MNB PHPExcelDeveloper Guide
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XLS library

Standalone XLS capabilities

Native BIFF8 features for Excel 97–2003 workbooks.

The XLS library independently reads and writes OLE/CFB containers and BIFF8 workbook streams. It is intended for legacy Excel compatibility without PhpSpreadsheet.

Package
1
XLS
Capabilities
10
Documented for this library
Feature groups
4
Package-specific responsibilities

Updated

LevelAll levelsReading time4 minPackagemnb/mnb-phpexcel-xls

What you will learn

  • Understand the native BIFF8 feature set.
  • Identify legacy-format limits before choosing XLS.
  • Open the correct XLS guide for reading or writing.

What this library includes

This page is limited to mnb/mnb-phpexcel-xls. Features from the monolithic package or another individual library are not mixed into this list.

Installcomposer require mnb/mnb-phpexcel-xls:^2.0
Primary APIMnb\PHPExcel\Format\Xls
ScopeIndividual libraryFocused dependency and package-local API

Package quick start

The example uses the individual-library API documented by this feature page.

xls-features.php
<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use Mnb\PHPExcel\Format\Xls;

$rows = Xls::read('customers.xls')
    ->sheet('Customers')
    ->withHeaderRow(1)
    ->rows();

Xls::write($rows, 'customers-copy.xls');

Supported capabilities

Search the capabilities owned by this package and open the matching package-specific guide.

10 of 10 features

Container1 capabilities
FeatureWhat it doesTypical useSupportGuide
Native OLE/CFB processingRead and write compound-file headers, allocation tables, directories, and workbook streams.Independent legacy Excel supportSupportedOpen guide
Reading5 capabilities
FeatureWhat it doesTypical useSupportGuide
Worksheet discovery and selectionList BIFF8 worksheets and select them by name or index.Multi-sheet legacy filesSupportedOpen guide
Unicode shared stringsDecode BIFF8 shared strings, including continuation records.International dataSupportedOpen guide
Headers, row slices, and projectionNormalize rows and retain only required columns or row ranges.Legacy importsSupportedOpen guide
Formulas and cached resultsReturn formula representations, cached values, or both.Legacy calculationsSupportedOpen guide
Dates, formats, and common stylesInterpret date systems, number formats, XF records, widths, heights, and basic style data.Business reportsPartially supportedOpen guide
Writing3 capabilities
FeatureWhat it doesTypical useSupportGuide
Native BIFF8 workbook exportWrite rows, multiple sheets, shared strings, numbers, dates, booleans, and formulas.Excel 97–2003 deliverySupportedOpen guide
Merged cells and dimensionsWrite merged ranges, row heights, column widths, and pane settings.Structured legacy reportsSupportedOpen guide
Basic styles and number formatsApply the supported BIFF8 formatting subset.Readable legacy reportsPartially supportedOpen guide
Compatibility1 capabilities
FeatureWhat it doesTypical useSupportGuide
BIFF8 limits and validationEnforce worksheet and record constraints and expose unsupported feature errors.Predictable legacy outputSupportedOpen guide

Feature boundaries

These limits prevent individual-library documentation from being confused with the complete monolithic package.

CapabilityStatusWhat to use instead
Charts, pivots, media, and commentsNot supported: Use XLSX when advanced presentation objects are required.Use XLSX when advanced presentation objects are required.
Password-to-open encryptionNot supported: The current native XLS package does not provide Office password encryption.The current native XLS package does not provide Office password encryption.
Modern worksheet capacityPartially supported: BIFF8 remains limited to the Excel 97–2003 row and column limits.BIFF8 remains limited to the Excel 97–2003 row and column limits.