Features

Spreadsheet Format Export for Python

Aspose.Cells FOSS for Python provides straightforward export from Excel workbooks to every format the FOSS library supports. A single workbook.save() call handles the full output pipeline â€” XLSX, CSV, TSV, Markdown, or JSON â€” preserving cell values and formulas without requiring Microsoft Office.

Installation and Setup

pip install aspose-cells-foss

Import the core classes:

from aspose.cells_foss import Workbook, SaveFormat, Cell
from aspose.cells_foss import MarkdownHandler, MarkdownSaveOptions
from aspose.cells_foss import CSVSaveOptions

Supported Output Formats

Format	SaveFormat Constant	Notes
XLSX	`SaveFormat.XLSX`	Default format; preserves styles, formulas, charts
CSV	`SaveFormat.CSV`	Comma-separated; first sheet only by default
TSV	`SaveFormat.TSV`	Tab-separated values
Markdown	`SaveFormat.MARKDOWN`	Generates standard Markdown tables
JSON	`SaveFormat.JSON`	Structured JSON representation of sheet data

Important: Aspose.Cells FOSS does not support export to PDF, HTML, PNG, TIFF, DOCX, or PPTX. These are available in the commercial aspose-cells-python package only.

Usage Examples

Save to XLSX

The default format when saving with a .xlsx extension:

from aspose.cells_foss import Workbook, Cell

workbook = Workbook()
ws = workbook.worksheets[0]
ws.cells["A1"].value = "Product"
ws.cells["B1"].value = "Revenue"
ws.cells["A2"].value = "Widget A"
ws.cells["B2"].value = 12500
ws.cells["A3"].value = "Widget B"
ws.cells["B3"].value = 8750

workbook.save("report.xlsx")

Save to CSV

from aspose.cells_foss import Workbook, Cell, SaveFormat

workbook = Workbook()
ws = workbook.worksheets[0]
ws.cells["A1"].value = "Name"
ws.cells["B1"].value = "Age"
ws.cells["A2"].value = "Alice"
ws.cells["B2"].value = 30
ws.cells["A3"].value = "Bob"
ws.cells["B3"].value = 25

workbook.save("data.csv", SaveFormat.CSV)

Save to Markdown

Export tabular data as Markdown tables â€” useful for documentation and README generation:

from aspose.cells_foss import Workbook, Cell

workbook = Workbook()
ws = workbook.worksheets[0]
ws.cells["A1"].value = "First name"
ws.cells["B1"].value = "Age"
ws.cells["A2"].value = "Alice"
ws.cells["B2"].value = 30
ws.cells["A3"].value = "Bob"
ws.cells["B3"].value = 25

workbook.save_as_markdown("data.md")

Output is a standard Markdown table:

| First name | Age |
|---|---|
| Alice | 30 |
| Bob | 25 |

Markdown with Options

Use MarkdownSaveOptions for fine-grained control:

from aspose.cells_foss import Workbook, Cell, MarkdownSaveOptions

workbook = Workbook()
ws = workbook.worksheets[0]
ws.cells["A1"].value = "City"
ws.cells["B1"].value = "Population"
ws.cells["A2"].value = "London"
ws.cells["B2"].value = 9000000

options = MarkdownSaveOptions()
options.default_alignment = "center"
options.include_worksheet_name = False
options.header_level = 3
options.worksheet_index = 0

workbook.save_as_markdown("cities.md", options)

Markdown to String (in-memory)

Generate a Markdown string without writing to disk:

from aspose.cells_foss import Workbook, Cell, MarkdownHandler

workbook = Workbook()
ws = workbook.worksheets[0]
ws.cells["A1"].value = "Key"
ws.cells["B1"].value = "Value"
ws.cells["A2"].value = "version"
ws.cells["B2"].value = "26.3.0"

md_string = MarkdownHandler.save_markdown_to_string(workbook)
print(md_string)

Save to JSON

Export workbook data as structured JSON for API pipelines:

from aspose.cells_foss import Workbook, Cell, SaveFormat

workbook = Workbook()
ws = workbook.worksheets[0]
ws.cells["A1"].value = "Name"
ws.cells["B1"].value = "Score"
ws.cells["A2"].value = "Alice"
ws.cells["B2"].value = 95.5
ws.cells["A3"].value = "Bob"
ws.cells["B3"].value = 88.0

workbook.save("data.json", SaveFormat.JSON)

Load a CSV and Save as XLSX

from aspose.cells_foss import Workbook, SaveFormat

workbook = Workbook()
workbook.load_csv("input.csv")
workbook.save("output.xlsx", SaveFormat.XLSX)

Tips and Best Practices

Markdown Export

Use worksheet_index = -1 in MarkdownSaveOptions to export all sheets as separate Markdown tables in one file.
Use MarkdownHandler.save_markdown_to_string(wb) for in-memory use cases such as API responses.

CSV Export

CSV export writes the first worksheet by default. To export a specific sheet, use CSVSaveOptions with a sheet index.
Special characters (commas, newlines) in cell values are automatically quoted.

JSON Export

JSON export uses cell addresses as keys. Suitable for data interchange; complex formulas are stored as their string expressions.

Common Issues and Resolutions

Issue	Resolution
`ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'aspose.cells_foss'`	Run `pip install aspose-cells-foss` and confirm the virtual environment is active
`AttributeError` on `SaveFormat.PDF`	PDF export is not in the FOSS library; use `SaveFormat.MARKDOWN` or `SaveFormat.XLSX` instead
Empty Markdown output	Ensure at least one cell in the sheet has a value before saving
Encoding issues in Markdown	Use `MarkdownHandler.save_markdown_to_string()` for in-memory string output with full encoding control

Frequently Asked Questions

Which output formats does Aspose.Cells FOSS support? XLSX, CSV, TSV, Markdown, and JSON.

Can I convert to PDF? No. PDF export requires the commercial aspose-cells-python package. Aspose.Cells FOSS exports only to XLSX, CSV, TSV, Markdown, and JSON.

Can I load an existing XLSX and re-save it as Markdown? Yes. Workbook("existing.xlsx") loads the file, and workbook.save_as_markdown("output.md") exports it.

Is stream-based Markdown output supported? Yes. Use MarkdownHandler.save_markdown_to_string(workbook) to get the Markdown as a Python string without any file I/O.