Remove empty columns in an excel file using phpexcel library - php

Question

I am using phpexcel library to read an excel file.It works perfeclty on 99%. But sometimes it reads empty columns also.My code is
try {
$inputFileType = PHPExcel_IOFactory::identify($inputFileName);
$objReader = PHPExcel_IOFactory::createReader($inputFileType);
$objPHPExcel = $objReader->load($inputFileName);
} catch(Exception $e) {
die('Error loading file');
}
$worksheet=$objPHPExcel->getActiveSheet();) {
$worksheetTitle = $worksheet->getTitle();
$highestRow = $worksheet->getHighestRow();
$highestColumn = $worksheet->getHighestColumn();
$highestColumnIndex = PHPExcel_Cell::columnIndexFromString($highestColumn);
$nrColumns = ord($highestColumn) - 64;
sometimes the $highestcolumn returns 'WVL' even if the data in excel column up to 'C' why?.
Also i want to check all the rows under a particular column is empty or not,Is there any easy method to do it instead of iterating all rows using for loop.

Answer 1

The getHighestRow() and getHighestColumn() methods work on the basis of testing for anything related to a cell, even if that's a style setting or a named range or print settings or a column/row setting such as width/height or hidden.
That's why the getHighestDataRow() and getHighestDataColumn() methods exist. These two methods look at the actual data in cells.
Note: Just because a cell looks empty when you view it in MS Excel, doesn't mean that it actually is empty. NULL is a valid cell value, as is a space character, neither of which is visible.
In answer to your second question: you can pass an optional argument to the getHighestRow(), getHighestColumn() and to the getHighestDataRow() and getHighestDataColumn(), so a row number passed to getHighestColumn() or getHighestDataColumn() will return the highest column in the specified row; and a column letter passed to getHighestRow() or getHighestDataRow() will return the highest row in that column.
e.g.
$highestColumnInRow5 = $worksheet->getHighestColumn(5);
or
$highestDataRowInColumnAA = $worksheet->getHighestDataRow('AA');