Working with Spreadsheet Management

Working with Spreadsheet Management

The Workbook class is the entry point for all spreadsheet operations in Aspose.Cells FOSS for C++. It provides methods to create new workbooks, load existing XLSX files, manage worksheets, and save the result.

Creating a New Workbook

Instantiate Workbook to create an empty workbook. A default worksheet is created automatically.

#include "aspose/cells_foss/Workbook.h"
#include "aspose/cells_foss/Worksheet.h"

using namespace Aspose::Cells_FOSS;

int main() {
    Workbook workbook;
    Worksheet& sheet = workbook.GetWorksheets()[0];
    sheet.SetName("Summary");
    workbook.Save("output.xlsx");
    return 0;
}

Loading an Existing Workbook

Pass a file path to the Workbook constructor to load an existing XLSX file. After loading, worksheets and cell data are accessible immediately.

Workbook workbook("existing.xlsx");
Worksheet& sheet = workbook.GetWorksheets()[0];
// Access or modify cells here
workbook.Save("modified.xlsx");

Configuring Worksheet Properties

The Worksheet class exposes display and protection properties. Use these to configure sheet visibility, grid display, zoom, and tab color.

Worksheet& sheet = workbook.GetWorksheets()[0];
sheet.SetName("Data");
sheet.SetShowGridlines(false);
sheet.SetShowRowColumnHeaders(true);
sheet.SetZoom(80);

Protecting and Unprotecting a Worksheet

Call Worksheet::Protect to lock a sheet against edits, and Worksheet::Unprotect to remove protection:

sheet.Protect("password");
// ... distribute the workbook ...
sheet.Unprotect("password");

Ensuring Unique Sheet and Defined-Name Scope

When adding multiple worksheets programmatically, use Workbook::EnsureUniqueSheetName to avoid name collisions. Use Workbook::EnsureValidDefinedNameScope to validate that defined names are scoped correctly.

workbook.EnsureUniqueSheetName();
workbook.EnsureUniqueDefinedName();

Saving a Workbook

Call Workbook::Save(fileName) to write the workbook to disk. Multiple overloads accept a file name, a stream, or an explicit SaveFormat.

workbook.Save("products.xlsx");

Tips and Best Practices

• Always call Workbook::Dispose() when done with a workbook to release unmanaged resources.
• Worksheet names must be unique within a workbook — use EnsureUniqueSheetName after batch additions.
• Set Worksheet::SetShowGridlines(false) for presentation-style sheets to improve readability.
• Use Worksheet::SetZoom(value) to set a default zoom level (percentage) for worksheet views.
• Tab colors assigned via Worksheet::SetTabColor help users distinguish worksheets visually.

Common Issues

API Reference Summary

See Also

• Aspose.Cells — Enterprise Documentation