Writer Parameters
Overwrite Existing File
By default, this option is set to No, which means that features will be written to the original file. Select Yes to delete an existing file before writing out any features.
Exception: This option cannot be used to delete a destination file that is also the template file. In that case, the writer will append to the destination file, as if this option had been set to No.
Template File
If you specify a template file, the writer will make a copy of the template file in the location specified in the Destination Microsoft Excel File parameter. All operations will be performed on the copy: the template file specified remains unchanged.
Exception: If the template file is also the destination file, then it will be modified. It is not recommended to use the template file as the destination.
Note: The writer feature type option to Drop Existing Sheet/Named Range is ignored if you specify a template file, since the existing sheet/named range will always be replaced by the template sheet/named range. However, the writer feature type option to Truncate Existing Sheet/Named Range is applied to template sheets/named ranges before being copied to the destination file.
Template Sheet
When you specify a Template File, you can select one of the sheets as the template sheet. Click the browse button to view the list.
Named ranges that exist on the template sheet are not duplicated.
The writer feature type option to Drop Existing Sheet/Named Range is irrelevant if specifying a template sheet, since the existing sheet will always be replaced by the template sheet/named ranges. However, the writer feature type option to Truncate Existing Sheet/Named Range is applied to template sheets/named ranges before being copied to the destination file. To access writer feature type parameters, open the Feature Type dialog.
Sheet/Named Range Parameters
One writer can have multiple worksheets and/or named ranges created in a new or existing spreadsheet, including multiple named ranges on a single sheet.
Note: Worksheet names must be less than 31 characters in length.
Drop Existing Sheets/Named Ranges
- Drop sheet: Worksheets are deleted and recreated after all existing sheets. (The sheet order may change.)
- Drop named range: Formatting and data in the extents of the existing named range are lost, but formatting in cells that exist outside the named range is unaffected. Original extents of the named range are lost. A new named range is created using the numbers specified in the Feature Type parameters Named Range Start Column and Named Range Start Row.
Truncate Existing Sheets/Named Ranges
If a template file or template sheet are specified as writer options here, the option to truncate existing sheets or named ranges on feature types is applied to the template sheet before it is copied to the destination file. Inserted items such as charts and pictures are not deleted.
- Truncate sheet: Formatting such as cell color and column widths that exist in cells outside the data extents remain.
- Truncate named range: Data and formatting in the extents of the existing named range is lost, but formatting in cells outside this existing named range is unaffected.
The Feature Type parameters Named Range Start Column and Named Range Start Row are ignored.
Data written to the named range use the original start positions and begin writing at the specified offset.
Output Field Names
This parameter specifies whether or not to write the attribute names when inserting data.
When a template file is specified, this parameter is always in effect, when inserting data.
If no template file is used, this parameter has an effect only if the sheet or named range is being created or has been dropped or truncated prior to insertion. Otherwise, attribute names will not be added to existing sheets or named ranges.
Raster Format
You can embed a map or raster image from another source directly into a spreadsheet. This parameter determines which raster format will be used for rasters written to the workbook. There are three supported options
- PNG
- JPEG
- BMP
When sending a raster feature to the writer, there are a few attributes you can add to modify the result.
| Attribute Name | Description |
|---|---|
| xlsx_row_id |
Determines the row on which the top of the picture will be placed. The picture will align with the top of the row. Only positive integer values are valid. If not specified, this value will default to 1, which corresponds to row 1. |
| xlsx_col_id |
Determines the column on which the left of the picture will be placed. The picture will align on the left side of the column. Only positive integer values or the Microsoft Excel Column letter designations (A,B,..,XFD) are valid. If not specified, this value will default to 1, which corresponds to column A. |
| xlsx_raster_scale_factor |
Allows the raster to be scaled by a factor. This can be any positive numeric value greater than 0.0. If not specified, the raster will be written out using the xlsx_raster_height and xlsx_raster_width. If specified, xlsx_raster_height and xlsx_raster_width will be ignored. For example, a scale factor of 2.0 will double the width and height of the raster. If the image is larger than the height or width of a cell, the image will cover multiple cells. The cell height will not change. |
| xlsx_raster_height |
Sets the raster height to the specified number of pixels. Only positive integer value greater than 0 are valid. Note: If xlsx_raster_scale_factor is specified, this value will be ignored. If this is used, you should also specify xlsx_raster_width. If neither is specified, the raster will default to its actual size. If the image is larger than the height or width of a cell, the image will cover multiple cells. The cell height will not change. |
| xlsx_raster_width |
Sets the raster width to the specified number of pixels. Only positive integer value greater than 0 are valid. Note: If xlsx_raster_scale_factor is specified, this value will be ignored. If this is used, you should also specify xlsx_raster_height. If neither is specified, the raster will default to its actual size. If the image is larger than the height or width of a cell, the image will cover multiple cells. The cell height will not change. |
Default Feature Type Writer Mode
The writer mode can be specified at two unique levels: on the feature type, or on individual features.
At the writer level, the writer mode specified by this parameter is inherited as the starting writing mode for all of its feature types. This determines how each feature received is treated by default. Valid writer modes are listed below:
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Insert |
Appends features to the end of the sheet or writes them to an exact row and column position. Any data that already exists at that location will be overwritten. If a value on the feature is specified for the Row Number column, that row will be used instead. |
| Update |
Causes the row corresponding to the feature’s value specified in the Row Number Attribute to have its data changed to the values on the incoming feature. If an attribute is missing while in this mode, the existing cell value will not be overwritten. |
| Delete |
Deletes the values in the row corresponding to the feature’s value specified in the Row Number Attribute. Only a number of columns equal to the amount of columns in the schema will have their data and formatting removed. |
Row Number Attribute
The writer allows you to specify an input attribute to contain the value of the row number identifier to be used for per-feature Update and Delete operations.
The default row number attribute is the xlsx_row_id attribute produced by the Excel reader to hold the row number, but it can be changed to any attribute.
Note: Unlike databases, where row IDs may not be ordered, the row number identifier corresponds to the number of rows from the top of the sheet (similar to the row number in a CSV file).