Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Basic Hello World Example
This example demonstrates the simplest way to create a spreadsheet with PhpSpreadsheet. We’ll create a new spreadsheet, add some data to cells, and save it to a file.
<?php
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xlsx;
require 'vendor/autoload.php';
// Create new Spreadsheet object
$spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
// Add some data
$spreadsheet->setActiveSheetIndex(0)
->setCellValue('A1', 'Hello')
->setCellValue('B2', 'world!')
->setCellValue('C1', 'Hello')
->setCellValue('D2', 'world!');
// Rename worksheet
$spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()->setTitle('Simple');
// Save to file
$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('hello_world.xlsx');
echo 'Spreadsheet created successfully!';
What This Code Does
- Creates a new spreadsheet:
new Spreadsheet() initializes an empty spreadsheet with one worksheet
- Sets cell values: Uses
setCellValue() to add text to specific cells (A1, B2, C1, D2)
- Renames the worksheet: Changes the default sheet name from “Worksheet” to “Simple”
- Saves the file: Creates an Xlsx writer and saves the spreadsheet as
hello_world.xlsx
Adding UTF-8 Characters
PhpSpreadsheet fully supports UTF-8 characters, allowing you to work with international text:
<?php
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xlsx;
require 'vendor/autoload.php';
$spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
// Add UTF-8 text
$spreadsheet->setActiveSheetIndex(0)
->setCellValue('A1', 'Miscellaneous glyphs')
->setCellValue('A2', 'éàèùâêîôûëïüÿäöüç');
$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('utf8_example.xlsx');
Multi-line Text in Cells
You can add multi-line text to cells by using newline characters (\n) and enabling text wrapping:
<?php
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xlsx;
require 'vendor/autoload.php';
$spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
// Add multi-line text
$spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()
->setCellValue('A1', "Hello\nWorld");
// Enable text wrapping and auto-height
$spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()
->getRowDimension(1)
->setRowHeight(-1); // -1 = auto-height
$spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()
->getStyle('A1')
->getAlignment()
->setWrapText(true);
$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('multiline_example.xlsx');
Key Takeaways
- Always require the autoloader before using PhpSpreadsheet classes
- Use
setCellValue() to add data to cells
- Cell references use Excel notation (A1, B2, etc.)
- Method chaining is supported for cleaner code
- Save files using writer classes like
Xlsx, Xls, or Ods
