PhpSpreadsheet provides various writer classes to export spreadsheet data to different file formats. All writer classes implement the IWriter interface, ensuring a consistent API across formats.
IWriter Interface
The IWriter interface defines the standard contract that all writer implementations must follow.
Namespace: PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer
Key Methods
__construct()
public function __construct(Spreadsheet $spreadsheet);
The spreadsheet object to write
save()
public function save($filename, int $flags = 0): void;
The filename to save to, or a file resource handle
Optional flags to control writer behavior:
IWriter::SAVE_WITH_CHARTS (1) - Include charts in outputIWriter::DISABLE_PRECALCULATE_FORMULAE (2) - Don’t calculate formulas before saving
public function setPreCalculateFormulas(bool $precalculateFormulas): self;
True to calculate formulas on save, false to skip calculation
setIncludeCharts()
public function setIncludeCharts(bool $includeCharts): self;
True to include charts, false to exclude them
setUseDiskCaching()
public function setUseDiskCaching(bool $useDiskCache, ?string $cacheDirectory = null): self;
True to enable disk caching
Optional directory for cache files. Must exist.
Common Writer Patterns
Basic Usage
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xlsx;
$spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
// ... populate spreadsheet ...
$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.xlsx');
Using Flags
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\IWriter;
$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
$writer->save(
'output.xlsx',
IWriter::SAVE_WITH_CHARTS | IWriter::DISABLE_PRECALCULATE_FORMULAE
);
Writing to Stream
$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
// Write to output buffer
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');
Configuration Options
$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
// Disable formula calculation for faster writing
$writer->setPreCalculateFormulas(false);
// Include charts in output
$writer->setIncludeCharts(true);
// Use disk caching for large files
$writer->setUseDiskCaching(true, '/tmp/phpspreadsheet');
$writer->save('output.xlsx');
Available Writers
PhpSpreadsheet supports the following output formats:
- Xlsx - Excel 2007+ (Office Open XML)
- Xls - Excel 5.0/95, Excel 97-2003 (BIFF)
- Ods - OpenDocument Spreadsheet
- Csv - Comma-Separated Values
- Html - HTML table format
- Pdf - PDF format (via Dompdf, Mpdf, or Tcpdf)
BaseWriter Class
The BaseWriter abstract class provides common functionality for all writers:
abstract class BaseWriter implements IWriter
{
protected bool $includeCharts = false;
protected bool $preCalculateFormulas = true;
private bool $useDiskCaching = false;
private string $diskCachingDirectory = './';
}
BaseWriter to inherit these standard features. 
