Html Reader - PhpSpreadsheet

Overview

The Html reader class loads HTML files containing tables and converts them into spreadsheet format. This is useful for importing data from HTML reports, web pages, or HTML-formatted data exports.

Class Information

Namespace: PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\Html Extends: BaseReader Implements: IReader Source: src/PhpSpreadsheet/Reader/Html.php:32

Basic Usage

Simple File Loading

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\Html;

$reader = new Html();
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('data.html');

// Access worksheet data
$sheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();
$data = $sheet->toArray();

Using IOFactory

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

// Auto-detect and load
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('data.html');

// Or create specific reader
$reader = IOFactory::createReader('Html');
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('data.html');

Key Methods

__construct()

Creates a new Html reader instance.

public function __construct();

Example:

$reader = new Html();

canRead()

Checks if the file can be read by this reader.

public function canRead(string $filename): bool;

filename

string

required

Path to the file to check

Returns: bool - True if the file appears to be HTML Example:

$reader = new Html();
if ($reader->canRead('data.html')) {
    $spreadsheet = $reader->load('data.html');
}

load()

Loads a spreadsheet from an HTML file.

public function load(string $filename, int $flags = 0): Spreadsheet;

filename

string

required

Path to the HTML file to load

flags

int

default:"0"

Optional flags (limited support for HTML format)

Returns: Spreadsheet object Example:

$reader = new Html();
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('data.html');

HTML-Specific Configuration

setInputEncoding()

Sets the input character encoding for the HTML file.

public function setInputEncoding(string $encoding): self;

encoding

string

required

Character encoding (e.g., ‘UTF-8’, ‘ANSI’, ‘ISO-8859-1’)

Example:

$reader = new Html();
$reader->setInputEncoding('UTF-8');
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('data.html');

setSheetIndex()

Sets which worksheet index to use when loading (for multiple tables).

public function setSheetIndex(int $sheetIndex): self;

sheetIndex

int

required

The 0-based worksheet index

Example:

$reader = new Html();
$reader->setSheetIndex(0);
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('data.html');

setSuppressLoadWarnings()

Controls whether to suppress libxml load warnings.

public function setSuppressLoadWarnings(?bool $suppressLoadWarnings): self;

suppressLoadWarnings

bool|null

required

True to suppress warnings, false to show them, null for default behavior

Example:

$reader = new Html();
$reader->setSuppressLoadWarnings(true);
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('data.html');

// Check for any warnings
$warnings = $reader->getLibxmlMessages();
foreach ($warnings as $warning) {
    echo $warning->message;
}

Supported HTML Features

The Html reader recognizes and converts the following HTML elements:

Table Structure

<table> - Converted to worksheet
<tr> - Converted to row
<td> - Converted to cell
<th> - Converted to cell (typically bold)
<thead>, <tbody>, <tfoot> - Structural elements

Text Formatting

<b>, <strong> - Bold text
<i>, <em> - Italic text
<u> - Underlined text
<s>, <strike> - Strikethrough text
<sup> - Superscript
<sub> - Subscript
<h1> to <h6> - Headers with different font sizes
<a> - Hyperlinks (blue, underlined)
<hr> - Horizontal rule (bottom border)

Table Attributes

colspan - Cell spanning multiple columns
rowspan - Cell spanning multiple rows
width - Column width
height - Row height

Style Attributes

The reader parses inline CSS styles:

font-family - Font name
font-size - Font size
font-weight - Bold text
font-style - Italic text
text-decoration - Underline, strikethrough
color - Text color
background-color - Cell background color
border - Cell borders
text-align - Horizontal alignment
vertical-align - Vertical alignment
width - Column width
height - Row height

HTML Format Examples

Simple HTML Table

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title>Sales Report</title>
</head>
<body>
    <table>
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Product</th>
                <th>Quantity</th>
                <th>Price</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td>Widget</td>
                <td>100</td>
                <td>$10.00</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Gadget</td>
                <td>50</td>
                <td>$20.00</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>
</body>
</html>

$reader = new Html();
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('report.html');

HTML with Inline Styles

<table style="border: 1px solid black;">
    <tr>
        <td style="font-weight: bold; background-color: #cccccc;">Header</td>
        <td style="color: red;">Value</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td style="text-align: center;">Center</td>
        <td style="font-style: italic;">Italic</td>
    </tr>
</table>

$reader = new Html();
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('styled.html');

HTML with Colspan and Rowspan

<table>
    <tr>
        <td colspan="2">Merged across 2 columns</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td rowspan="2">Merged across 2 rows</td>
        <td>Cell 1</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Cell 2</td>
    </tr>
</table>

$reader = new Html();
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('merged.html');
// Colspan and rowspan are converted to merged cells

Multiple Tables

If an HTML file contains multiple <table> elements, each table is loaded as a separate worksheet:

$reader = new Html();
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('multi-table.html');

// Access different tables
$sheet1 = $spreadsheet->getSheet(0); // First table
$sheet2 = $spreadsheet->getSheet(1); // Second table
$sheet3 = $spreadsheet->getSheet(2); // Third table

echo "Loaded {$spreadsheet->getSheetCount()} tables\n";

Handling Encoding

UTF-8 HTML

$reader = new Html();
$reader->setInputEncoding('UTF-8');
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('utf8.html');

Other Encodings

// ISO-8859-1 (Latin-1)
$reader = new Html();
$reader->setInputEncoding('ISO-8859-1');
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('latin1.html');

// Windows-1252
$reader->setInputEncoding('CP1252');
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('windows.html');

Working with Images

The Html reader can load images from HTML:

$reader = new Html();

// Allow external images (use with caution)
$reader->setAllowExternalImages(true);

$spreadsheet = $reader->load('report.html');

Be cautious when enabling external images as this can expose your application to security risks.

Error Handling

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\Exception as ReaderException;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\Html;

$reader = new Html();
$reader->setSuppressLoadWarnings(true);

try {
    if (!$reader->canRead('data.html')) {
        throw new Exception('File is not valid HTML');
    }
    
    $spreadsheet = $reader->load('data.html');
    
    // Check for warnings
    $warnings = $reader->getLibxmlMessages();
    if (!empty($warnings)) {
        echo "Warnings during load:\n";
        foreach ($warnings as $warning) {
            echo "- {$warning->message}\n";
        }
    }
    
} catch (ReaderException $e) {
    echo 'Error loading HTML file: ' . $e->getMessage();
} catch (\Exception $e) {
    echo 'General error: ' . $e->getMessage();
}

Security Considerations

XML External Entity (XXE) Protection

The Html reader uses the XmlScanner security scanner to protect against XXE attacks.

External Resources

Be careful with external images and stylesheets:

$reader = new Html();

// Better: use a whitelist
$reader->setIsWhitelisted(function(string $path): bool {
    return str_starts_with($path, 'https://trusted-domain.com/');
});

$reader->setAllowExternalImages(true);
$spreadsheet = $reader->load('report.html');

Complete Example

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\Html;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\Exception as ReaderException;

// Create and configure reader
$reader = new Html();
$reader->setInputEncoding('UTF-8');
$reader->setSuppressLoadWarnings(true);

try {
    // Verify file
    if (!$reader->canRead('report.html')) {
        throw new Exception('Invalid HTML file');
    }
    
    // Load file
    $spreadsheet = $reader->load('report.html');
    
    echo "Loaded {$spreadsheet->getSheetCount()} table(s)\n";
    
    // Process each table
    foreach ($spreadsheet->getAllSheets() as $index => $sheet) {
        echo "\nTable " . ($index + 1) . ":\n";
        
        $highestRow = $sheet->getHighestRow();
        $highestColumn = $sheet->getHighestColumn();
        
        echo "Rows: {$highestRow}, Columns: {$highestColumn}\n";
        
        // Process data
        $data = $sheet->toArray();
        foreach ($data as $row) {
            // Process row
            print_r($row);
        }
    }
    
    // Check for warnings
    $warnings = $reader->getLibxmlMessages();
    if (!empty($warnings)) {
        echo "\n" . count($warnings) . " warning(s) encountered\n";
    }
    
} catch (ReaderException $e) {
    echo 'Reader error: ' . $e->getMessage();
}

Limitations

Only processes <table> elements; other HTML content is ignored
CSS stylesheets are not fully supported (only inline styles)
Complex HTML structures may not parse correctly
JavaScript-generated content is not processed
Some advanced CSS properties are not supported
No support for formulas (everything is read as values)
No support for charts

Tips for Best Results

Use well-formed HTML - Valid HTML5 markup produces best results
Use inline styles - External CSS stylesheets are not processed
Specify encoding - Always set the correct character encoding
Use simple table structures - Complex nested tables may not parse correctly
Include charset meta tag - Add <meta charset="UTF-8"> to HTML
Test with sample data - Test the reader with a small sample first

Core Classes

Readers

Writers

Calculation

Styling

Charts & Graphics

Documentation Index

​Overview

​Class Information

​Basic Usage

​Simple File Loading

​Using IOFactory

​Key Methods

​__construct()

​canRead()

​load()

​HTML-Specific Configuration

​setInputEncoding()

​setSheetIndex()

​setSuppressLoadWarnings()

​Supported HTML Features

​Table Structure

​Text Formatting

​Table Attributes

​Style Attributes

​HTML Format Examples

​Simple HTML Table

​HTML with Inline Styles

​HTML with Colspan and Rowspan

​Multiple Tables

​Handling Encoding

​UTF-8 HTML

​Other Encodings

​Working with Images

​Error Handling

​Security Considerations

​XML External Entity (XXE) Protection

​External Resources

​Complete Example

​Limitations

​Tips for Best Results

​Related Documentation

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Class Information

Basic Usage

Simple File Loading

Using IOFactory

Key Methods

__construct()

canRead()

load()

HTML-Specific Configuration

setInputEncoding()

setSheetIndex()

setSuppressLoadWarnings()

Supported HTML Features

Table Structure

Text Formatting

Table Attributes

Style Attributes

HTML Format Examples

Simple HTML Table

HTML with Inline Styles

HTML with Colspan and Rowspan

Multiple Tables

Handling Encoding

UTF-8 HTML

Other Encodings

Working with Images

Error Handling

Security Considerations

XML External Entity (XXE) Protection

External Resources

Complete Example

Limitations

Tips for Best Results

Related Documentation