Skip to main content

​
Overview

PhpSpreadsheet provides extensive styling capabilities including colors, borders, fonts, alignment, and more. You can apply styles to individual cells or ranges of cells.

​
Basic Cell Styling

Here’s a simple example that applies background colors and borders to a range: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Border;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Fill;

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

// Apply a green background with borders to cells A1:T100
$sheet->getStyle('A1:T100')->applyFromArray([
    'fill' => [
        'fillType' => Fill::FILL_SOLID,
        'color' => ['argb' => 'FFCCFFCC'], // Light green
    ],
    'borders' => [
        'bottom' => ['borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_THIN],
        'right' => ['borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_MEDIUM],
    ],
]);

// Apply a yellow background to cells C5:R95 (overlays the green)
$sheet->getStyle('C5:R95')->applyFromArray([
    'fill' => [
        'fillType' => Fill::FILL_SOLID,
        'color' => ['argb' => 'FFFFFF00'], // Yellow
    ],
]);

​
Using Shared Styles

For better performance when applying the same style to multiple ranges, use shared styles: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Border;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Fill;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Style;

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

// Create shared style objects
$sharedStyle1 = new Style();
$sharedStyle2 = new Style();

// Configure first shared style (green with borders)
$sharedStyle1->applyFromArray([
    'fill' => [
        'fillType' => Fill::FILL_SOLID,
        'color' => ['argb' => 'FFCCFFCC'],
    ],
    'borders' => [
        'bottom' => ['borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_THIN],
        'right' => ['borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_MEDIUM],
    ],
]);

// Configure second shared style (yellow with borders)
$sharedStyle2->applyFromArray([
    'fill' => [
        'fillType' => Fill::FILL_SOLID,
        'color' => ['argb' => 'FFFFFF00'],
    ],
    'borders' => [
        'bottom' => ['borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_THIN],
        'right' => ['borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_MEDIUM],
    ],
]);

// Apply shared styles to ranges (more efficient)
$sheet->duplicateStyle($sharedStyle1, 'A1:T100');
$sheet->duplicateStyle($sharedStyle2, 'C5:R95');
Using duplicateStyle() with shared Style objects is more memory-efficient than applying styles individually, especially when styling large ranges.

​
Font Styling

Apply various font properties to cells: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Font;

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

$sheet->setCellValue('A1', 'Year')
    ->setCellValue('B1', 'Period')
    ->setCellValue('C1', 'Country')
    ->setCellValue('D1', 'Sales');

// Make the title row bold
$sheet->getStyle('A1:D1')->getFont()->setBold(true);

// Or use applyFromArray for multiple properties
$sheet->getStyle('A1:D1')->applyFromArray([
    'font' => [
        'bold' => true,
        'color' => ['argb' => 'FFFFFFFF'], // White text
        'size' => 14,
        'name' => 'Arial',
    ],
    'fill' => [
        'fillType' => Fill::FILL_SOLID,
        'color' => ['argb' => 'FF4472C4'], // Blue background
    ],
]);

​
Border Styles

PhpSpreadsheet supports various border styles: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Border;

// Apply borders to a range
$sheet->getStyle('A1:D10')->applyFromArray([
    'borders' => [
        'allBorders' => [
            'borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_THIN,
            'color' => ['argb' => 'FF000000'],
        ],
    ],
]);

// Or apply different borders to different sides
$sheet->getStyle('A1:D1')->applyFromArray([
    'borders' => [
        'top' => ['borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_THICK],
        'bottom' => ['borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_DOUBLE],
        'left' => ['borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_THIN],
        'right' => ['borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_THIN],
    ],
]);

​
Available Border Styles

  • BORDER_NONE
  • BORDER_THIN
  • BORDER_MEDIUM
  • BORDER_THICK
  • BORDER_DOUBLE
  • BORDER_DASHED
  • BORDER_DOTTED
  • BORDER_DASHDOT
  • BORDER_DASHDOTDOT
  • BORDER_HAIR
  • BORDER_MEDIUMDASHED
  • BORDER_MEDIUMDASHDOT
  • BORDER_MEDIUMDASHDOTDOT
  • BORDER_SLANTDASHDOT

​
Alignment

Control text alignment within cells: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Alignment;

// Enable text wrapping
$sheet->getStyle('A1:F1')->getAlignment()->setWrapText(true);

// Horizontal and vertical alignment
$sheet->getStyle('A1:D1')->applyFromArray([
    'alignment' => [
        'horizontal' => Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER,
        'vertical' => Alignment::VERTICAL_CENTER,
    ],
]);

// Text rotation
$sheet->getStyle('A1')->getAlignment()->setTextRotation(45);

​
Number Formats

Apply number formatting to cells: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\NumberFormat;

// Currency format
$sheet->getStyle('E2:E100')
    ->getNumberFormat()
    ->setFormatCode(NumberFormat::FORMAT_CURRENCY_USD_INTEGER);

// Date format
$sheet->getStyle('D2:D100')
    ->getNumberFormat()
    ->setFormatCode(NumberFormat::FORMAT_DATE_YYYYMMDD);

// Percentage format
$sheet->getStyle('F2:F100')
    ->getNumberFormat()
    ->setFormatCode(NumberFormat::FORMAT_PERCENTAGE_00);

// Custom format
$sheet->getStyle('G2:G100')
    ->getNumberFormat()
    ->setFormatCode('#,##0.00_);[Red](#,##0.00)');

​
Column Width and Row Height

// Set specific column width
$sheet->getColumnDimension('C')->setWidth(12.5);
$sheet->getColumnDimension('D')->setWidth(10.5);

// Auto-size column to fit content
$sheet->getColumnDimension('A')->setAutoSize(true);

// Set row height
$sheet->getRowDimension(1)->setRowHeight(20);

// Auto-fit row height
$sheet->getRowDimension(2)->setRowHeight(-1);

​
Fill Patterns

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Fill;

// Solid fill
$sheet->getStyle('A1')->applyFromArray([
    'fill' => [
        'fillType' => Fill::FILL_SOLID,
        'color' => ['argb' => 'FFFF0000'],
    ],
]);

// Gradient fill
$sheet->getStyle('A2')->applyFromArray([
    'fill' => [
        'fillType' => Fill::FILL_GRADIENT_LINEAR,
        'rotation' => 90,
        'startColor' => ['argb' => 'FF4472C4'],
        'endColor' => ['argb' => 'FFFFFFFF'],
    ],
]);

// Pattern fill
$sheet->getStyle('A3')->applyFromArray([
    'fill' => [
        'fillType' => Fill::FILL_PATTERN_DARKGRID,
        'color' => ['argb' => 'FFFFFF00'],
    ],
]);

​
Complete Styled Example

Here’s a complete example creating a styled report: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Alignment;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Border;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Fill;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\NumberFormat;

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

// Add headers
$headers = ['Product', 'Quantity', 'Price', 'Total'];
$sheet->fromArray($headers, null, 'A1');

// Style the header row
$sheet->getStyle('A1:D1')->applyFromArray([
    'font' => [
        'bold' => true,
        'color' => ['argb' => 'FFFFFFFF'],
        'size' => 12,
    ],
    'fill' => [
        'fillType' => Fill::FILL_SOLID,
        'color' => ['argb' => 'FF4472C4'],
    ],
    'alignment' => [
        'horizontal' => Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER,
        'vertical' => Alignment::VERTICAL_CENTER,
    ],
    'borders' => [
        'allBorders' => [
            'borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_THIN,
        ],
    ],
]);

// Add some data
$data = [
    ['Widget A', 10, 25.50, '=B2*C2'],
    ['Widget B', 5, 42.00, '=B3*C3'],
    ['Widget C', 15, 18.75, '=B4*C4'],
];
$sheet->fromArray($data, null, 'A2');

// Format currency columns
$sheet->getStyle('C2:D4')
    ->getNumberFormat()
    ->setFormatCode(NumberFormat::FORMAT_CURRENCY_USD);

// Add borders to data
$sheet->getStyle('A2:D4')->applyFromArray([
    'borders' => [
        'allBorders' => [
            'borderStyle' => Border::BORDER_THIN,
            'color' => ['argb' => 'FFD0D0D0'],
        ],
    ],
]);

// Freeze the header row
$sheet->freezePane('A2');

// Auto-size columns
foreach (range('A', 'D') as $col) {
    $sheet->getColumnDimension($col)->setAutoSize(true);
}

​
Performance Tips

  1. Use duplicateStyle() with shared Style objects for large ranges
  2. Apply styles to ranges instead of individual cells
  3. Use applyFromArray() to set multiple properties at once
  4. Avoid unnecessary style recalculations in loops

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us