using phpexcel in codeigniter

Question

i am using the phpexcel library to export my report to excel file. but i want to have my own excel file and use it with phpexcel. here is the code i used:

public function event_reportexcel($id)
{
    $this->load->library('excel');
    $this->excel->setActiveSheetIndex(0);
    $this->excel->getActiveSheet()->setTitle('test worksheet');
    $this->excel->getActiveSheet()->setCellValue('A1', 'This is just some text value');
    $this->excel->getActiveSheet()->getStyle('A1')->getFont()->setSize(20);
    $this->excel->getActiveSheet()->getStyle('A1')->getFont()->setBold(true);
    $this->excel->getActiveSheet()->mergeCells('A1:D1');
    $this->excel->getActiveSheet()->getStyle('A1')->getAlignment()->setHorizontal(PHPExcel_Style_Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER);

    $filename='just_some_random_name.xls'; //save our workbook as this file name
    header('Content-Type: application/vnd.ms-excel'); //mime type
    header('Content-Disposition: attachment;filename="'.$filename.'"'); //tell browser what's the file name
    header('Cache-Control: max-age=0'); //no cache


    $objWriter = PHPExcel_IOFactory::createWriter($this->excel, 'Excel5');  
    //force user to download the Excel file without writing it to server's HD
    $objWriter->save('php://output');
}

it will put my data in a new excel file, but i need this function to use a excel file as template.

Answer 1

You can open the file and edit it as you need then save it

$fileType = 'Excel5';
$fileName = 'testFile.xls';

// Read the file
$objReader = PHPExcel_IOFactory::createReader($fileType);
$objPHPExcel = $objReader->load($fileName);

// Change the file
$objPHPExcel->setActiveSheetIndex(0)
            ->setCellValue('A1', 'Hello')
            ->setCellValue('B1', 'World!');

// Write the file
$objWriter = PHPExcel_IOFactory::createWriter($objPHPExcel, $fileType);
$objWriter->save($fileName);

You can see this post for more details.