Write/Read Excel Cells

I wonder if anybody has advice on file control where i want to actually read in the data from an excel spreadsheet, to my program for analysis. I have written data out to .xls no worries but it always writes the data just down the first column on the sheet, what if i wanted to fill the sheet across five cells then down ten for example.
My main query is with reading the data though, i will be copying and pasting figures into the sheet, nothing fancy, just numbers,
they will be divided into 10 blocks, or maybe ten sheets/files if thats easier.
thanks for any ideas!

You are MUCH better off reading the excel data in a format of CSV or other text-based format. The internal excel format is very complex, and unless you want really complex code and lots of hard reverse-engineering efforts, you are better off saving your file in a format that is reasonably easy to read [such as "Comma Separated Vector", CSV - just read the parts between the commas, and stuff it into a vector].

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Mats

Unless you use ODBC?

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Originally Posted by Elysia

Unless you use ODBC?

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Yes, that would work too - and make it easy on a transisition to using for instance MS SQL Server or mySQL to store a large(r) database in the future. Added complication is that you have to have a SQL server of some sort [MS Access will do fine tho'].

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Mats

There is a very basic example of how to create, write and read an Excel spreadsheet at this link

>> I have written data out to .xls no worries but it always writes the data just down the first column on the sheet
How are you doing that?

gg

thanks for the info folks, i am back from hols :-) so have not posted any replies.. in answer to Codeplug i just specify the output file as filename.xls and heypresto, there it is, i open excel and as i say, the output from the program is in the A column cells, sent by the loop.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rogster001

thanks for the info folks, i am back from hols :-) so have not posted any replies.. in answer to Codeplug i just specify the output file as filename.xls and heypresto, there it is, i open excel and as i say, the output from the program is in the A column cells, sent by the loop.

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How are you creating this file? It sounds like you are getting a number of lines, instead of columns [and it's most likely a text file called .xls?]

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Mats

no, really, if i go to my c drive or location i specified for the file to be created it will show as an Excel icon, and open as regular spreadsheet, i see wot you saying though, maybe Excel just obliges and opens this txt file for me with the data organised as i described. i havenot used this for a while, its from some old work and i was thinking if i could use it in new plans.

The icon in Explorer is strictly based on the filename itself, not on the content.

Say I do:

Code:

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c:\>touch foo.xls

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that creates an empty file called foo.xls - and it shows an Excel logo for that file - but it's certainly not a valid Excels Spreadsheet.

If you open the file with Notepad, does the file show as text then?

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Mats

not tried it, files not here, i will check later though, so you think excel is just being obliging and opening it anyway?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rogster001

not tried it, files not here, i will check later though, so you think excel is just being obliging and opening it anyway?

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I would think so. Excel certainly happily opens my "foo.xls" that is the empty file from above.

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Mats

hehe , ok, hey whats this 'foo' lark i keep seeing when people are just quoting file examples...acronym for something i suppose?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foo

hehe, the files open fine with notepad, simple text.

So to make columns, all you need to do is put several values with commas inbetween them, e.g.:

Code:

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1.7, 2.8, 9.3, 14.6
1.2, 12.0, 18.6, 43.9

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Mats