PHP create xls from array

Question

I try to create xls file from array and download it with the browser with this code:

$sheet = array(
    array(
      'a1 data',
      'b1 data',
      'c1 data',
      'd1 data',
    )
  );

  $doc = new PHPExcel();
  $doc->getActiveSheet()->fromArray($sheet, null, 'A1');

  header('Content-Type: application/vnd.ms-excel');
  header('Content-Disposition: attachment;filename="your_name.xls"');
  header('Cache-Control: max-age=0');

  // Do your stuff here

  $writer = PHPExcel_IOFactory::createWriter($doc, 'Excel5');

The problem is that i get a empty file.Any idea what can be the issue?

It looks like you're missing a line of code: you're creating an object `$writer`, but then not actually doing anything with it. — IMSoP, Apr 28 '14 at 18:25

score 23 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 15 '17 at 00:01

23

Please try : As per official documentation, you first need to save the file with the object writer

Please let me know if this is what you wanted

<?php
date_default_timezone_set('America/Los_Angeles');

require_once('PHPExcel.php');

$sheet = array(
    array(
      'a1 data',
      'b1 data',
      'c1 data',
      'd1 data',
    )
  );

  $doc = new PHPExcel();
  $doc->setActiveSheetIndex(0);

  $doc->getActiveSheet()->fromArray($sheet, null, 'A1');
header('Content-Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet');
header('Content-Disposition: attachment;filename="your_name.xls"');
header('Cache-Control: max-age=0');

  // Do your stuff here
  $writer = PHPExcel_IOFactory::createWriter($doc, 'Excel5');

$writer->save('php://output');
?>

edited Oct 15 '17 at 00:01

Anbuselvan Rocky

606
6
22

answered Apr 28 '14 at 18:29

Paul Bele

1,514
1
11
12

2

Hi guys this example saved my ass but it do not work in firefox, and safari do you know what can I do about it? – Alejandro Oct 09 '14 at 15:45
mimetype is wrong for `Excel5` it should be `application/vnd.ms-excel`. `application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet` is for `Excel2007` files with xlsx extension. – But those new buttons though.. Mar 23 '18 at 04:41

score 8 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 09 '17 at 13:09

Sometimes we just can't use an external library/class like PHPExcel, in this case, I recommend you to use HTML table and change headers as xls, you can create it easily from array, very simple example:

<?php
date_default_timezone_set('America/Los_Angeles');

$sheet = array(
    array(
      'a1 data',
      'b1 data',
      'c1 data',
      'd1 data',
    )
);

$table = '<table><tbody><tr><td>A1</td><td>B1</td><td>C1</td><td>D1</td></tr>';
foreach ($sheet as $row) {
    $table.= '<tr><td>'.  implode('</td><td>', $row) . '</td></tr>';
}
$table.= '</tbody></table>';

header('Content-Encoding: UTF-8');
header ("Expires: Mon, 26 Jul 1997 05:00:00 GMT");
header ("Last-Modified: " . gmdate("D,d M YH:i:s") . " GMT");
header ("Cache-Control: no-cache, must-revalidate");
header ("Pragma: no-cache");
header ("Content-type: application/x-msexcel;charset=UTF-8");
header ("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=productsExport.xls" );

echo $table;
?>

This is pretty cool, I never knew excel would open table markup like this — But those new buttons though.., Apr 08 '19 at 14:35
For a simple one-off, this is an excellent solution that doesn't require any external dependencies. Would recommend. — Falgantil, Jan 23 '23 at 09:02

Saurabh Chandra Patel · Answer 3 · 2017-11-16T05:23:29.680

        $header = ['c1.', 'c2', 'c3', 'c4', 'c5', 'c6', 'c7', 'c8', 'c9', 'c10', 'c11']; 
        header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="data'.date('d-m-y').'.xls"');
        header("Content-Type: application/vnd.ms-excel");

        $output = fopen('php://output', 'w');
        fputcsv($output,  $header  , "\t");
        foreach ($Data as $value) { 
            $tmp_data = [];  
            array_push($tmp_data, $value['c1']);
            array_push($tmp_data, $value['c2']);
            array_push($tmp_data, $value['c3']);
            array_push($tmp_data, $value['c4']);
            array_push($tmp_data, $value['c5'] );
            array_push($tmp_data, $value['c6']);
            array_push($tmp_data, $value['c7']);
            array_push($tmp_data, $value['c8']);
            array_push($tmp_data,  $value['c9']);
            array_push($tmp_data, $value['c10']); 
            array_push($tmp_data, $value['c11']);
            fputcsv($output,  $tmp_data ,  "\t" );  
        }
        fclose($output);

score -1 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 25 '16 at 09:55

        $list=array();
        $list['tableheading'] =array('No','Name','Age','Sex');
        $fichier = 'sample.xls';
        header( "Content-Type: text/csv;charset=utf-8" );
        header( "Content-Disposition: attachment;filename=\"$fichier\"" );
        header("Pragma: no-cache");
        header("Expires: 0");
        $fp= fopen('php://output', 'w');
        fputcsv($fp,$list['tableheading'] );
        $slno=1;
        foreach($databasefetch AS $tabledata) {              
            $data['list']=array($slno,$tabledata['name'],$tabledata['Age'],$tabledata['sex']);
            fputcsv($fp, $data['list']);
            $slno++;
        }
        fclose($fp);
        exit();

code-only answers are discouraged. Please, consider adding some information. — Enigo, Jun 25 '16 at 09:58
Also this is generating a csv file, not a real xls format. So this method will fail when the viewer is expecting a real xls format. — Daantje, Jan 26 '17 at 18:07

PHP create xls from array

4 Answers4