Reading Excel File Content in C++

A detailed guide on reading the content of an Excel file in C++ using the `xlnt` library. This article will help you understand how to retrieve data from an Excel file and process it in your C++ program.

In this article, we will learn how to use the xlnt library to read content from an Excel file (.xlsx) in C++. This library provides easy-to-use functions for retrieving and processing data in Excel files.

C++ code

#include <iostream>
#include <xlnt/xlnt.hpp>

int main() {
    // Open Excel file
    xlnt::workbook wb;
    wb.load("path/to/your/file.xlsx");

    // Get the first sheet
    xlnt::worksheet ws = wb.active_sheet();

    // Read data from the sheet
    for (const auto &row : ws.rows(false)) {
        for (const auto &cell : row) {
            std::cout << cell.to_string() << "\t"; // Print cell value
        }
        std::cout << std::endl; // New line after each row
    }

    return 0;
}

Detailed explanation

• #include <xlnt/xlnt.hpp>: Include the xlnt library, which helps in working with Excel files.
• xlnt::workbook wb;: Initialize a workbook object to work with the Excel file.
• wb.load("path/to/your/file.xlsx");: Open the Excel file specified by the path.
• xlnt::worksheet ws = wb.active_sheet();: Get the current (first) sheet in the workbook.
• for (const auto &row : ws.rows(false)) {...}: Iterate through all the rows in the sheet.
• for (const auto &cell : row) {...}: Iterate through each cell in the row.
• cell.to_string(): Convert the cell value to a string and print it to the console.

System Requirements:

• C++11 or later
• xlnt library (can be installed via vcpkg or downloaded from GitHub)

How to install the libraries needed to run the C++ code above:

1. Install xlnt via vcpkg:

   vcpkg install xlnt
   

2. Add the xlnt include path to your C++ project.

Tips:

• Ensure that the Excel file you want to read exists at the specified path.
• Check the file format, as this library primarily supports .xlsx format.

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