Java: Insert, Extract, or Delete Textboxes in Excel

Textboxes in Excel are versatile tools that enhance the functionality of your spreadsheets. They allow users to add annotations, labels, or supplementary information, making it easier to convey important messages or insights. Whether you're looking to highlight critical data points, provide detailed explanations, or create visually appealing reports, effectively managing textboxes is essential.

In this article, you will learn how to insert a textbox, extract text from a textbox, and delete a textbox in Excel using Java and Spire.XLS for Java.

Install Spire.XLS for Java

First of all, you're required to add the Spire.Xls.jar file as a dependency in your Java program. The JAR file can be downloaded from this link. If you use Maven, you can easily import the JAR file in your application by adding the following code to your project's pom.xml file.

<repositories>
    <repository>
        <id>com.e-iceblue</id>
        <name>e-iceblue</name>
        <url>https://repo.e-iceblue.com/nexus/content/groups/public/</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>
<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>e-iceblue</groupId>
        <artifactId>spire.xls</artifactId>
        <version>14.9.8</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>
    

Insert a Textbox to Excel in Java

A textbox can be inserted into a worksheet using the Worksheet.getTextBoxes().addTextBox() method. This method returns an ITextBoxShape object, which provides various methods like setText(), setHAlignment(), and getFill() for configuring the text and formatting of the textbox.

To add a textbox with personalized text and formatting in Excel, follow these steps:

  • Create a Workbook object.
  • Load an Excel file from the specified file path.
  • Retrieve a specific worksheet from the workbook.
  • Insert a textbox at the desired location using Worksheet.getTextBoxes().addTextBox() method.
  • Set the textbox text using ITextBoxShape.setText() method.
  • Customize the textbox's appearance using other methods available in the ITextBoxShape object.
  • Save the workbook as a new Excel file.
  • Java
import com.spire.xls.*;
import com.spire.xls.core.ITextBoxShape;

import java.awt.*;

public class AddTextbox {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Create a Workbook object
        Workbook workbook = new Workbook();

        // Load an Excel document
        workbook.loadFromFile("C:\\Users\\Administrator\\Desktop\\Input.xlsx");

        // Get a specific sheet
        Worksheet sheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(0);

        // Add a textbox to the specified location
        ITextBoxShape textBoxShape = sheet.getTextBoxes().addTextBox(5, 4, 60, 200);

        // Set text of the textbox
        textBoxShape.setText("This is a text box, with sample text.");

        // Create a font
        ExcelFont font = workbook.createFont();
        font.setFontName("Times New Roman");
        font.setSize(14);
        font.setColor(Color.red);

        // Apply font to the text
        textBoxShape.getRichText().setFont(0, textBoxShape.getText().length() - 1, font);

        // Set horizontal alignment
        textBoxShape.setHAlignment(CommentHAlignType.Left);

        // Set the fill color of the shape
        textBoxShape.getFill().setFillType(ShapeFillType.SolidColor);
        textBoxShape.getFill().setForeColor(Color.LIGHT_GRAY);

        // Save the Excel file
        workbook.saveToFile("output/AddTextBox.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2010);

        // Dispose resources
        workbook.dispose();
    }
}

Java: Insert, Extract, or Delete Textboxes in Excel

Extract Text from a Textbox in Excel in Java

You can access a specific textbox using the Worksheet.getTextBoxes().get() method. After retrieving it, the text can be accessed with the ITextBox.getText() method.

Here are the steps to extract text from a textbox in Excel:

  • Create a Workbook object.
  • Load an Excel file from the specified file path.
  • Retrieve a specific worksheet from the workbook.
  • Access the desired textbox using Worksheet.getTextBoxes().get() method.
  • Get the textbox's text using ITextBox.getText() method.
  • Java
import com.spire.xls.Workbook;
import com.spire.xls.Worksheet;
import com.spire.xls.core.ITextBox;

public class ExtractTextbox {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Create a Workbook object
        Workbook workbook = new Workbook();

        // Load an Excel file
        workbook.loadFromFile("C:\\Users\\Administrator\\Desktop\\TextBox.xlsx");

        // Get a specific worksheet
        Worksheet sheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(0);

        // Get a specific textbox
        ITextBox textBox = sheet.getTextBoxes().get(0);

        // Get text from the textbox
        String text = textBox.getText();

        // Print out result
        System.out.println(text);
    }
}

Java: Insert, Extract, or Delete Textboxes in Excel

Delete a Textbox in Excel in Java

To delete a specific textbox from a worksheet, utilize the ITextBoxes.get().Remove() method. If you want to clear all textboxes, first obtain the count with the Worksheet.getTextBoxes().getCount() method, then loop through the collection to remove each textbox one by one.

Here's how to remove a textbox from Excel:

  • Create a Workbook object.
  • Load an Excel file from the desired file path.
  • Access a specific worksheet within the workbook.
  • Retrieve the textbox collection using Worksheet.getTextBoxes() method.
  • Delete the targeted textbox using ITextBoxes.get().Remove() method.
  • Save the modified workbook to a new Excel file.
  • Java
import com.spire.xls.ExcelVersion;
import com.spire.xls.Workbook;
import com.spire.xls.Worksheet;
import com.spire.xls.core.ITextBoxes;

public class DeleteTextbox {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Create a Workbook object
        Workbook workbook = new Workbook();

        // Load an Excel file
        workbook.loadFromFile("C:\\Users\\Administrator\\Desktop\\TextBox.xlsx");

        // Get a specific worksheet
        Worksheet sheet = workbook.getWorksheets().get(0);

        // Get textbox collection from the worksheet
        ITextBoxes textBoxes = sheet.getTextBoxes();

        // Remove a specific textbox
        textBoxes.get(0).remove();

        // Save the updated document to a different Excel file
        workbook.saveToFile("output/DeleteTextbox.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2016);

        // Dispose resources
        workbook.dispose();
    }
}

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