Practical spreadsheet workflows
PHP Excel Use Cases
Choose a practical spreadsheet workflow and move from a complete example to the exact reading, writing, import, large-file, or migration guide you need.
Choose the spreadsheet outcome#
Inspect a workbook, select a worksheet, stream rows, collect arrays, and access direct cells.
→WRITEWrite ExcelTurn application data into a clean XLSX workbook with headers, styles, filters, and safe output paths.
→IMPORTImport ExcelValidate uploads, confirm headers, preview rows, and import normalized records into a PDO database.
→LARGEProcess large filesStream and chunk large XLSX workbooks without collecting the complete file in PHP memory.
→MIGRATEMigrate from PHPExcelMap historical PHPExcel patterns to Composer, MnbExcel, read sessions, and workbook builders on PHP 8.
→How every use-case page is organized#
| Section | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Goal | The application outcome and the shortest safe path to it. |
| Complete example | A copy-ready script using the full package, with individual XLSX tabs where applicable. |
| Developer contract | Return type, execution behavior, memory behavior, empty check, and expected exceptions. |
| Expected output | The exact PHP or workbook shape the example is designed to produce. |
| Common mistakes | Incorrect patterns and the corrected version. |
| Production notes | Limits, validation, storage, error handling, and operational boundaries. |
Use task pages first, API pages second#
Start with a use case to understand the whole workflow. Follow links to reading, writing, import, or reference pages only when you need a deeper option or exact method behavior.