Re: Microsoft Excel spreadsheet editing directly from within emacs.

[Hongyi Zhao <hongyi.zhao@gmail.com>]

On Wed, Dec 30, 2020 at 1:55 AM Robert Thorpe
<rt@robertthorpeconsulting.com> wrote:
>
> Hongyi Zhao <hongyi.zhao@gmail.com> writes:
>
> > On Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 5:40 PM Jean Louis <bugs@gnu.support> wrote:
> >>
> >> * Hongyi Zhao <hongyi.zhao@gmail.com> [2020-12-29 07:55]:
> >> > From this point of view, if we want to have both full-features and
> >> > powerful capabilities in manipulating spreadsheet, it seems that only
> >> > the python based programmatic tools/packages, say, openpyxl
> >> > <https://openpyxl.readthedocs.io>, can meet the requirements
> >> > currently.
> >>
> >> What are you requirements?
> >
> > I use Linux as my working environment exclusively. So, I can't access
> > the native MS Office supplied for macOS/Windows. But I sometimes
> > really need to manipulate and process MS Office documents, especially
> > DOCX and XLSX files. Though there are some free and open source office
> > suites, e.g. LibreOffice, but none of them can completely compatible
> > with the MS Office.
> >
> > So, I want to find a way that can be used to programmatically complete
> > any possible work done by MS Office word/excel.
>
> Who creates the spreadsheet first?  Is it you or someone else?

From/by others, in most instances.

>
> If it's you then things can be quite simple.  You can create a
> comma-separated or tab-separated file in Emacs or something else.

Do you mean export the org table with CSV/TSV formats? I noticed that the
default orgmode table column separator is |.

> You can then import that file into Libreoffice and then save it as a .XLSX
> or .XLS file.  You can make a script in Libreoffice to do the import
> just the way you want it.

Sounds wonderful. Is there such an example script?

>
> Things are more difficult if you are given a .XLSX or .DOCX file by
> someone else.  In that case you have to use Libreoffice or something
> like it straight away.  You also have to be very careful was re-saving
> the file with changes because Libreoffice has some subtle
> incompatabilities with MS Excel and MS Word.
>
> If you just want to add new sheets to existing spreadsheets that is not
> too bad.  The problem is changing values in existing sheets.

You're absolutely right.

BR,
-- 
Assoc. Prof. Hongyi Zhao <hongyi.zhao@gmail.com>
Theory and Simulation of Materials
Hebei Polytechnic University of Science and Technology engineering
NO. 552 North Gangtie Road, Xingtai, China