How to resolve the issue of not being able to calculate sums when exporting Excel with Java POI?

2 years ago
Olivia Parker
2 minutes

There are several possible solutions if the formulas in an Excel file exported using Apache POI cannot be summed up.

  1. Ensure the correct data format of the cells: The sum formula can only be applied to cells containing numbers, make sure that the data format of the cells to be summed is in numerical format.
  2. Using formulas to calculate results instead of sum formulas: By replacing sum formulas with formulas to calculate results, potential issues with sum formulas not working can be avoided. For example, one can replace the sum formula SUM(A1:A10) with A1+A2+…+A10.
  3. Change the calculation mode of the cell: If the formulas in the exported Excel file cannot be automatically calculated, it may be because Excel’s calculation mode is set to manual calculation. You can set the calculation mode to automatic calculation using the following code.
Workbook workbook = new HSSFWorkbook(); // 或者使用 XSSFWorkbook
workbook.setForceFormulaRecalculation(true);
  1. Update the cell value
cell.setCellValue(10); // 设置单元格的值
cell.setCellFormula("SUM(A1:A10)"); // 使用公式求和
  1. Make sure the formula is correct: Double-check the syntax and cell references of the summation formula. You can manually input the same summation formula in Excel to see if it calculates correctly.

If the above methods still cannot solve the problem, further examination of the code logic and data source may be necessary to ensure that the data in the source is correct and the range of formula references is accurate. Additionally, trying other Excel export libraries or tools can be helpful to meet the summing requirements.

bannerAds