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# Frequently asked questions |
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## There seems to be a problem with character encoding... |
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It is necessary to use UTF-8 encoding for all texts in PhpSpreadsheet. |
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If the script uses different encoding then you can convert those texts |
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with PHP's `iconv()` or `mb_convert_encoding()` functions. |
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## Fatal error: Allowed memory size of xxx bytes exhausted (tried to allocate yyy bytes) in zzz on line aaa |
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PhpSpreadsheet holds an "in memory" representation of a spreadsheet, so |
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it is susceptible to PHP's memory limitations. The memory made available |
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to PHP can be increased by editing the value of the `memory_limit` |
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directive in your `php.ini` file, or by using |
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`ini_set('memory_limit', '128M')` within your code. |
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Some Readers and Writers are faster than others, and they also use |
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differing amounts of memory. |
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## Protection on my worksheet is not working? |
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When you make use of any of the worksheet protection features (e.g. cell |
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range protection, prohibiting deleting rows, ...), make sure you enable |
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worksheet security. This can for example be done like this: |
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|
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``` php |
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$spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()->getProtection()->setSheet(true); |
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``` |
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## Feature X is not working with Reader\_Y / Writer\_Z |
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Not all features of PhpSpreadsheet are implemented in all of the Reader |
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/ Writer classes. This is mostly due to underlying libraries not |
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supporting a specific feature or not having implemented a specific |
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feature. |
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For example autofilter is not implemented in PEAR |
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Spreadsheet\_Excel\_writer, which is the base of our Xls writer. |
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We are slowly building up a list of features, together with the |
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different readers and writers that support them, in the [features cross |
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reference](./references/features-cross-reference.md). |
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## Formulas don't seem to be calculated in Excel2003 using compatibility pack? |
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This is normal behaviour of the compatibility pack, `Xlsx` displays this |
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correctly. Use `\PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Xls` if you really need |
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calculated values, or force recalculation in Excel2003. |
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## Setting column width is not 100% accurate |
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Trying to set column width, I experience one problem. When I open the |
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file in Excel, the actual width is 0.71 less than it should be. |
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The short answer is that PhpSpreadsheet uses a measure where padding is |
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included. See [](./topics/recipes.md#setting-a-columns-widthhow to set a column's width](./topics/recipes.md#setting-a-columns-width](./topics/recipes.md#setting-a-columns-width) |
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for more details. |
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