Skip Menu |

This queue is for tickets about the Spreadsheet-WriteExcel CPAN distribution.

Maintainer(s)' notes

If you are reporting a bug in Spreadsheet::WriteExcel here are some pointers

1) State the issues as clearly and as concisely as possible. A simple program or Excel test file (see below) will often explain the issue better than a lot of text.

2) Provide information on your system, version of perl and module versions. The following program will generate everything that is required. Put this information in your bug report.

    #!/usr/bin/perl -w

    print "\n    Perl version   : $]";
    print "\n    OS name        : $^O";
    print "\n    Module versions: (not all are required)\n";

    my @modules = qw(
                      Spreadsheet::WriteExcel
                      Parse::RecDescent
                      File::Temp
                      OLE::Storage_Lite
                      IO::Stringy
                      Spreadsheet::ParseExcel
                      Scalar::Util
                      Unicode::Map
                    );

    for my $module (@modules) {
        my $version;
        eval "require $module";

        if (not $@) {
            $version = $module->VERSION;
            $version = '(unknown)' if not defined $version;
        }
        else {
            $version = '(not installed)';
        }

        printf "%21s%-24s\t%s\n", "", $module, $version;
    }

    __END__

3) Upgrade to the latest version of Spreadsheet::WriteExcel (or at least test on a system with an upgraded version). The issue you are reporting may already have been fixed.

4) Create a small but complete example program that demonstrates your problem. The program should be as small as possible. At the same time it should be a complete program that generates an Excel file. If the Spreadsheet::WriteExcel section is part of a much larger program then simplify it down to the essentials. Simulate any DB reads with an array.

5) Say if you tested with Excel, OpenOffice, Gnumeric or something else. Say which version of that application you used.

6) If you are submitting a patch you should check with the author whether the issue has already been patched or if a fix is in the works. Patches should be accompanied by test cases.

Asking a question

If you would like to ask a more general question there is the Spreadsheet::WriteExcel Google Group.

Report information
The Basics
Id: 8526
Status: resolved
Priority: 0/
Queue: Spreadsheet-WriteExcel

People
Owner: jmcnamara [...] cpan.org
Requestors: grant_s [...] yahoo.com
Cc:
AdminCc:

Bug Information
Severity: Normal
Broken in: (no value)
Fixed in: (no value)



Subject: Using write_merge() renders write() cells invisible
Perl Module: Spreadsheet-WriteExcel-2.11.tar.gz Perl Version: This is perl, v5.8.5 built for sun4-solaris-thread-multi Operating System: SunOS cldlr20 5.8 Generic_117000-03 sun4u sparc SUNW,Sun-Fire-480R Script to reproduce the bug: #!/usr/bin/perl -w # invisible-cell - This script duplicates a bug in either # Spreadsheet::WriteExcel version 2.11 or MS Excel, depending on your # point of view. When merge_range() is used, cells written with write() # and using the same format are invisible when viewed with Microsoft Excel # 2002 (10.5815.3501) SP-1. Text in the cells is present, and can be made # visible by moving the cursor to the cell, scrolling till the cell is off # the display, then viewing the cell again. This bug is not present when # using either WriteExcel version 0.42 or OpenOffice Calc 1.1.1. use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel; $workbook = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new("invisible-cell.xls"); $format = $workbook->add_format(); $worksheet = $workbook->add_worksheet("Cell A2 Is Invisible"); # Cell A1: Perfectly normal. $worksheet->merge_range (0, 0, 0, 3, "Merged cell: visible", $format); # Cell A2: Invisible as long as the merged cell A1 was created and uses # the same format variable. But if we comment out the merge_range call # above, or use different format variables for merge_range and write, # the cell populated by write is visible. $worksheet->write (1, 0, "Normal cell: invisible", $format); $workbook->close();
[guest - Fri Nov 19 08:38:31 2004]: Show quoted text
> # invisible-cell - This script duplicates a bug in either > # Spreadsheet::WriteExcel version 2.11 or MS Excel, depending on your > # point of view.
Thanks for the detailed bug report. This is a known bug. It usually causes Excel to crash. It is highlighted in the merge_range() and BUGS section of the documentation. I had written a fix for this but it caused an incompatibility with Spreadsheet::ParseExcel so I had to roll it back out until I got more time to work on it (which unfortunately hasn't happened yet). It will fixed in a later release but for now use separate formats for merged and non-merged cells. John. --
The warning in recent version of the module in relation to merged cells and formats has eliminated instances of this bug so I'm going to close it. John. --