IOFactory Class

The IOFactory class provides static factory methods to easily read and write spreadsheet files. It automatically detects file formats and creates the appropriate reader or writer.

Class Overview

Namespace: PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet Source: src/PhpSpreadsheet/IOFactory.php IOFactory simplifies file operations by automatically identifying file types and instantiating the correct reader/writer classes.

Reader Type Constants

IOFactory::READER_XLSX      // Excel 2007+ (XLSX)
IOFactory::READER_XLS       // Excel 97-2003 (XLS)
IOFactory::READER_XML       // Excel 2003 XML
IOFactory::READER_ODS       // OpenDocument Spreadsheet
IOFactory::READER_SLK       // Symbolic Link (SYLK)
IOFactory::READER_GNUMERIC  // Gnumeric
IOFactory::READER_HTML      // HTML
IOFactory::READER_CSV       // CSV

Writer Type Constants

IOFactory::WRITER_XLSX  // Excel 2007+ (XLSX)
IOFactory::WRITER_XLS   // Excel 97-2003 (XLS)
IOFactory::WRITER_ODS   // OpenDocument Spreadsheet
IOFactory::WRITER_CSV   // CSV
IOFactory::WRITER_HTML  // HTML

Loading Files

`load(string $filename, int $flags = 0, ?array $readers = null)`

Load a spreadsheet from a file with automatic format detection.

filename

string

Path to the spreadsheet file

flags

int

default:"0"

Optional flags for loading behavior:

IReader::LOAD_WITH_CHARTS - Include charts
IReader::READ_DATA_ONLY - Read only values, not formatting
IReader::IGNORE_EMPTY_CELLS - Skip empty cells

readers

array|null

Optional array of reader types to try (e.g., [IOFactory::READER_XLSX, IOFactory::READER_XLS])

Return

Spreadsheet

Loaded spreadsheet object

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

// Simple load (auto-detect format)
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('data.xlsx');

// Load with flags
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load(
    'data.xlsx',
    IReader::LOAD_WITH_CHARTS | IReader::READ_DATA_ONLY
);

// Load, trying only specific readers
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load(
    'data.file',
    0,
    [IOFactory::READER_XLSX, IOFactory::READER_XLS]
);

Creating Readers

`createReader(string $readerType)`

Create a reader instance for a specific format.

readerType

string

Reader type (use IOFactory::READER_* constants)

Return

IReader

Reader instance

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

// Create XLSX reader
$reader = IOFactory::createReader(IOFactory::READER_XLSX);
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('data.xlsx');

// Create CSV reader with custom settings
$reader = IOFactory::createReader(IOFactory::READER_CSV);
$reader->setDelimiter(',');
$reader->setEnclosure('"');
$reader->setSheetIndex(0);
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('data.csv');

`createReaderForFile(string $filename, ?array $readers = null)`

Create a reader by automatically detecting the file type.

filename

string

Path to the file

readers

array|null

Optional list of reader types to try

Return

IReader

Appropriate reader instance

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

// Auto-detect and create reader
$reader = IOFactory::createReaderForFile('data.xlsx');
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('data.xlsx');

// Configure reader before loading
$reader = IOFactory::createReaderForFile('large-file.xlsx');
$reader->setReadDataOnly(true);
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('large-file.xlsx');

Identifying Files

`identify(string $filename, ?array $readers = null, bool $fullClassName = false)`

Identify the file type without loading it.

filename

string

Path to the file

readers

array|null

Optional list of reader types to try

fullClassName

bool

default:"false"

Return full class name instead of short type

Return

string

File type identifier

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

// Get simple type name
$type = IOFactory::identify('data.xlsx');
echo $type; // 'Xlsx'

// Get full class name
$className = IOFactory::identify('data.xlsx', null, true);
echo $className; // 'PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\Xlsx'

Creating Writers

`createWriter(Spreadsheet $spreadsheet, string $writerType)`

Create a writer instance for a specific format.

spreadsheet

Spreadsheet

Spreadsheet object to write

writerType

string

Writer type (use IOFactory::WRITER_* constants)

Return

IWriter

Writer instance

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

$spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
// ... populate spreadsheet ...

// Create XLSX writer
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, IOFactory::WRITER_XLSX);
$writer->save('output.xlsx');

// Create CSV writer
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, IOFactory::WRITER_CSV);
$writer->setDelimiter(';');
$writer->setEnclosure('');
$writer->setSheetIndex(0);
$writer->save('output.csv');

Registering Custom Readers/Writers

`registerReader(string $readerType, string $readerClass)`

readerType

string

Unique identifier for the reader

readerClass

string

Fully qualified class name implementing IReader

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

IOFactory::registerReader('MyFormat', 'App\Reader\MyFormatReader');
$reader = IOFactory::createReader('MyFormat');

`registerWriter(string $writerType, string $writerClass)`

writerType

string

Unique identifier for the writer

writerClass

string

Fully qualified class name implementing IWriter

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

IOFactory::registerWriter('MyFormat', 'App\Writer\MyFormatWriter');
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'MyFormat');

Complete Examples

Reading Files

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\IReader;

// Example 1: Simple load with auto-detection
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('sales-data.xlsx');
$worksheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();

// Example 2: Load with specific options
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load(
    'large-file.xlsx',
    IReader::READ_DATA_ONLY | IReader::IGNORE_EMPTY_CELLS
);

// Example 3: Identify file type before loading
$fileType = IOFactory::identify('unknown-file.bin');
echo "File type: $fileType";

if ($fileType === 'Xlsx') {
    $spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('unknown-file.bin');
}

// Example 4: Create reader with custom settings
$reader = IOFactory::createReader(IOFactory::READER_CSV);
$reader->setDelimiter(';');
$reader->setEnclosure('"');
$reader->setInputEncoding('UTF-8');
$reader->setSheetIndex(0);
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('data.csv');

// Example 5: Load only specific sheets
$reader = IOFactory::createReaderForFile('workbook.xlsx');
$reader->setLoadSheetsOnly(['Sheet1', 'Sheet3']);
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('workbook.xlsx');

Writing Files

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

$spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
$worksheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();

// Add data
$worksheet->setCellValue('A1', 'Product');
$worksheet->setCellValue('B1', 'Price');
$worksheet->setCellValue('A2', 'Widget');
$worksheet->setCellValue('B2', 19.99);

// Example 1: Save as XLSX
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, IOFactory::WRITER_XLSX);
$writer->save('output.xlsx');

// Example 2: Save as Excel 97-2003
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, IOFactory::WRITER_XLS);
$writer->save('output.xls');

// Example 3: Save as CSV
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, IOFactory::WRITER_CSV);
$writer->setDelimiter(',');
$writer->setEnclosure('"');
$writer->setLineEnding("\r\n");
$writer->setSheetIndex(0);
$writer->save('output.csv');

// Example 4: Save as HTML
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, IOFactory::WRITER_HTML);
$writer->setSheetIndex(0);
$writer->save('output.html');

// Example 5: Save to output stream
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, IOFactory::WRITER_XLSX);
header('Content-Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet');
header('Content-Disposition: attachment;filename="report.xlsx"');
header('Cache-Control: max-age=0');
$writer->save('php://output');

Reading and Converting

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

// Convert XLS to XLSX
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('old-format.xls');
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, IOFactory::WRITER_XLSX);
$writer->save('new-format.xlsx');

// Convert Excel to CSV
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('data.xlsx');
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, IOFactory::WRITER_CSV);
$writer->setDelimiter(',');
$writer->setEnclosure('"');
$writer->save('data.csv');

// Convert to HTML
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('report.xlsx');
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, IOFactory::WRITER_HTML);
$writer->save('report.html');

Error Handling

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\Exception as ReaderException;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Exception as WriterException;

// Reading with error handling
try {
    $spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('file.xlsx');
    echo "File loaded successfully";
} catch (ReaderException $e) {
    echo "Error reading file: " . $e->getMessage();
} catch (\Exception $e) {
    echo "General error: " . $e->getMessage();
}

// Writing with error handling
try {
    $writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, IOFactory::WRITER_XLSX);
    $writer->save('output.xlsx');
    echo "File saved successfully";
} catch (WriterException $e) {
    echo "Error writing file: " . $e->getMessage();
} catch (\Exception $e) {
    echo "General error: " . $e->getMessage();
}

Reader Flags

When using the load() method, you can combine these flags:

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\IReader;

// Load with charts included
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('file.xlsx', IReader::LOAD_WITH_CHARTS);

// Load only cell values (no formatting)
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('file.xlsx', IReader::READ_DATA_ONLY);

// Skip empty cells
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('file.xlsx', IReader::IGNORE_EMPTY_CELLS);

// Combine multiple flags
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load(
    'file.xlsx',
    IReader::READ_DATA_ONLY | IReader::IGNORE_EMPTY_CELLS
);

Spreadsheet - Main spreadsheet class
IReader - Reader interface
IWriter - Writer interface
Reader\Xlsx - Excel 2007+ reader
Reader\Csv - CSV reader
Writer\Xlsx - Excel 2007+ writer
Writer\Csv - CSV writer

Core Classes

Readers

Writers

Calculation

Styling

Charts & Graphics

Class Overview

Reader Type Constants

Writer Type Constants

Loading Files

`load(string $filename, int $flags = 0, ?array $readers = null)`

Creating Readers

`createReader(string $readerType)`

`createReaderForFile(string $filename, ?array $readers = null)`

Identifying Files

`identify(string $filename, ?array $readers = null, bool $fullClassName = false)`

Creating Writers

`createWriter(Spreadsheet $spreadsheet, string $writerType)`

Registering Custom Readers/Writers

`registerReader(string $readerType, string $readerClass)`

`registerWriter(string $writerType, string $writerClass)`

Complete Examples

Reading Files

Writing Files

Reading and Converting

Error Handling

Reader Flags

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Core Classes

Readers

Writers

Calculation

Styling

Charts & Graphics

Documentation Index

​Class Overview

​Reader Type Constants

​Writer Type Constants

​Loading Files

​load(string $filename, int $flags = 0, ?array $readers = null)

​Creating Readers

​createReader(string $readerType)

​createReaderForFile(string $filename, ?array $readers = null)

​Identifying Files

​identify(string $filename, ?array $readers = null, bool $fullClassName = false)

​Creating Writers

​createWriter(Spreadsheet $spreadsheet, string $writerType)

​Registering Custom Readers/Writers

​registerReader(string $readerType, string $readerClass)

​registerWriter(string $writerType, string $writerClass)

​Complete Examples

​Reading Files

​Writing Files

​Reading and Converting

​Error Handling

​Reader Flags

​Related Classes

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Class Overview

Reader Type Constants

Writer Type Constants

Loading Files

`load(string $filename, int $flags = 0, ?array $readers = null)`

Creating Readers

`createReader(string $readerType)`

`createReaderForFile(string $filename, ?array $readers = null)`

Identifying Files

`identify(string $filename, ?array $readers = null, bool $fullClassName = false)`

Creating Writers

`createWriter(Spreadsheet $spreadsheet, string $writerType)`

Registering Custom Readers/Writers

`registerReader(string $readerType, string $readerClass)`

`registerWriter(string $writerType, string $writerClass)`

Complete Examples

Reading Files

Writing Files

Reading and Converting

Error Handling

Reader Flags

Related Classes