XLS Writer

This Node Is Deprecated — This node is kept for backwards-compatibility, but the usage in new workflows is no longer recommended. The documentation below might contain more information.

This node writes the input data table into a spreadsheet of a workbook. The files can be read then with other applications like Microsoft Excel, for example.

The node supports two formats, which one is used is derived from the file ending.

If the file name ends with 'xls' (e.g. filename.xls) it will use the old Excel file format, which was used as default up until Excel 2003. The maximum number of columns held by a spreadsheet of this format is 256 (all additional columns in the data table are truncated). If the input data table has more than 65536 rows it is split into multiple spreadsheets (all stored in the created workbook).
If the file name ends with 'xlsx' (e.g. filename.xlsx) it will use the Office Open XML format, which is the default format starting with Excel 2007.

Note that if the destination location is a remote URL not all options are available because in general it's not possible to determine whether the remote location exists. In this case it will always be overwritten.

Options

Output location: Enter a valid file name or URL. You can also choose a previously selected local from the drop-down list, or select a file from the "Browse..." dialog. Note the file format ending as described above.
Overwrite existing file: If checked, the output file will be overridden if it exists. If unchecked, the node will fail during execution in order to retain the original file and to avoid unintentional overwrite. Remote location will always be overwritten.
Open file after execution: Opens the file after it has been successfully written. The file will be opened in the default application of the system. This might not be supported by every system and is not available for remote locations.
Sheet name: Name of the sheet that will be created. If left empty, the name of the input table will be used.
Write column header: If checked, the column names are written out in the first row of the spreadsheet.
Write row ID: If checked, the row IDs are added to the output, in the first column of the spreadsheet.
Missing Value Pattern: Enter a pattern that is set for missing data values. If not specified, the corresponding data cell of the spreadsheet stays empty.
Autosize columns: Fits the columns width to the content.
Portrait/Landscape: Sets the print format to portrait or landscape.
Paper size: Sets the paper size in the print setup.
Exclude/Include columns: Select the columns that will be written in the XLS file. If the columns in the input table should change, they will automatically be excluded.

Input Ports

: The data table to write out.

Output Ports

This node has no output ports

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Installation

To use this node in KNIME, install the extension KNIME Excel Support from the below update site following our NodePit Product and Node Installation Guide:

v5.5

A zipped version of the software site can be downloaded here.

Plugin provider: KNIME AG, Zurich, Switzerland

Plugin version: 5.5.0.v202412191418

On NodePit since: 2025-07-02

Last update: 2025-07-23

Tags: Deprecated

KNIME versions: Since v3.6

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