OpenDocument Spreadsheet - Delete cell(s)

Declaration

<AMODS ACTIVITY="delete_cell" SESSION="text" CONNECTBY="create_workbook" WORKBOOK="text" WORKBOOKTEMPLATE="text" TEMPLATEPASSWORD="text (encrypted)" OVERWRITE="YES/NO" OPENPASSWORD="text (encrypted)" SAVETYPE="text (options)" DESTINATION="text" OVERWRITEDESTINATION="YES/NO" CONTENTTYPE="text (options)" CELLREF="text" CELLROW="number" CELLCOLUMN="number" DELETETYPE="text (options)" WORKSHEET="text" />

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 Desktop's Excel activities, the OpenDocument Spreadsheet activities do not require Microsoft's Excel engine to run. 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 --- --- --- --- Indicates where the source workbook document should originate from. 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 OpenDocument Spreadsheet - 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.
NOTE: This parameter does not contain markup and is only displayed in visual mode for task construction and configuration purposes.

Resource - File

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
Get document by Text (options) Yes, if Resource is set to File Open
  • CONNECTBY="open_workbook"
  • CONNECTBY="create_workbook"
 Specifies whether to perform this activity on an existing document or a new one. This parameter is only active if the Resource parameter is set to File. The available options are:
  • Open (default) - Performs this activity on an existing document open during runtime.
  • Create - Performs this activity on a new document created during runtime.
File name Text Yes (Empty) WORKBOOK="C:\Temp\fileName.xls" If Get document by is set to Open, specifies the path and file name of the document to open. If Get document by is set to Create, specifies the path and file name in which to save the newly created document.
Password to open (optional) Text No (Empty) OPENPASSWORD="encrypted" The password required to open the document if it is password protected. This parameter is only active if Get document by is set to Open, or if Get document by is set to Create and Create from template is selected.
On completion Text (options) No Save
  • SAVETYPE="save"
  • SAVETYPE="save_as"
  • 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 No (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. This parameter is only active if On completion is set to Save as.
Overwrite if workbook already exists Yes/No No No OVERWRITE="YES" If selected, the saved 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 only active if On completion is set to Save as, and/or if Get document by is set to Create.
Create from template Text No 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 Get document by parameter is set to Create. This parameter is disabled by default.
Overwrite if workbook already exists Yes/No No No OVERWRITEDESTINATION="YES" If selected, the saved 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 only active if Get document by is set to Create.

Resource - Session

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
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 Resource is set to Session.

Cell

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
Clear contents --- --- --- --- If enabled, specifies that a single cell will be cleared of its content. If this parameter is enabled, the Delete parameter is ignored.
NOTE: This parameter does not contain markup and is only displayed in visual mode for task construction and configuration purposes.
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 (for example, A1, B3).
  • Position - The cells will be identified by row/column position (for example, Row 2, Column 4).
Cell reference Text Yes, if Set cell by is set to  Reference A1 CELLREF="B3" Specifies the reference of the cell to clear content from (for example, 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 is 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 (for example, 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 is 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 (for example, 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 is enabled Shift cells left
  • DELETETYPE="shift_left"
  • DELETETYPE="shift_up"
  • DELETETYPE="row"
  • 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 --- --- --- --- 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:
  • Copy and paste the sample AML code below directly into the Task Builder Steps Panel.
  • To successfully run the sample code, update parameters containing user credentials, files, file paths, or other information specific to the task to match your environment.

Description

This sample task clears the contents of a cell in a worksheet.

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