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This guide will walk you through creating, reading, and manipulating spreadsheets using PhpSpreadsheet.

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Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have installed PhpSpreadsheet via Composer.

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Create your first spreadsheet

Let’s create a simple spreadsheet with some data and save it as an Excel file.
1

Create a new PHP file

Create a file called create-spreadsheet.php in your project directory.
2

Add the basic code

create-spreadsheet.php
<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xlsx;

// Create new Spreadsheet object
$spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();

// Set document properties
$spreadsheet->getProperties()
    ->setCreator('Your Name')
    ->setTitle('My First Spreadsheet')
    ->setSubject('PhpSpreadsheet Test')
    ->setDescription('Test document for PhpSpreadsheet');

// Add data to cells
$sheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();
$sheet->setCellValue('A1', 'Hello')
      ->setCellValue('B2', 'World!');

// Rename worksheet
$sheet->setTitle('My First Sheet');

// Save to file
$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('hello-world.xlsx');

echo "Spreadsheet created successfully!\n";
3

Run the script

php create-spreadsheet.php
This will create a file named hello-world.xlsx in your current directory.

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Read an existing spreadsheet

Now let’s read data from an existing Excel file.
read-spreadsheet.php
<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

// Load existing file
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('hello-world.xlsx');

// Get active sheet
$sheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();

// Read cell values
echo "A1: " . $sheet->getCell('A1')->getValue() . "\n";
echo "B2: " . $sheet->getCell('B2')->getValue() . "\n";

// Get all data as array
$data = $sheet->toArray(null, true, true, true);
print_r($data);
IOFactory::load() automatically detects the file format (Excel, CSV, ODS, etc.) and uses the appropriate reader.

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Working with different data types

PhpSpreadsheet supports various data types including strings, numbers, booleans, dates, and rich text.
data-types.php
<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xlsx;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Shared\Date;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\NumberFormat;

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

// String
$sheet->setCellValue('A1', 'Product Name')
      ->setCellValue('B1', 'Widget');

// Number
$sheet->setCellValue('A2', 'Price')
      ->setCellValue('B2', 29.99);

// Integer
$sheet->setCellValue('A3', 'Quantity')
      ->setCellValue('B3', 42);

// Boolean
$sheet->setCellValue('A4', 'In Stock')
      ->setCellValue('B4', true);

// Date
$sheet->setCellValue('A5', 'Order Date')
      ->setCellValue('B5', Date::PHPToExcel(time()));
$sheet->getStyle('B5')
      ->getNumberFormat()
      ->setFormatCode(NumberFormat::FORMAT_DATE_YYYYMMDD);

// Formula
$sheet->setCellValue('A6', 'Total')
      ->setCellValue('B6', '=B2*B3');

$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('data-types.xlsx');

echo "Spreadsheet with various data types created!\n";

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Basic formatting

Add styling to make your spreadsheet more readable.
formatting.php
<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xlsx;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Color;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Fill;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Alignment;

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

// Add header row
$sheet->setCellValue('A1', 'Name')
      ->setCellValue('B1', 'Email')
      ->setCellValue('C1', 'Status');

// Style the header
$headerStyle = $sheet->getStyle('A1:C1');
$headerStyle->getFont()->setBold(true)->setSize(12);
$headerStyle->getFill()
    ->setFillType(Fill::FILL_SOLID)
    ->getStartColor()->setARGB('FF4CAF50');
$headerStyle->getAlignment()->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER);

// Add data
$sheet->setCellValue('A2', 'John Doe')
      ->setCellValue('B2', '[email protected]')
      ->setCellValue('C2', 'Active');

// Auto-size columns
$sheet->getColumnDimension('A')->setAutoSize(true);
$sheet->getColumnDimension('B')->setAutoSize(true);
$sheet->getColumnDimension('C')->setAutoSize(true);

$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('formatted.xlsx');

echo "Formatted spreadsheet created!\n";

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Save to different formats

PhpSpreadsheet can export to multiple formats. 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xlsx;

$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.xlsx');
PDF export requires installing an additional library. See the installation guide for details.

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Working with multiple sheets

Create and manage multiple worksheets in a single workbook.
multiple-sheets.php
<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xlsx;

$spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();

// First sheet
$sheet1 = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();
$sheet1->setTitle('Sales');
$sheet1->setCellValue('A1', 'Q1 Sales');
$sheet1->setCellValue('A2', 1000);

// Create second sheet
$sheet2 = $spreadsheet->createSheet();
$sheet2->setTitle('Expenses');
$sheet2->setCellValue('A1', 'Q1 Expenses');
$sheet2->setCellValue('A2', 500);

// Create third sheet
$sheet3 = $spreadsheet->createSheet();
$sheet3->setTitle('Summary');
$sheet3->setCellValue('A1', 'Profit');
$sheet3->setCellValue('A2', '=Sales!A2-Expenses!A2');

// Set first sheet as active
$spreadsheet->setActiveSheetIndex(0);

$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('multi-sheet.xlsx');

echo "Multi-sheet spreadsheet created!\n";

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Common operations

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Iterate through rows

$sheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();

foreach ($sheet->getRowIterator() as $row) {
    $cellIterator = $row->getCellIterator();
    $cellIterator->setIterateOnlyExistingCells(false);
    
    foreach ($cellIterator as $cell) {
        echo $cell->getValue() . " ";
    }
    echo "\n";
}

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Get highest row and column

$highestRow = $sheet->getHighestRow();
$highestColumn = $sheet->getHighestColumn();

echo "Data range: A1:{$highestColumn}{$highestRow}\n";

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Set column width

// Set specific width
$sheet->getColumnDimension('A')->setWidth(20);

// Auto-size
$sheet->getColumnDimension('B')->setAutoSize(true);

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Set row height

// Set specific height
$sheet->getRowDimension(1)->setRowHeight(25);

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

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Best practices

Memory management: When working with large spreadsheets, consider using read filters or processing data in chunks to minimize memory usage.
Dispose of objects: After saving, you can free memory by calling $spreadsheet->disconnectWorksheets();
Error handling: Always wrap file operations in try-catch blocks to handle potential errors gracefully.
try {
    $spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('file.xlsx');
    // Process spreadsheet
} catch (\PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Reader\Exception $e) {
    echo "Error loading file: " . $e->getMessage();
}

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Next steps

Now that you understand the basics, explore more advanced features:

Formulas

Work with Excel formulas and calculations

Styling

Advanced cell formatting and styles

Charts

Create and manipulate charts

API Reference

Detailed class and method documentation

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