PhpSpreadsheet/docs/faq.md

# Frequently asked questions

The up-to-date F.A.Q. page for PHPExcel can be found on [http://www.codeplex.com/PHPExcel/Wiki/View.aspx?title=FAQ&referringTitle=Requirements](http://www.codeplex.com/PHPExcel/Wiki/View.aspx?title=FAQ&referringTitle=Requirements).

## There seems to be a problem with character encoding...

It is necessary to use UTF-8 encoding for all texts in PhpSpreadsheet. If the script uses different encoding then you can convert those texts with PHP's iconv() or mb_convert_encoding() functions.

## PHP complains about ZipArchive not being found

Make sure you meet all requirements, especially php_zip extension should be enabled.

The ZipArchive class is only required when reading or writing formats that use Zip compression (Xlsx and Ods). Since version 1.7.6 the PCLZip library has been bundled with PhpSpreadsheet as an alternative to the ZipArchive class.

This can be enabled by calling:

```php
\PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Settings::setZipClass(\PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Settings::PCLZIP);
```

*before* calling the save method of the Xlsx Writer.

You can revert to using ZipArchive by calling:

```php
\PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Settings::setZipClass(\PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Settings::ZIPARCHIVE);
```

At present, this only allows you to write Xlsx files without the need for ZipArchive (not to read Xlsx or Ods)

## Excel 2007 cannot open the file generated on Windows

"Excel found unreadable content in '*.xlsx'. Do you want to recover the contents of this workbook? If you trust the source of this workbook, click Yes."

Some older versions of the 5.2.x php_zip extension on Windows contain an error when creating ZIP files. The version that can be found on [http://snaps.php.net/win32/php5.2-win32-latest.zip](http://snaps.php.net/win32/php5.2-win32-latest.zip) should work at all times.

Alternatively, upgrading to at least PHP 5.2.9 should solve the problem.

If you can't locate a clean copy of ZipArchive, then you can use the PCLZip library as an alternative when writing Xlsx files, as described above.

## Fatal error: Allowed memory size of xxx bytes exhausted (tried to allocate yyy bytes) in zzz on line aaa

PhpSpreadsheet holds an "in memory" representation of a spreadsheet, so it is susceptible to PHP's memory limitations. The memory made available to PHP can be increased by editing the value of the memory_limit directive in your php.ini file, or by using ini_set('memory_limit', '128M') within your code (ISP permitting).

Some Readers and Writers are faster than others, and they also use differing amounts of memory. You can find some indication of the relative performance and memory usage for the different Readers and Writers, over the different versions of PhpSpreadsheet, on the [discussion board](http://phpexcel.codeplex.com/Thread/View.aspx?ThreadId=234150).

If you've already increased memory to a maximum, or can't change your memory limit, then [this discussion](http://phpexcel.codeplex.com/Thread/View.aspx?ThreadId=242712) on the board describes some of the methods that can be applied to reduce the memory usage of your scripts using PhpSpreadsheet.

## Protection on my worksheet is not working?

When you make use of any of the worksheet protection features (e.g. cell range protection, prohibiting deleting rows, ...), make sure you enable worksheet security. This can for example be done like this:

```php
$spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()->getProtection()->setSheet(true);
```

## Feature X is not working with Reader_Y / Writer_Z

Not all features of PhpSpreadsheet are implemented in all of the Reader / Writer classes. This is mostly due to underlying libraries not supporting a specific feature or not having implemented a specific feature.

For example autofilter is not implemented in PEAR Spreadsheet_Excel_writer, which is the base of our Xls writer.

We are slowly building up a list of features, together with the different readers and writers that support them, in the "Functionality Cross-Reference.xls" file in the /Documentation folder.

## Formulas don't seem to be calculated in Excel2003 using compatibility pack?

This is normal behaviour of the compatibility pack, Xlsx displays this correctly. Use \PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xls if you really need calculated values, or force recalculation in Excel2003.

## Setting column width is not 100% accurate

Trying to set column width, I experience one problem. When I open the file in Excel, the actual width is 0.71 less than it should be.

The short answer is that PhpSpreadsheet uses a measure where padding is included. See section: "Setting a column's width" for more details.

## How do I use PhpSpreadsheet with my framework

 - There are some instructions for using PhpSpreadsheet with Joomla on the [Joomla message board](http://http:/forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=304&t=433060)
 - A page of advice on using [PhpSpreadsheet in the Yii framework](http://www.yiiframework.com/wiki/101/how-to-use-phpexcel-external-library-with-yii/)
 - [The Bakery](http://bakery.cakephp.org/articles/melgior/2010/01/26/simple-excel-spreadsheet-helper) has some helper classes for reading and writing with PhpSpreadsheet within CakePHP
 - Integrating [PhpSpreadsheet into Kohana 3](http://www.flynsarmy.com/2010/07/phpexcel-module-for-kohana-3/) and [Интеграция PHPExcel и Kohana Framework][http://szpargalki.blogspot.com/2011/02/phpexcel-kohana-framework.html]
 - Using [PhpSpreadsheet with TYPO3](http://typo3.org/documentation/document-library/extension-manuals/phpexcel_library/1.1.1/view/toc/0/)

## Joomla Autoloader interferes with PhpSpreadsheet Autoloader

Thanks to peterrlynch for the following advice on resolving issues between the [PhpSpreadsheet autoloader and Joomla Autoloader](http://phpexcel.codeplex.com/discussions/211925)


### Tutorials

 - [English PHPExcel tutorial](http://openxmldeveloper.org)
 - [French PHPExcel tutorial](http://g-ernaelsten.developpez.com/tutoriels/excel2007/)
 - [Russian PHPExcel Blog Postings](http://www.web-junior.net/sozdanie-excel-fajjlov-s-pomoshhyu-phpexcel/)
 - [A Japanese-language introduction to PHPExcel](http://journal.mycom.co.jp/articles/2009/03/06/phpexcel/index.html)