How to read a downdown values in an Excel using PHPExcel

Question

I have a excel file where one column has a dropdown values.I am using PhpExcel so i need to read the dropdown values from it.How can this be achieved.

when i am reading the rows as

$rowData = $sheet->rangeToArray('A' . $row . ':' . $highestColumn . $row,NULL,TRUE,FALSE);

I m just getting the text when i dump the row i need the dropdown values too.

Any help will be appreciated.

Answer 1

If you need all the values from a cell dropdown, not simply the selected value, then you have to read the dropdown itself. This is a datavalidation object.

Assuming that the dropdown is in cell B1:

$objValidation = $objPHPExcel->getActiveSheet()
    ->getCell('B1')
    ->getDataValidation();

will return the data validation object

You can then read the rules for that data validation using methods like getType() , getOperator() , getFormula1() and getFormula2() .... note that not all data validations are dropdowns; you'd be looking for a type of PHPExcel_Cell_DataValidation::TYPE_LIST for a dropdown list. You might also need to use the calculation engine to evaluate the formula used to build the list if it was derived from data elsewhere in the spreadsheet.

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Alternatively, because it's unclear from your question, it could be a autofilter dropdown that you're asking about. You can retrieve the autofilter object for a worksheet using:

$autoFilter = $objPHPExcel->getActiveSheet()
    ->getAutoFilter();

Again, there are a series of methods for accessing the filter rules for each column.

$autoFilter->getColumn('C');

Will return the autofilter rules for column C , with methods like getFilterType() and getRules() providing the rule definitions for that autofilter.

The autofilter examples like 10autofilter-selection-display.php show how to define autofilters; but there is also a useful showHideRows() method that can be used the filter to hide/display the rows that match those rules