Fix #3999. Fix #4000. Fix #4002. Several bug reports and feature requests for Xml Reader arrived practically simultaneously. They are all small and hit the same code modules, so I have bundled them together in one PR. - `loadSpreadsheetFromString` might try to open a file with a falsy name (like '0'), which results in an exception with a misleading message (or a completely unexpected result if a file with that name exists). Code will still throw an exception, but the message will no longer be misleading, and no file I/O will be attempted. - function `trySimpleXmlLoadString` is deprecated. It should never have been implemented with public visibility, and the fact that it was made the fix above a little more difficult than it would otherwise have been. It is replaced with a private equivalent. - Style reader function `parseStyles` will now use a better namespace-aware method of reading its Xml data. Peculiarly, the Xml for the Style elements can either include or not a namespace prefix. This is probably because the global namespace and the styles namespace are the same. The existing prefix-based code does not recognize their equivalence, but the new namespace-based code does. Xml Reader continues to use prefix-based code in several other places. - Border line styles with Weight omitted or equal to 0 have been treated as no border, but they should be treated as 'hair' thickness. - Support for Zoom is added to Xml Reader. - In support of the above, new properties (and getters and setters) zoomScalePageLayoutView and zoomScaleSheetLayoutView are added to Worksheet/SheetView. (As far as I can tell, Excel does not support Sheet Layout View for Xml spreadsheets). - Support is added for those new properties in Xlsx Reader and Writer. - Xls Reader and Writer seem to work okay without changes. There is one test where Xls shows a different value for one of the properties than Xml or Xlsx, but the spreadsheet looks okay and I don't see any practical consequences of the difference. - PageBreak support is added to Xml Reader. - Code for writing out Column Page Breaks in Xlsx Writer was wrong (and, unsurprisingly, untested). A one-line change fixes it, and tests are added.
PhpSpreadsheet
PhpSpreadsheet is a library written in pure PHP and offers a set of classes that allow you to read and write various spreadsheet file formats such as Excel and LibreOffice Calc.
PHP Version Support
LTS: Support for PHP versions will only be maintained for a period of six months beyond the end of life of that PHP version.
Currently the required PHP minimum version is PHP 8.0, and we will support that version until May 2024.
See the composer.json for other requirements.
Installation
Use composer to install PhpSpreadsheet into your project:
composer require phpoffice/phpspreadsheet
If you are building your installation on a development machine that is on a different PHP version to the server where it will be deployed, or if your PHP CLI version is not the same as your run-time such as php-fpm or Apache's mod_php, then you might want to add the following to your composer.json before installing:
{
"config": {
"platform": {
"php": "8.0"
}
}
}
and then run
composer install
to ensure that the correct dependencies are retrieved to match your deployment environment.
See CLI vs Application run-time for more details.
Additional Installation Options
If you want to write to PDF, or to include Charts when you write to HTML or PDF, then you will need to install additional libraries:
For PDF Generation, you can install any of the following, and then configure PhpSpreadsheet to indicate which library you are going to use:
- mpdf/mpdf
- dompdf/dompdf
- tecnickcom/tcpdf
and configure PhpSpreadsheet using:
// Dompdf, Mpdf or Tcpdf (as appropriate)
$className = \PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Dompdf::class;
IOFactory::registerWriter('Pdf', $className);
or the appropriate PDF Writer wrapper for the library that you have chosen to install.
Chart Export
For Chart export, we support following packages, which you will also need to install yourself using composer require
- jpgraph/jpgraph (this package was abandoned at version 4.0. You can manually download the latest version that supports PHP 8 and above from jpgraph.net)
- mitoteam/jpgraph - up to date fork with modern PHP versions support and some bugs fixed.
and then configure PhpSpreadsheet using:
// to use jpgraph/jpgraph
Settings::setChartRenderer(\PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Chart\Renderer\JpGraph::class);
//or
// to use mitoteam/jpgraph
Settings::setChartRenderer(\PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Chart\Renderer\MtJpGraphRenderer::class);
One or the other of these libraries is necessary if you want to generate HTML or PDF files that include charts; or to render a Chart to an Image format from within your code.
They are not necessary to define charts for writing to Xlsx files.
Other file formats don't support writing Charts.
Documentation
Read more about it, including install instructions, in the official documentation. Or check out the API documentation.
Please ask your support questions on StackOverflow, or have a quick chat on Gitter.
Patreon
I am now running a Patreon to support the work that I do on PhpSpreadsheet.
Supporters will receive access to articles about working with PhpSpreadsheet, and how to use some of its more advanced features.
Posts already available to Patreon supporters:
- The Dating Game
- A look at how MS Excel (and PhpSpreadsheet) handle date and time values.
- Looping the Loop
- Advice on Iterating through the rows and cells in a worksheet.
And for Patrons at levels actively using PhpSpreadsheet:
- Behind the Mask
- A look at Number Format Masks.
The Next Article (currently Work in Progress):
- Formula for Success
- How to debug formulae that don't produce the expected result.
My aim is to post at least one article each month, taking a detailed look at some feature of MS Excel and how to use that feature in PhpSpreadsheet, or on how to perform different activities in PhpSpreadsheet.
Planned posts for the future include topics like:
- Tables
- Structured References
- AutoFiltering
- Array Formulae
- Conditional Formatting
- Data Validation
- Value Binders
- Images
- Charts
After a period of six months exclusive to Patreon supporters, articles will be incorporated into the public documentation for the library.
PHPExcel vs PhpSpreadsheet ?
PhpSpreadsheet is the next version of PHPExcel. It breaks compatibility to dramatically improve the code base quality (namespaces, PSR compliance, use of latest PHP language features, etc.).
Because all efforts have shifted to PhpSpreadsheet, PHPExcel will no longer be maintained. All contributions for PHPExcel, patches and new features, should target PhpSpreadsheet master branch.
Do you need to migrate? There is an automated tool for that.
License
PhpSpreadsheet is licensed under MIT.

