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Overview

PhpSpreadsheet can write spreadsheets to multiple file formats including Excel (Xlsx, Xls), OpenDocument (Ods), CSV, HTML, and PDF. Writers are created using the IOFactory or by directly instantiating writer classes.

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Using IOFactory::createWriter()

The recommended way to create a writer: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'Xlsx');
$writer->save('output.xlsx');
Available writer types:
  • Xlsx - Excel 2007+ (.xlsx)
  • Xls - Excel 97-2003 (.xls)
  • Ods - OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods)
  • Csv - Comma Separated Values (.csv)
  • Html - HTML format (.html)
  • Mpdf - PDF using mPDF library
  • Tcpdf - PDF using TCPDF library
  • Dompdf - PDF using Dompdf library

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Direct Writer Instantiation

You can instantiate writers directly: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xlsx;

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

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Saving to Different Outputs

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Save to File

$writer->save('path/to/file.xlsx');

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Save to PHP Output Stream

Useful for downloads: 
header('Content-Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet');
header('Content-Disposition: attachment;filename="export.xlsx"');
header('Cache-Control: max-age=0');

$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'Xlsx');
$writer->save('php://output');
exit;

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Save to String/Variable

ob_start();
$writer->save('php://output');
$content = ob_get_contents();
ob_end_clean();

// Now $content contains the file data

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Writer Options

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Formula Pre-calculation

By default, writers pre-calculate all formulas before saving. This can be slow for large files: 
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'Xlsx');
$writer->setPreCalculateFormulas(false);
$writer->save('output.xlsx');

// Or using flags
$writer->save('output.xlsx', IWriter::DISABLE_PRECALCULATE_FORMULAE);
When pre-calculation is disabled, Excel will recalculate formulas when opening the file, which may cause a delay.

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Include Charts

By default, charts are not saved. To include them: 
$writer->setIncludeCharts(true);
$writer->save('output.xlsx');

// Or using flags
$writer->save('output.xlsx', IWriter::SAVE_WITH_CHARTS);

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Combining Flags

Multiple flags can be combined: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\IWriter;

$writer->save(
    'output.xlsx',
    IWriter::SAVE_WITH_CHARTS | IWriter::DISABLE_PRECALCULATE_FORMULAE
);

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Format-Specific Options

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Xlsx Writer Options

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Office 2003 Compatibility

Enable compatibility mode for Office 2003: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xlsx;

$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
$writer->setOffice2003Compatibility(true);
$writer->save('output.xlsx');
Office 2003 compatibility mode disables some Office 2007+ features. Only use when necessary.

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Maximum Column Width

Restrict column widths to Excel’s UI limit (255): 
$writer = new Xlsx($spreadsheet);
$writer->setRestrictMaxColumnWidth(true);
$writer->save('output.xlsx');

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Xls Writer

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xls;

$writer = new Xls($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.xls');
The Xls format (BIFF) has limitations compared to Xlsx:
  • Maximum 65,536 rows
  • Limited styling options
  • No charts support
  • File size limitations

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CSV Writer

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Csv;

$writer = new Csv($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.csv');

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CSV Options

Customize delimiter, enclosure, and line endings: 
$writer = new Csv($spreadsheet);
$writer->setDelimiter(';');
$writer->setEnclosure('"');
$writer->setLineEnding("\r\n");
$writer->setSheetIndex(0);
$writer->save('output.csv');

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Control Enclosures

By default, all fields are enclosed. To enclose only when necessary: 
$writer->setEnclosureRequired(false);

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UTF-8 BOM

Add BOM for Excel compatibility with special characters: 
$writer->setUseBOM(true);
$writer->save('output.csv');

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Output Encoding

Change output encoding: 
$writer->setUseBOM(false);
$writer->setOutputEncoding('SJIS-WIN');
$writer->save('output.csv');

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Variable Columns

Allow different number of columns per row: 
$writer->setVariableColumns(true);
$writer->save('output.csv');

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HTML Writer

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Html;

$writer = new Html($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.html');

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Write All Sheets

By default, only the first sheet is written: 
$writer->writeAllSheets();
$writer->save('output.html');

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Write Specific Sheet

$writer->setSheetIndex(1);
$writer->save('output.html');

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Set Images Root

Configure image paths: 
$writer->setImagesRoot('https://example.com/images/');
$writer->save('output.html');

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Generate HTML Parts

Generate specific HTML components: 
$writer = new Html($spreadsheet);

$header = $writer->generateHTMLHeader();
$styles = $writer->generateStyles(false); // false = without <style> tags
$sheetData = $writer->generateSheetData();
$footer = $writer->generateHTMLFooter();

// Custom HTML assembly
echo $header;
echo '<style>' . $styles . '</style>';
echo $sheetData;
echo $footer;

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Edit HTML Callback

Modify HTML before saving: 
function customizeHtml(string $html): string
{
    return str_replace(
        '{border: 1px solid black;}',
        '{border: 2px dashed blue;}',
        $html
    );
}

$writer->setEditHtmlCallback('customizeHtml');
$writer->save('output.html');

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ODS Writer

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Ods;

$writer = new Ods($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.ods');

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Working with Templates

Read an existing file, modify it, and save: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

// Load template
$spreadsheet = IOFactory::load('template.xlsx');

// Modify data
$worksheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();
$worksheet->setCellValue('A1', 'New Value');
$worksheet->setCellValue('B2', 'Updated');

// Save as same or different format
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'Xlsx');
$writer->save('filled-template.xlsx');
You can load an .xlsx file and save as .xls, or vice versa. PhpSpreadsheet handles format conversion automatically.

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Disk Caching

For very large files, enable disk caching to reduce memory usage: 
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'Xlsx');
$writer->setUseDiskCaching(true, '/tmp/phpspreadsheet');
$writer->save('large-file.xlsx');

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Number Formatting for CSV/HTML

Control decimal and thousands separators: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Shared\StringHelper;

// English format
StringHelper::setDecimalSeparator('.');
StringHelper::setThousandsSeparator(',');

// German format
StringHelper::setDecimalSeparator(',');
StringHelper::setThousandsSeparator('.');

$writer = new Csv($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.csv');
These are global settings that affect all CSV, HTML, and PDF exports in your application.

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Registering Custom Writers

Register your own writer implementation: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

IOFactory::registerWriter('Custom', MyCustomWriter::class);

$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'Custom');
$writer->save('output.custom');

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Error Handling

Always handle potential errors: 
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Exception;

try {
    $writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'Xlsx');
    $writer->save('output.xlsx');
} catch (Exception $e) {
    die('Error saving file: ' . $e->getMessage());
}

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Best Practices

Performance

  • Disable formula pre-calculation for large files if not needed
  • Use disk caching for very large spreadsheets
  • Only include charts when necessary
  • Process data in batches for huge datasets

Format Selection

  • Use Xlsx for modern Excel compatibility with full features
  • Use Xls only if compatibility with Excel 97-2003 is required
  • Use CSV for simple data exchange without formatting
  • Use HTML for web display
  • Use PDF for read-only distribution

Memory Management

  • Clear spreadsheet when done: $spreadsheet->disconnectWorksheets()
  • Unset large variables after saving
  • Use disk caching for files > 50MB

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