Format Rows and Columns with Node.js via C++

When working with spreadsheets and adding data to rows or columns, you might need to change the height of rows or the width of columns. Sometimes, applying formatting on rows or columns means that the current height or width needs to change to show the data. Normally, users adjust row heights and column widths in a WYSIWYG environment using Microsoft Excel. But, with Aspose.Cells, developers can perform these operations at runtime.

Working with Rows

How to Adjust Row Height

Aspose.Cells provides a class, Workbook, that represents a Microsoft Excel file. The Workbook class contains a WorksheetCollection that allows access to each worksheet in the Excel file. A worksheet is represented by the Worksheet class. The Worksheet class provides a Cells collection that represents all cells in the worksheet.

The Cells collection provides several methods to manage rows or columns in a worksheet. Some of these are discussed below in more detail.

How to Set the Height of a Row

It is possible to set the height of a single row by calling the Cells collection’s setRowHeight(number, number) method. The setRowHeight(number, number) method takes the following parameters:

Row index – the index of the row that you’re changing the height of.
Row height – the row height to apply to the row.

try {
    const path = require("path");
    const fs = require("fs");
    const AsposeCells = require("aspose.cells.node");

    // The path to the documents directory.
    const dataDir = path.join(__dirname, "data");
    const filePath = path.join(dataDir, "book1.xls");
    // Creating a file stream containing the Excel file to be opened
    const fstream = fs.createReadStream(filePath);

    // Reading the file stream into a buffer
    const chunks = [];
    fstream.on('data', chunk => chunks.push(chunk));
    fstream.on('end', () => {
        const buffer = Buffer.concat(chunks);

        // Instantiating a Workbook object
        // Opening the Excel file through the file stream
        const workbook = new AsposeCells.Workbook(buffer);

        // Accessing the first worksheet in the Excel file
        const worksheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(0);

        // Setting the height of the second row to 13
        worksheet.getCells().setRowHeight(1, 13);

        // Saving the modified Excel file
        workbook.save(path.join(dataDir, "output.out.xls"));

        // Closing the file stream to free all resources
        fstream.close();
    });
} catch (e) {
    console.error(e);
}

How to Set the Height of All Rows in a Worksheet

If developers need to set the same row height for all rows in the worksheet, they can do it by using the setStandardHeight() method of the Cells collection.

Example:

const fs = require("fs");
const path = require("path");
const AsposeCells = require("aspose.cells.node");

// The path to the documents directory.
const dataDir = path.join(__dirname, "data");
const filePath = path.join(dataDir, "book1.xls");

// Creating a file stream containing the Excel file to be opened
const fstream = fs.readFileSync(filePath);

// Instantiating a Workbook object
// Opening the Excel file through the file stream
const workbook = new AsposeCells.Workbook(fstream);

// Accessing the first worksheet in the Excel file
const worksheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(0);

// Setting the height of all rows in the worksheet to 15
worksheet.getCells().setStandardHeight(15);

// Saving the modified Excel file
workbook.save(path.join(dataDir, "output.out.xls"));

// Note: Closing the file stream is unnecessary in this context as it's a
// synchronous read performed using fs.readFileSync, which does not require
// explicit closure. If using fs.createReadStream, you would handle it accordingly.

Working with Columns

How to Set the Width of a Column

Set the width of a column by calling the Cells collection’s setColumnWidth(number, number) method. The setColumnWidth(number, number) method takes the following parameters:

Column index – the index of the column that you’re changing the width of.
Column width – the desired column width.

const fs = require("fs");
const path = require("path");
const AsposeCells = require("aspose.cells.node");

// The path to the documents directory.
const dataDir = path.join(__dirname, "data");
const filePath = path.join(dataDir, "book1.xls");

// Creating a file stream containing the Excel file to be opened
const fstream = fs.readFileSync(filePath);

// Instantiating a Workbook object
// Opening the Excel file through the file stream
const workbook = new AsposeCells.Workbook(fstream);

// Accessing the first worksheet in the Excel file
const worksheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(0);

// Setting the width of the second column to 17.5
worksheet.getCells().setColumnWidth(1, 17.5);

// Saving the modified Excel file
workbook.save(path.join(dataDir, "output.out.xls"));

// No explicit close needed for fs.readFileSync

How to Set Column Width in Pixels

Set the width of a column by calling the Cells collection’s setColumnWidthPixel(number, number) method. The setColumnWidthPixel(number, number) method takes the following parameters:

Column index – the index of the column that you’re changing the width of.
Column width – the desired column width in pixels.

const path = require("path");
const AsposeCells = require("aspose.cells.node");

// Source directory
const sourceDir = path.join(__dirname, "data");
const outDir = path.join(__dirname, "output");

// Load source Excel file
const workbook = new AsposeCells.Workbook(path.join(sourceDir, "Book1.xlsx"));

// Access first worksheet
const worksheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(0);

// Set the width of the column in pixels
worksheet.getCells().setColumnWidthPixel(7, 200);

workbook.save(path.join(outDir, "SetColumnWidthInPixels_Out.xlsx"));

How to Set the Width of All Columns in a Worksheet

To set the same column width for all columns in the worksheet, use the setStandardWidth() method of the Cells collection.

const path = require("path");
const fs = require("fs");
const AsposeCells = require("aspose.cells.node");

// The path to the documents directory.
const dataDir = path.join(__dirname, "data");

// Creating a file stream containing the Excel file to be opened
const filePath = path.join(dataDir, "book1.xls");

// Instantiating a Workbook object
// Opening the Excel file
const workbook = new AsposeCells.Workbook(filePath);

// Accessing the first worksheet in the Excel file
const worksheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(0);

// Setting the width of all columns in the worksheet to 20.5
worksheet.getCells().setStandardWidth(20.5);

// Saving the modified Excel file
workbook.save(path.join(dataDir, "output.out.xls"));

// No explicit close needed in Node.js

Advanced topics

Manage Worksheets of Microsoft Excel files with Node.js via C++ Managing Ranges with Node.js via C++