Feature Overview

Feature Overview

Aspose.Cells FOSS for Go’s API centers on Workbook, Worksheet, Cells, and Cell. This guide walks through the library’s other capabilities: styling, data validation, tables, pictures, and streaming reads for large files.

Cell Styling

Group Font, Fill, Alignment, and Border settings into a reusable Style, then apply it to a cell with Cell.SetStyle:

wb := cells_foss.NewWorkbook()
ws := wb.Worksheets[0]

boldStyle := cells_foss.NewStyle()
boldStyle.Font.Bold = true
boldStyle.Font.Size = 12

highlightStyle := cells_foss.NewStyle()
highlightStyle.Font.Color = "FFFFFFFF"
highlightStyle.Font.Bold = true
highlightStyle.Fill = &cells_foss.Fill{
	Type:  cells_foss.FillTypeSolid,
	Color: "FF4472C4",
}

cell, _ := ws.Cells().Get("A1")
cell.SetStyle(boldStyle)

Alignment controls Horizontal, Vertical, and WrapText; Border controls the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right rule visibility plus Color.

Data Validation

Worksheet.AddDataValidation attaches a validation rule to a cell range. The DataValidation struct carries the rule Type, one or two Formula values, and error-message fields:

wb := cells_foss.NewWorkbook()
ws := wb.Worksheets[0]

dv := &cells_foss.DataValidation{
	Type:             cells_foss.DataValidationTypeList,
	Formula1:         `"Apple,Banana,Cherry,Dragonfruit"`,
	AllowBlank:       true,
	ShowErrorMessage: true,
	ErrorTitle:       "Invalid Fruit",
	ErrorMessage:     "Please pick a fruit from the list.",
	ErrorStyle:       cells_foss.ErrorStyleStop,
}
ws.AddDataValidation("A2:A10", dv)

A whole-number range validation uses DataValidationTypeWhole with Formula1/Formula2 as the lower and upper bounds.

Tables

Worksheet.AddTable creates a structured Table over a range, with an optional header row and a named table style:

wb := cells_foss.NewWorkbook()
ws := wb.Worksheets[0]

tbl := ws.AddTable("A1:F6")
tbl.HasHeaderRow = true
tbl.StyleName = "TableStyleMedium6"

Retrieve an existing table by name with Worksheet.GetTable(name).

Pictures

Worksheet.AddPicture embeds an image; Picture.SetAnchor(row, col) positions it:

wb := cells_foss.NewWorkbook()
ws := wb.Worksheets[0]
imageBytes := []byte{} // populate with real image bytes before use

pic := &cells_foss.Picture{Data: imageBytes, Format: "png"}
ws.AddPicture(pic)
pic.SetAnchor(5, 0)

Streaming Large Files

StreamingReader reads a worksheet row by row through a callback, so a multi-thousand-row workbook never has to be fully loaded into memory:

path := "outputfiles/large_workbook.xlsx"
sr := cells_foss.NewStreamingReader(path)
err := sr.ProcessRows("Sheet1", func(rowIdx int, cells map[string]string) error {
	// process one row at a time
	return nil
})
if err != nil {
	fmt.Printf("Error streaming: %v\n", err)
}

Tips and Best Practices

• Use StreamingReader instead of a full Workbook load when a file may have thousands of rows and you only need to read, not modify, it.
• Build a Style once and reuse it across many cells rather than constructing a new one per cell.
• Cell.SetFormula stores a formula string verbatim — it is evaluated by Excel or LibreOffice on open, not by the library at save time.
• Check the error return value from Save, AddDataValidation, and CSV import/export calls — spreadsheet I/O can fail on invalid paths or malformed input.

Common Issues

FAQ

Does the library evaluate formulas itself?

No. Cell.SetFormula/GetFormula store a formula string that Excel or LibreOffice evaluates when the file is opened.

Can I stream-write large workbooks, not just stream-read them?

StreamingReader covers streaming reads. Writing large workbooks currently goes through the standard in-memory Workbook/Worksheet API.

Does AddTable apply an auto-filter automatically?

This is not confirmed in the current API surface — only HasHeaderRow and StyleName are documented Table fields. Verify against the generated .xlsx file if this matters for your use case.

API Reference Summary

See Also

• Aspose.Cells — Enterprise Product Family