Basic Usage

Comprehensive guide to creating your first Excel files with abap2xlsx.

Core Concepts

The Excel Object Model

abap2xlsx follows Excel's object hierarchy:

DATA: lo_excel     TYPE REF TO zcl_excel,
      lo_worksheet TYPE REF TO zcl_excel_worksheet,
      lo_writer    TYPE REF TO zif_excel_writer.

" 1. Create the workbook
CREATE OBJECT lo_excel.

" 2. Add (or get) the active worksheet
lo_worksheet = lo_excel->add_new_worksheet( ).

" 3. Choose a writer — zcl_excel_writer_2007 produces .xlsx
CREATE OBJECT lo_writer TYPE zcl_excel_writer_2007.

" 4. Serialise the workbook to an XSTRING
DATA(lv_file) = lo_writer->write_file( lo_excel ).

Understanding Cell References

" Column is always an alpha string ('A', 'B', ..., 'AA', 'AB', ...)
" Row is a 1-based integer
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'A'  ip_row = 1 ip_value = 'Cell A1' ).
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'B'  ip_row = 1 ip_value = 'Cell B1' ).
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'AA' ip_row = 1 ip_value = 'Cell AA1' ).  " Two-letter columns work fine

" Reading back a cell value always returns a string
DATA(lv_value) = lo_worksheet->get_cell( ip_column = 'A' ip_row = 1 ).

Creating Your First Workbook

REPORT zcreate_first_workbook.

DATA: lo_excel     TYPE REF TO zcl_excel,
      lo_worksheet TYPE REF TO zcl_excel_worksheet,
      lo_writer    TYPE REF TO zif_excel_writer.

START-OF-SELECTION.
  " Create the top-level workbook object
  CREATE OBJECT lo_excel.

  " get_active_worksheet returns the first sheet (auto-created by zcl_excel)
  lo_worksheet = lo_excel->get_active_worksheet( ).
  lo_worksheet->set_title( 'My Data' ).

  " Write a header row
  lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'A' ip_row = 1 ip_value = 'Product' ).
  lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'B' ip_row = 1 ip_value = 'Quantity' ).
  lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'C' ip_row = 1 ip_value = 'Price' ).

  " Write a data row
  lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'A' ip_row = 2 ip_value = 'Laptop' ).
  lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'B' ip_row = 2 ip_value = 10 ).
  lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'C' ip_row = 2 ip_value = '999.99' ).

  " Serialise and confirm
  CREATE OBJECT lo_writer TYPE zcl_excel_writer_2007.
  DATA(lv_excel_file) = lo_writer->write_file( lo_excel ).
  MESSAGE 'Excel file created successfully' TYPE 'S'.

Working with Data Types

ABAP to Excel Data Type Mapping

DATA: lv_string  TYPE string    VALUE 'Text Value',
      lv_integer TYPE i         VALUE 42,
      lv_decimal TYPE p DECIMALS 2 VALUE '123.45',
      lv_date    TYPE d         VALUE '20231225',
      lv_time    TYPE t         VALUE '143000',
      lv_boolean TYPE abap_bool VALUE abap_true.

" Strings are stored as-is in the shared strings table
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'A' ip_row = 1 ip_value = lv_string ).

" Integer / packed-decimal numbers are written as numeric cells
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'A' ip_row = 2 ip_value = lv_integer ).
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'A' ip_row = 3 ip_value = lv_decimal ).

" ABAP date (YYYYMMDD) is converted to Excel serial date automatically
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'A' ip_row = 4 ip_value = lv_date ).

" ABAP time (HHMMSS) is stored as an Excel time fraction
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'A' ip_row = 5 ip_value = lv_time ).

" abap_true / abap_false map to Excel Boolean TRUE / FALSE
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'A' ip_row = 6 ip_value = lv_boolean ).

set_cell XSTRING Support

Added in May 2025 (PR #1306): set_cell() now accepts XSTRING-typed values directly.

DATA lv_xstr TYPE xstring.
" Populate lv_xstr from any binary source (MIME repository, file upload, etc.)
" ... populate lv_xstr ...

lo_worksheet->set_cell(
  ip_column = 'A'
  ip_row    = 1
  ip_value  = lv_xstr   " XSTRING is now accepted — no prior string conversion needed
).
" When reading back, retrieve the cell as a string and apply hex-to-binary conversion

Working with Internal Tables

Manual Loop

TYPES: BEGIN OF ty_sales,
         region    TYPE string,
         product   TYPE string,
         quantity  TYPE i,
         revenue   TYPE p DECIMALS 2,
         sale_date TYPE d,
       END OF ty_sales.
DATA lt_sales TYPE TABLE OF ty_sales.

" --- Header row (row 1) ---
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'A' ip_row = 1 ip_value = 'Region' ).
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'B' ip_row = 1 ip_value = 'Product' ).
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'C' ip_row = 1 ip_value = 'Quantity' ).
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'D' ip_row = 1 ip_value = 'Revenue' ).
lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'E' ip_row = 1 ip_value = 'Sale Date' ).

" --- Data rows start at row 2 ---
DATA(lv_row) = 2.
LOOP AT lt_sales INTO DATA(ls).
  lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'A' ip_row = lv_row ip_value = ls-region ).
  lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'B' ip_row = lv_row ip_value = ls-product ).
  lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'C' ip_row = lv_row ip_value = ls-quantity ).
  lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'D' ip_row = lv_row ip_value = ls-revenue ).
  lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'E' ip_row = lv_row ip_value = ls-sale_date ).
  ADD 1 TO lv_row.  " Advance to next row
ENDLOOP.

Using bind_table (Recommended)

" bind_table writes headers + data rows in one call and optionally
" wraps the range as a styled Excel table (ListObject)
lo_worksheet->bind_table(
  ip_table          = lt_sales
  is_table_settings = VALUE #(
    top_left_column  = 'A'
    top_left_row     = 1
    table_style      = zcl_excel_table=>builtinstyle_medium2  " Named built-in table style
    show_row_stripes = abap_true                              " Alternating row shading
  )
).

Worksheet Management

DATA: lo_summary TYPE REF TO zcl_excel_worksheet,
      lo_detail  TYPE REF TO zcl_excel_worksheet.

" Each call to add_new_worksheet appends a tab at the right
lo_summary = lo_excel->add_new_worksheet( ).
lo_summary->set_title( 'Summary' ).

lo_detail = lo_excel->add_new_worksheet( ).
lo_detail->set_title( 'Detailed Data' ).

" Make 'Summary' the active sheet when the file opens (1-based index)
lo_excel->set_active_sheet_index( 1 ).

" --- Print layout options ---
lo_worksheet->sheet_setup->set_orientation( zcl_excel_sheet_setup=>c_orientation_landscape ).
lo_worksheet->sheet_setup->set_paper_size( zcl_excel_sheet_setup=>c_papersize_a4 ).

" Freeze the first header row and the first column so they stay visible while scrolling
lo_worksheet->freeze_panes( ip_num_rows = 1 ip_num_columns = 1 ).

File Output Options

" Standard Excel 2007+ format — produces a .xlsx (ZIP-based OOXML) file
CREATE OBJECT lo_writer TYPE zcl_excel_writer_2007.
DATA(lv_xlsx) = lo_writer->write_file( lo_excel ).

" CSV — only the active worksheet, plain text output
" See the CSV Export guide for advanced options (skip hidden rows/cols)
DATA lo_csv TYPE REF TO zcl_excel_writer_csv.
CREATE OBJECT lo_csv.
DATA(lv_csv) = lo_csv->write_file( lo_excel ).

" Huge-file writer — streams rows one by one to avoid memory exhaustion
" on very large datasets (100k+ rows); does not support all formatting features
DATA lo_huge TYPE REF TO zcl_excel_writer_huge_file.
CREATE OBJECT lo_huge.
DATA(lv_huge) = lo_huge->write_file( lo_excel ).

For CSV options including skipping hidden rows and columns, see CSV Export.

Error Handling

TRY.
    CREATE OBJECT lo_excel.
    lo_worksheet = lo_excel->add_new_worksheet( ).
    lo_worksheet->set_cell( ip_column = 'A' ip_row = 1 ip_value = 'Test' ).

    CREATE OBJECT lo_writer TYPE zcl_excel_writer_2007.
    DATA(lv_result) = lo_writer->write_file( lo_excel ).

  CATCH zcx_excel INTO DATA(lx_excel).
    " zcx_excel is the base exception class for all abap2xlsx errors
    MESSAGE |Excel error: { lx_excel->get_text( ) }| TYPE 'E'.
ENDTRY.

Next Steps

• Reading Excel Files - Read existing Excel files
• Formatting - Add professional styling
• Worksheets - Multiple sheets, comments, copy semantics
• Formulas - Adding calculations
• Data Conversion - Converting ABAP data structures
• CSV Export - Exporting to CSV with skip-hidden options
• ALV Integration - Converting ALV grids (on-premise)
• Cloud Compatibility - BTP / S/4HANA Cloud notes