OpenDocument Spreadsheet - Delete cells

Declaration

<AMODS ACTIVITY="delete_cell" CONNECTBY="text (options)" WORKBOOK="text" WORKBOOKTEMPLATE="text" OVERWRITE="yes/no" SAVETYPE="text (options)" DESTINATION="text" OVERWRITEDESTINATION="YES/NO" CELLREF="text" CONTENTTYPE="text (options)" DELETETYPE="text (options)" />

Related Topics    

Description

Deletes an entire row or column from the specified position in the worksheet, or clears a specific cell of its contents. This activity can be executed individually or with a group of other OpenDocument Spreadsheet activities linked to an established session.  

NOTE: Unlike Automate's Excel activities, the OpenDocument Spreadsheet activities do not rely on Microsoft's Excel engine to perform their work, therefore, Microsoft Excel does not need to be installed on the system in order to use these activities. Supported file types include Excel (*.xls, *.xlsx, *.xlsb, *.xlsm ), Open document spreadsheet (*.ods) and CSV (Comma Separated Value) files (*.csv).

Practical Usage

Provides a way to manage rows and columns in a worksheet.

Parameters

Resource

Property

Type

Required

Default

Markup

Description

Resource

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---

---

---

Indicates where the source document should originate from. This is a design mode parameter used only during task construction and configuration, thus, comprises no markup. The available options are:

  • File (default) - The source document derives from a file located on the system. This option is normally selected if only a single activity is required to complete the operation.

  • Session - The source document is obtained from a pre-configured session created in an earlier step with the use of the Open/Create workbook activity. This option is normally selected if a combination of related activities are required to complete an operation. Consolidating several activities to a single session can eliminate redundancy. Moreover, a single task supports multi-session executions which can improve efficiency and speed up production.

Session

Text

Yes if Resource is set to Session

OPENDOCSession1

SESSION="mySession"

The name of an existing session to associate this activity with. The default session name is OPENDOCSession1. This parameter is active only if the Resource parameter is set to Session.

Get document by

Text (options)

Yes if Resource is set to File

Open

  1. CONNECTBY="open_workbook"

  2. CONNECTBY="create_workbook"

Specifies whether this activity will be performed on an existing document or on a new one. This parameter is active only if the Resource parameter is set to File. The available options are:

  • Open (default) - This activity will be performed on an existing document that will be opened during runtime.

  • Create - This activity will be performed on a new document to be created during runtime.

File name

Text

Yes

(Empty)

WORKBOOK="C:\Temp\file.xls"

If the Get document by parameter is set to Open, specifies the path and file name of the document in which to open. If the Get document by parameter is set to Create, specifies the path and file name in which to save the newly created document.

Password to open (optional)

Text

Yes if Get document by parameter is set to Open

(Empty)

OPENPASSWORD="encrypted"

The password required to open the document if it is password protected. This parameter is active only if the Get document by parameter is set to Open.

Create from template

Text

Yes if Get document by parameter is set to Create

No

 WORKBOOKTEMPLATE="C:\Temp\file.xls"

If enabled, specifies the path and file name of a template file that already has preferred formatting in which to base the new workbook on. A template can include formatting, styles, standardized text such as page headers and row and column labels. This parameter is active only if the Get document by parameter is set to Create. It is disabled by default.

On completion

Text (options)

No

Save
  1. SAVETYPE="save"
  2. SAVETYPE="save_as"
  3. SAVETYPE="do_not_save"

Specifies what to do with the document upon completion of this activity. The available options are:

  • Save - Save changes to the default location. If this activity is performed on an existing document, changes will be saved to its current location. If performed on a new document, changes will be saved to the location specified under the File name parameter.
  • Save as - Save changes to the specified path and file name.
  • Do not save changes - Changes will not be saved.  

File

Text

Yes if On completion parameter is set to Save as

(Empty)

 DESTINATION="c:\temp\dest.xls"

The path and file name of the file in which changes will be saved. Click the folder icon to open a standard Explorer dialog in order to navigate to the desired file or simply enter the path and file name in the provided text box.

Overwrite if workbook already exists

Yes/No

Yes if On completion parameter is set to Save as

No

 OVERWRITE="YES"

If selected, the newly created workbook will overwrite any workbook with the same name that exists in the destination. If disabled (default), an existing workbook with the same name will not be overwritten, however, an error will occur during runtime as a result of matching file names. This parameter is active only if the Get document by parameter is set to Create.

Cell

Property

Type

Required

Default

Markup

Description

Clear contents

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---

---

---

If enabled, specifies that a single cell will be cleared of its content. If this parameter is enabled, the Delete parameter is ignored. This is a design-time parameter, therefore, contains no markups.

Delete

Text

Yes

(Empty)

CONTENTTYPE="Delete"

If enabled, specifies that a row or column of cells will be deleted. If this parameter is enabled, the Clear contents parameter is ignored.

Set cell by

---

---

---

---

Determines how the cells to be deleted or the single cell to be cleared should be identified. This is a visual parameter only used during design-time, therefore, contains no properties or markups. The available options are:

  • Reference (default) - The cells will be identified by reference (i.e. A1, B3).
  • Position - The cells will be identified by row/column position (i.e. Row 2, Column 4).

Cell reference

Text

Yes if Set cell by parameter set to  Reference

A1

CELLREF="B3"

Specifies the reference of the cell to clear content from (i.e. A1 or B4). Also indicates which row/column to delete. This parameter is active only if the Set cell by parameter is set to Reference.

Row

Number

Yes if Set cell by parameter set to Position

1

CELLROW="10"

Specifies the row position of the cell to clear content from or indicates the row position of the row/column of cells to delete. This value along with the Column position value specified below will determine the exact location of the cell (i.e. Row 10, Column 12). This parameter is active only if the Set cell by parameter is set to Position.

Column

Number

Yes if Set cell by parameter set to Position

1

CELLCOLUMN="11"

Specifies the column position of the cell to clear content from or indicates the column position of the row/column of cells to delete. This value along with the Row position value specified above will determine the exact location of the cell (i.e. Row 12, Column 2). This parameter is active only if the Set cell by parameter is set to Position.

Delete type

Text (options)

Yes if Delete parameter is enabled

Shift cells left

  1. DELETETYPE="shift_left"
  2. DELETETYPE="shift_up"
  3. DELETETYPE="row"
  4. DELETETYPE="column"

Specifies the type of delete to perform. This dictates how the workbook should fill the space left by the removed cells.

This parameter is active only if the Delete parameter is enabled. The available options are:

  • Shift cells left (default) - Surrounding cells will shift left when the existing cells are deleted.
  • Shift cells up - Surrounding cells will shift up when the existing cells are deleted.
  • Entire row - Delete an entire row of cells.
  • Entire column - Delete an entire column of cells.

Use active worksheet

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---

---

---

If enabled, specifies that this activity will be performed on the currently active worksheet. If this parameter is enabled, the Use specific worksheet parameter is ignored. This is a design-time parameter, therefore, contains no markups.

Use specific worksheet

Text

No

Save

 WORKSHEET="Sheet1"

If enabled, specifies the path and file name of an existing worksheet in which this activity will be performed. If this parameter is enabled, the Use active worksheet parameter is ignored.

 

Description

Error Causes

On Error

Example

NOTE:
  • The sample AML code below can be copied and pasted directly into the Steps Panel of the Task Builder.
  • Parameters containing user credentials, files, file paths, and/or other information specific to the task must be customized before the sample code can run successfully.

Description

Clear contents of cell reference "A1". Excel file "C:\temp\Employees.xls".

<AMODS ACTIVITY="delete_cell" WORKBOOK="C:\temp\Employees.xls" OPENPASSWORD="AM4dgpg7KI0niLT7uxkpJUE5df0WflC5NaRaME" CELLREF="A1" />