The following table summarizes how the cell settings are handled when Spread imports data from an Excel-formatted file.
| Setting | How the Setting is Imported |
|---|---|
| Active cell | Spread sets the active cell according to the active cell for the sheet in Excel when it was saved to a file. |
| Blocks | The selected cells are set in Spread according to the selected cells for the sheet in Excel when it was saved to a file. |
| Borders | Excel provides border styles that Spread does not. Refer to Border Styles Substituted for details. |
| Color/pattern | Spread reads the color setting from Excel and assigns color based on the setting of each cell’s individual setting, the cell’s row setting, the cell’s column setting, and finally, the spreadsheet setting. Spread does not support background patterns, so any background pattern is ignored. |
| Comments | Spread creates cell notes from imported comments in Excel cells. Comments that are imported from Excel that become cell notes do not necessarily retain the size (or any other properties) of the comments. Spread simply imports the contents (text) and puts them in a cell note. The default size for a cell note is used. |
| Fonts - font type, style, and size | Spread reads the font settings from the Excel file and assigns values to these properties based on the setting of each cell’s individual setting, the cell’s row setting, the cell’s column setting, and finally, the spreadsheet setting. |
| Fonts - font underline | Spread reads the underline settings from the Excel file and assigns values to these properties based on the setting of each cell’s individual setting, the cell’s row setting, the cell’s column setting, and finally, the spreadsheet setting.Excel provides three underline settings that Spread does not: Double, Single Accounting, and Double Accounting. Spread sets the FontUnderline property to True for those settings. |
| Formats - cell types | Spread imports the cell formats from the Excel file to the General cell (GeneralCellType) and assigns the formats as closely as possible by setting the NumberFormat, DateTimeFormat, and FormatString properties. The text cell is imported as a text cell. |
| Formulas | Spread imports all the formulas from the Excel file. When the import encounters a cell containing a formula or function, the corresponding cell in Spread is set to the appropriate cell type. If the import encounters a formula that it does not support, the cell may be left empty or given an error value. For more details on the supported functions in Spread, refer to the Formula Reference. |
| Hyperlink object | Spread does not import hyperlinks. |
| Locked cells | Spread imports the Locked property setting for each cell in the Excel file. Note that the default value of the Locked property is True for all cells in Excel. The Protect setting works with the Locked setting for cells to determine whether users can change content. Refer to the Protect setting in Sheet Settings Imported for more information. |
| Maximum number of iterations | Spread imports this value from the Excel file, which is for automatically recalculating formulas, and sets the MaximumIterations property of the sheet. |
| Maximum change per iteration | Spread imports this value from the Excel file, which is for automatically recalculating formulas, and sets the MaximumChange property of the sheet. |
| Merged cells | Spread creates a span range corresponding to the merged cells in the Excel file. |
| Operators | All operators except logical operators are treated the same in Spread as in Excel. For more details on the supported operators in Spread, refer to the Formula Reference. |
| Outlining | Spread does not import outlines from Excel. |
| Reference style for formulas | If the reference style is R1C1 in the Excel file, Spread sets the ColumnHeaderAutoText property to display numbers (the reference style is imported). |
| Text alignment - horizontal and vertical | Spread uses the setting from the Excel file and sets the appropriate enumeration for the text alignment (HorizontalAlign or VerticalAlign) for the cell. |
Return to Excel-Formatted File Import overview.