Excel Number Format Option Listing

merrymonk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

This question is specifically about Excel 2007 but it may well apply to other versions.
In the pull down menu for Number formats there is an option called Custom.
When Custom is selected you get a window header Format Cells. This has a number of Catergories.
When you select Custom, you get a list of allowable formatting strings such as #,##0;-#,##0 on the right hand side of this window.
I have found differences between the way these formats work on English and Spanish versions of Excel.
I want to run some tests on the Spanish version but have some difficulties since I do not have easy access to this PC.
A good step would be to write the options in the right hand table to a file. I could then use this list is a test programme.
Does anyone know how this can be done?

Comment on Excel Number Format Option Listing

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Excel Number Format Option Listing by wallisds (Beadle) on Feb 17, 2011 at 17:45 UTC
Try this module to create the spreadsheets with the custom format: http://search.cpan.org/~jmcnamara/Excel-Writer-XLSX-0.10/lib/Excel/Writer/XLSX.pm This module works with Excel 2007 +. The Spreadsheet::WriteExcel module written before version 2007 was excellent, as was the parser, so John McNamara++. Please give us an example of what you are trying to format in Spanish and English if you need more specific help. Enjoy! Dawn	[reply]
Re^2: Excel Number Format Option Listing by merrymonk (Hermit) on Feb 17, 2011 at 19:04 UTC
Thanks for all the replies. I will send some more details but I cannot do this probably before Monday.	[reply]
Re: Excel Number Format Option Listing by luis.roca (Deacon) on Feb 17, 2011 at 15:24 UTC
"Does anyone know how this can be done? " Just to be clear you want to do this using Perl — correct? I ask because your question isn't clearly written in the context of a Perl problem. However, you've posted to a Perl forum so let's assume the answer is yes. :) It sounds like you have given the Excel portion of your problem some thought but it would help if you were a little clearer on how you would like to come up with a solution in Perl. I don't have a great deal of experience in Excel (don't touch it) but if I knew a little Perl and had an Excel problem I might take a look at CPAN for Excel Related Modules. See if someone has already asked and answered your question with a well executed solution. However, in the interest of helping you think through your question, I would say try to break down the description of what you want to do into smaller steps. ie: you say: "A good step would be to write the options in the right hand table to a file." There's actually more than one step involved there. Try breaking it out into a more detailed description. Then maybe look at perlfunc to see if any built in functions can help you begin writing up a rough solution to those more specific tasks — even if it's really bad. Add all that to your post and you will hopefully get more help. It sounds like you have an interesting problem. With a little more information hopefully someone can help you find a solution. Good luck. *Also see: How do I post a question effectively? "...the adversities born of well-placed thoughts should be considered mercies rather than misfortunes." — Don Quixote	[reply]
Re^2: Excel Number Format Option Listing by Anonymous Monk on Feb 17, 2011 at 15:30 UTC
FYI, for context, see Embedding Image in Excell ... Win32::OLE is easy to use, but the Excel DOM is large and old :)	[reply]