dates_and_times04.c

<< dates_and_times03.c

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Example of writing dates and times in Excel using different date formats.

/*
 * Example of writing dates and times in Excel using different date formats.
 *
 * Copyright 2014-2026, John McNamara, jmcnamara@cpan.org
 *
 */

#include "xlsxwriter.h"

int main() {

    /* A datetime to display. */
    lxw_datetime datetime = {2013, 1, 23, 12, 30, 5.123};
    uint32_t     row = 0;
    uint16_t     col = 0;
    int          i;

    /* Examples date and time formats. In the output file compare how changing
     * the format strings changes the appearance of the date.
     */
    const char *date_formats[] = {
        "dd/mm/yy",
        "mm/dd/yy",
        "dd m yy",
        "d mm yy",
        "d mmm yy",
        "d mmmm yy",
        "d mmmm yyy",
        "d mmmm yyyy",
        "dd/mm/yy hh:mm",
        "dd/mm/yy hh:mm:ss",
        "dd/mm/yy hh:mm:ss.000",
        "hh:mm",
        "hh:mm:ss",
        "hh:mm:ss.000",
    };

    /* Create a new workbook and add a worksheet. */
    lxw_workbook  *workbook  = workbook_new("date_and_times04.xlsx");
    lxw_worksheet *worksheet = workbook_add_worksheet(workbook, NULL);

    /* Add a bold format. */
    lxw_format    *bold      = workbook_add_format(workbook);
    format_set_bold(bold);

    /* Write the column headers. */
    worksheet_write_string(worksheet, row, col,     "Formatted date", bold);
    worksheet_write_string(worksheet, row, col + 1, "Format",         bold);

    /* Widen the first column to make the text clearer. */
    worksheet_set_column(worksheet, 0, 1, 20, NULL);

    /* Write the same date and time using each of the above formats. */
    for (i = 0; i < 14; i++) {
        row++;

        /* Create a format for the date or time.*/
        lxw_format *format  = workbook_add_format(workbook);
        format_set_num_format(format, date_formats[i]);
        format_set_align(format, LXW_ALIGN_LEFT);

        /* Write the datetime with each format. */
        worksheet_write_datetime(worksheet, row, col, &datetime, format);

        /* Also write the format string for comparison. */
        worksheet_write_string(worksheet, row, col + 1, date_formats[i], NULL);
    }

    return workbook_close(workbook);
}