('$C2' ); # (1, 2)
my ($row, $col) = xl_cell_to_rowcol('C$2' ); # (1, 2)
my ($row, $col) = xl_cell_to_rowcol('$C$2'); # (1, 2)
xl_range_formula($sheetname, $row_1, $row_2, $col_1, $col_2)
Parameters: $sheetname String
$row_1: Integer
$row_2: Integer
$col_1: Integer
$col_2: Integer
Returns: A worksheet range formula as a string.
This function converts zero based row and column cell references to an A1 style formula
string:
my $str = xl_range_formula('Sheet1', 0, 9, 0, 0); # =Sheet1!$A$1:$A$10
my $str = xl_range_formula('Sheet2', 6, 65, 1, 1); # =Sheet2!$B$7:$B$66
my $str = xl_range_formula('New data', 1, 8, 2, 2); # ='New data'!$C$2:$C$9
This is useful for setting ranges in Chart objects:
$chart->add_series(
categories => xl_range_formula('Sheet1', 1, 9, 0, 0),
values => xl_range_formula('Sheet1', 1, 9, 1, 1),
);
# Which is the same as:
$chart->add_series(
categories => '=Sheet1!$A$2:$A$10',
values => '=Sheet1!$B$2:$B$10',
);
xl_inc_row($string)
Parameters: $string, a string in A1 format
Returns: Incremented string in A1 format
This functions takes a cell reference string in A1 notation and increments the row. The
function will also handle Excel's absolute, "$", cell notation:
my $str = xl_inc_row('A1' ); # A2
my $str = xl_inc_row('B$2' ); # B$3
my $str = xl_inc_row('$C3' ); # $C4
my $str = xl_inc_row('$D$4'); # $D$5
xl_dec_row($string)
Parameters: $string, a string in A1 format
Returns: Decremented string in A1 format
This functions takes a cell reference string in A1 notation and decrements the row. The
function will also handle Excel's absolute, "$", cell notation:
my $str = xl_dec_row('A2' ); # A1
my $str = xl_dec_row('B$3' ); # B$2
my $str = xl_dec_row('$C4' ); # $C3
my $str = xl_dec_row('$D$5'); # $D$4
xl_inc_col($string)
Parameters: $string, a string in A1 format
Returns: Incremented string in A1 format
This functions takes a cell reference string in A1 notation and increments the column. The
function will also handle Excel's absolute, "$", cell notation:
my $str = xl_inc_col('A1' ); # B1
my $str = xl_inc_col('Z1' ); # AA1
my $str = xl_inc_col('$B1' ); # $C1
my $str = xl_inc_col('$D$5'); # $E$5
xl_dec_col($string)
Parameters: $string, a string in A1 format
Returns: Decremented string in A1 format
This functions takes a cell reference string in A1 notation and decrements the column. The
function will also handle Excel's absolute, "$", cell notation:
my $str = xl_dec_col('B1' ); # A1
my $str = xl_dec_col('AA1' ); # Z1
my $str = xl_dec_col('$C1' ); # $B1
my $str = xl_dec_col('$E$5'); # $D$5
TIME AND DATE FUNCTIONS
Dates and times in Excel are represented by real numbers, for example "Jan 1 2001 12:30
AM" is represented by the number 36892.521.
The integer part of the number stores the number of days since the epoch and the
fractional part stores the percentage of the day in seconds.
The epoch can be either 1900 or 1904. Excel for Windows uses 1900 and Excel for Macintosh
uses 1904. The epochs are:
1900: 0 January 1900 i.e. 31 December 1899
1904: 1 January 1904
Excel on Windows and the Macintosh will convert automatically between one system and the
other. By default Spreadsheet::WriteExcel uses the 1900 format. To use the 1904 epoch you
must use the "set_1904()" workbook method, see the Spreadsheet::WriteExcel documentation.
There are two things to note about the 1900 date format. The first is that the epoch
starts on 0 January 1900. The second is that the year 1900 is erroneously but deliberately
treated as a leap year. Therefore you must add an extra day to dates after 28 February
1900. The functions in the following section will deal with these issues automatically.
The reason for this anomaly is explained at
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q181/3/70.asp
Note, a date or time in Excel is like any other number. To display the number as a date
you must apply a number format to it: Refer to the "set_num_format()" method in the
Spreadsheet::WriteExcel documentation:
$date = xl_date_list(2001, 1, 1, 12, 30);
$format->set_num_format('mmm d yyyy hh:mm AM/PM');
$worksheet->write('A1', $date , $format); # Jan 1 2001 12:30 AM
To use these functions you must install the "Date::Manip" and "Date::Calc" modules. See
REQUIREMENTS and the individual requirements of each functions.
See also the DateTime::Format::Excel
module,http://search.cpan.org/search?dist=DateTime-Format-Excel which is part of the
DateTime project and which deals specifically with converting dates and times to and from
Excel's format.
xl_date_list($years, $months, $days, $hours, $minutes, $seconds)
Parameters: $years: Integer
$months: Integer [optional, default is 1]
$days: Integer [optional, default is 1]
$hours: Integer [optional, default is 0]
$minutes: Integer [optional, default is 0]
$seconds: Float [optional, default is 0]
Returns: A number that represents an Excel date
or undef for an invalid date.
Requires: Date::Calc
This function converts an array of data into a number that represents an Excel date. All
of the parameters are optional except for $years.
$date1 = xl_date_list(2002, 1, 2); # 2 Jan 2002
$date2 = xl_date_list(2002, 1, 2, 12); # 2 Jan 2002 12:00 pm
$date3 = xl_date_list(2002, 1, 2, 12, 30); # 2 Jan 2002 12:30 pm
$date4 = xl_date_list(2002, 1, 2, 12, 30, 45); # 2 Jan 2002 12:30:45 pm
This function can be used in conjunction with functions that parse date and time strings.
In fact it is used in most of the following functions.
xl_parse_time($string)
Parameters: $string, a textual representation of a time
Returns: A number that represents an Excel time
or undef for an invalid time.
This function converts a time string into a number that represents an Excel time. The
following time formats are valid:
hh:mm [AM|PM]
hh:mm [AM|PM]
hh:mm:ss [AM|PM]
hh:mm:ss.ss [AM|PM]
The meridian, AM or PM, is optional and case insensitive. A 24 hour time is assumed if the
meridian is omitted
$time1 = xl_parse_time('12:18');
$time2 = xl_parse_time('12:18:14');
$time3 = xl_parse_time('12:18:14 AM');
$time4 = xl_parse_time('1:18:14 AM');
Time in Excel is expressed as a fraction of the day in seconds. Therefore you can
calculate an Excel time as follows:
$time = ($hours*3600 +$minutes*60 +$seconds)/(24*60*60);
xl_parse_date($string)
Parameters: $string, a textual representation of a date and time
Returns: A number that represents an Excel date
or undef for an invalid date.
Requires: Date::Manip and Date::Calc
This function converts a date and time string into a number that represents an Excel date.
The parsing is performed using the "ParseDate()" function of the Date::Manip module. Refer
to the Date::Manip documentation for further information about the date and time formats
that can be parsed. In order to use this function you will probably have to initialise
some Date::Manip variables via the "xl_parse_date_init()" function, see below.
xl_parse_date_init("TZ=GMT","DateFormat=non-US");
$date1 = xl_parse_date("11/7/97");
$date2 = xl_parse_date("Friday 11 July 1997");
$date3 = xl_parse_date("10:30 AM Friday 11 July 1997");
$date4 = xl_parse_date("Today");
$date5 = xl_parse_date("Yesterday");
Note, if you parse a string that represents a time but not a date this function will add
the current date. If you want the time without the date you can do something like the
following:
$time = xl_parse_date("10:30 AM");
$time -= int($time);
xl_parse_date_init("variable=value", ...)
Parameters: A list of Date::Manip variable strings
Returns: A list of all the Date::Manip strings
Requires: Date::Manip
This function is used to initialise variables required by the Date::Manip module. You
should call this function before calling "xl_parse_date()". It need only be called once.
This function is a thin wrapper for the "Date::Manip::Date_Init()" function. You can use
"Date_Init()" directly if you wish. Refer to the Date::Manip documentation for further
information.
xl_parse_date_init("TZ=MST","DateFormat=US");
$date1 = xl_parse_date("11/7/97"); # November 7th 1997
xl_parse_date_init("TZ=GMT","DateFormat=non-US");
$date1 = xl_parse_date("11/7/97"); # July 11th 1997
xl_decode_date_EU($string)
Parameters: $string, a textual representation of a date and time
Returns: A number that represents an Excel date
or undef for an invalid date.
Requires: Date::Calc
This function converts a date and time string into a number that represents an Excel date.
The date parsing is performed using the "Decode_Date_EU()" function of the Date::Calc
module. Refer to the Date::Calc for further information about the date formats that can be
parsed. Also note the following from the Date::Calc documentation:
"If the year is given as one or two digits only (i.e., if the year is less than 100), it
is mapped to the window 1970 -2069 as follows":
0 E<lt>= $year E<lt> 70 ==> $year += 2000;
70 E<lt>= $year E<lt> 100 ==> $year += 1900;
The time portion of the string is parsed using the "xl_parse_time()" function described
above.
Note: the EU in the function name means that a European date format is assumed if it is
not clear from the string. See the first example below.
$date1 = xl_decode_date_EU("11/7/97"); #11 July 1997
$date2 = xl_decode_date_EU("Sat 12 Sept 1998");
$date3 = xl_decode_date_EU("4:30 AM Sat 12 Sept 1998");
xl_decode_date_US($string)
Parameters: $string, a textual representation of a date and time
Returns: A number that represents an Excel date
or undef for an invalid date.
Requires: Date::Calc
This function converts a date and time string into a number that represents an Excel date.
The date parsing is performed using the "Decode_Date_US()" function of the Date::Calc
module. Refer to the Date::Calc for further information about the date formats that can be
parsed. Also note the following from the Date::Calc documentation:
"If the year is given as one or two digits only (i.e., if the year is less than 100), it
is mapped to the window 1970 -2069 as follows":
0 <= $year < 70 ==> $year += 2000;
70 <= $year < 100 ==> $year += 1900;
The time portion of the string is parsed using the "xl_parse_time()" function described
above.
Note: the US in the function name means that an American date format is assumed if it is
not clear from the string. See the first example below.
$date1 = xl_decode_date_US("11/7/97"); # 7 November 1997
$date2 = xl_decode_date_US("12 Sept Saturday 1998");
$date3 = xl_decode_date_US("4:30 AM 12 Sept Sat 1998");
xl_date_1904($date)
Parameters: $date, an Excel date with a 1900 epoch
Returns: an Excel date with a 1904 epoch or zero if
the $date is before 1904
This function converts an Excel date based on the 1900 epoch into a date based on the 1904
epoch.
$date1 = xl_date_list(2002, 1, 13); # 13 Jan 2002, 1900 epoch
$date2 = xl_date_1904($date1); # 13 Jan 2002, 1904 epoch
See also the "set_1904()" workbook method in the Spreadsheet::WriteExcel documentation.
REQUIREMENTS
The date and time functions require functions from the "Date::Manip" and "Date::Calc"
modules. The required functions are "autoused" from these modules so that you do not have
to install them unless you wish to use the date and time routines. Therefore it is
possible to use the row and column functions without having "Date::Manip" and "Date::Calc"
installed.
For more information about "autousing" refer to the documentation on the "autouse" pragma.
BUGS
When using the autoused functions from "Date::Manip" and "Date::Calc" on Perl 5.6.0 with
"-w" you will get a warning like this:
"Subroutine xxx redefined ..."
The current workaround for this is to put "use warnings;" near the beginning of your
program.
AUTHOR
John McNamara jmcnamara@cpan.org
COPYRIGHT
Copyright MM-MMX, John McNamara.
All Rights Reserved. This module is free software. It may be used, redistributed and/or
modified under the same terms as Perl itself.