How to Export in Excel and CSV in Laravel 9

In this tutorial, we will see Laravel Export In Excel and CSV Data Example using the maatwebsite/excel 3.1 packages. In the general Laravel project, we always need to import or export the rows from the database. The maatwebsite/excel makes it very easy to import-export data in Laravel.

Laravel Export Data In Excel and CSV

To export data in excel and csv in Laravel, use the maatwebsite/excel 3.1 package. Laravel Excel package is intended at being Laravel-flavoured PhpSpreadsheet: a simple but elegant wrapper around PhpSpreadsheet to simplify the exports and imports. PhpSpreadsheet is the library written in pure PHP and provides the set of classes that allow us to read from and write to different types of spreadsheet file formats, like Excel and LibreOffice Calc.

If you want to get up and running with basic laravel functionality, go to my other article on this web blog called Laravel 7 Crud Example From Scratch. 

If you want to Generate PDF In Laravel, check out Laravel Generate PDF From View Example. For this example, we use the package called maatwebsite/excel version 3.1. So, our Laravel 9 and maatwebsite/excel 3.1.

When using the package in your application, it’s good to understand how it functions behind the scenes. Following the behind-the-scenes will make you feel more comfortable and confident using the maximum potential of the tool.

Laravel Excel Features

1. We can easily export collections to Excel.
2. We can export queries with automatic chunking for better performance.
3. We can queue exports for better performance.
4. We can easily export Blade views to Excel.
5. We can easily import it to collections.
6. We can read the Excel file in chunks.
7. We can handle the import inserts in batches.

Requirements

1. PHP: ^7.0
2. Laravel: ^5.5
3. PhpSpreadsheet: ^1.6
4. PHP extension php_zip enabled
5. PHP extension php_xml enabled
6. PHP extension php_gd2 enabled

Step 1: Installation

Require the following package in the composer.json of your Laravel 9 project. The following command will download the package and PhpSpreadsheet.

composer require maatwebsite/excel

➜  laravel6 git:(master) ✗ composer require maatwebsite/excel
Using version ^3.1 for maatwebsite/excel
./composer.json has been updated
Loading composer repositories with package information
Updating dependencies (including require-dev)
Package operations: 4 installs, 0 updates, 0 removals
  - Installing markbaker/matrix (1.1.4): Downloading (100%)
  - Installing markbaker/complex (1.4.7): Downloading (100%)
  - Installing phpoffice/phpspreadsheet (1.9.0): Downloading (100%)
  - Installing maatwebsite/excel (3.1.17): Downloading (100%)
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet suggests installing mpdf/mpdf (Option for rendering PDF with PDF Writer)
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet suggests installing tecnickcom/tcpdf (Option for rendering PDF with PDF Writer)
phpoffice/phpspreadsheet suggests installing jpgraph/jpgraph (Option for rendering charts, or including charts with PDF or HTML Writers)
Writing lock file
Generating optimized autoload files
> Illuminate\Foundation\ComposerScripts::postAutoloadDump
> @php artisan package:discover --ansi
Discovered Package: barryvdh/laravel-dompdf
Discovered Package: facade/ignition
Discovered Package: fideloper/proxy
Discovered Package: laravel/tinker
Discovered Package: laravel/ui
Discovered Package: maatwebsite/excel
Discovered Package: nesbot/carbon
Discovered Package: nunomaduro/collision
Package manifest generated successfully.
➜  laravel6 git:(master) ✗

Step 2: Configure package

The Maatwebsite\Excel\ExcelServiceProvider is auto-discovered and registered by default.

If you want to register by yourself, then add the ServiceProvider in config/app.php:

'providers' => [
    /*
     * Package Service Providers...
     */
    Maatwebsite\Excel\ExcelServiceProvider::class,
]

Excel facade is auto-discovered.

If you want to add it manually, add a Facade in config/app.php:

'aliases' => [
    ...
    'Excel' => Maatwebsite\Excel\Facades\Excel::class,
]

If you want to publish a config, run the vendor publish command:

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Maatwebsite\Excel\ExcelServiceProvider"

➜  laravel6 git:(master) ✗ php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Maatwebsite\Excel\ExcelServiceProvider"
Copied File [/vendor/maatwebsite/excel/config/excel.php] To [/config/excel.php]
Publishing complete.
➜  laravel6 git:(master) ✗

This will create the new config file named config/excel.php.

Step 3: Create model and migration files

Type the following command.

php artisan make:model Disneyplus -m

Now, go to the [timestamp].create_disneypluses_table.php file and add the columns.

public function up()
{
        Schema::create('disneypluses', function (Blueprint $table) {
            $table->bigIncrements('id');
            $table->string('show_name');
            $table->string('series');
            $table->string('lead_actor');
            $table->timestamps();
        });
}

Now, migrate the database using the following command.

php artisan migrate

Step 4: Create a controller and routes

The next step is to create a DisneyplusController.php file.

php artisan make:controller DisneyplusController

Now, add the two routes inside the routes >> web.php file.

// web.php

Route::get('disneyplus', 'DisneyController@create')->name('disneyplus.create');
Route::post('disneyplus', 'DisneyController@store')->name('disneyplus.store');

Now, create two methods inside the DisneyplusController.php file.

<?php

// DisneyplusController.php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use App\Disneyplus;

class DisneyplusController extends Controller
{
    public function create()
    {

    }

    public function store()
    {
        
    }
}

Step: 5 Create a form blade file for input the data

Now, inside the views folder, create the form.blade.php file. Add the following code.

@extends('layout')

@section('content')
<style>
  .uper {
    margin-top: 40px;
  }
</style>
<div class="card uper">
  <div class="card-header">
    Add Disneyplus Shows
  </div>
  <div class="card-body">
    @if ($errors->any())
      <div class="alert alert-danger">
        <ul>
            @foreach ($errors->all() as $error)
              <li>{{ $error }}</li>
            @endforeach
        </ul>
      </div><br />
    @endif
      <form method="post" action="{{ route('disneyplus.store') }}">
          <div class="form-group">
              @csrf
              <label for="name">Show Name:</label>
              <input type="text" class="form-control" name="show_name"/>
          </div>
          <div class="form-group">
              <label for="price">Series :</label>
              <input type="text" class="form-control" name="series"/>
          </div>
          <div class="form-group">
              <label for="quantity">Show Lead Actor :</label>
              <input type="text" class="form-control" name="lead_actor"/>
          </div>
          <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Create Show</button>
      </form>
  </div>
</div>
@endsection

Step 6: Store data in the database

Now, we will write the two functions inside the DisneyplusController.php file.

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use App\Disneyplus;

class DisneyplusController extends Controller
{
    public function create()
    {
        return view('form');
    }

    public function store(Request $request)
    {
        $validatedData = $request->validate([
            'show_name' => 'required|max:255',
            'series' => 'required|max:255',
            'lead_actor' => 'required|max:255',
        ]);
        Disneyplus::create($validatedData);
   
        return redirect('/disneyplus')->with('success', 'Disney Plus Show is successfully saved');
    }
}

So, in the above file, first, we have shown the form file, and then inside the store function, we check for validation and then store the data into the database.

<?php

namespace App;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class Disneyplus extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = ['show_name', 'series', 'lead_actor'];
}

You will see one form. Try to save the data, and if everything in the code is right, you will see one entry in the database.

Step: 7 Create a view file to display the data.

Before creating a view file, we need to add one route inside the web.php.

// web.php

Route::get('disneyplus/list', 'DisneyplusController@index')->name('disneyplus.index');

Now, create a view file called list.blade.php file. Add the following code.

@extends('layout')
@section('content')
<table class="table table-striped">
  <thead>
    <th>ID</th>
    <th>Show Name</th>
    <th>Series</th>
    <th>Lead Actor</th>
    <th>Action</th>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    @foreach($shows as $show)
    <tr>
      <td>{{$show->id}}</td>
      <td>{{$show->show_name}}</td>
      <td>{{$show->series}}</td>
      <td>{{$show->lead_actor}}</td>
    </tr>
    @endforeach
  </tbody>
</table>
@endsection

Now, add the code inside the index() function of the DisneyplusController.php file.

public function index()
{
        $shows = Disneyplus::all();

        return view('list', compact('shows'));
}

Now, go to the http://laravel6.test/disneyplus/list or http://localhost:8000/disneyplus/list.

You will see the listing of the shows.

Step 8: Create Exports class

You may do this by using the make:export command.

php artisan make:export DisneyplusExport --model=Disneyplus

The file can be found in app/Exports directory.

The file DisneyplusExport.php is the following.

<?php

namespace App\Exports;

use App\Disneyplus;
use Maatwebsite\Excel\Concerns\FromCollection;

class DisneyplusExport implements FromCollection
{
    /**
    * @return \Illuminate\Support\Collection
    */
    public function collection()
    {
        return Disneyplus::all();
    }
}

If you prefer to create the export manually, you can build the following in app/Exports.

Step 9: Write the export function

Inside the DisneyplusController.php file, add the following code.

// DisneyplusController.php

use App\Disneyplus;
use App\Exports\DisneyplusExport;
use Maatwebsite\Excel\Facades\Excel;

public function export() 
{
        return Excel::download(new DisneyplusExport, 'disney.xlsx');
}

So, our final file looks like below.

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use App\Disneyplus;
use App\Exports\DisneyplusExport;
use Maatwebsite\Excel\Facades\Excel;

class DisneyplusController extends Controller
{
    public function create()
    {
        return view('form');
    }

    public function store(Request $request)
    {
        $validatedData = $request->validate([
            'show_name' => 'required|max:255',
            'series' => 'required|max:255',
            'lead_actor' => 'required|max:255',
        ]);
        Disneyplus::create($validatedData);
   
        return redirect('/disneyplus')->with('success', 'Disney Plus Show is successfully saved');
    }

    public function index()
    {
        $shows = Disneyplus::all();

        return view('list', compact('shows'));
    }

    public function export() 
    {
        return Excel::download(new DisneyplusExport, 'disney.xlsx');
    }
}

Finally, add the route to be able to access the export:

// web.php

Route::get('export', 'DisneyplusController@export');

Also, add the link to the Export inside the list.blade.php file.

@foreach($shows as $show)
    <tr>
      <td>{{$show->id}}</td>
      <td>{{$show->show_name}}</td>
      <td>{{$show->series}}</td>
      <td>{{$show->lead_actor}}</td>
      <td><a href="{{action('DisneyplusController@export')}}">Export</a></td>
    </tr>
@endforeach

Okay, now eventually go to the http://laravel6.test/disneyplus/list, and now you can see one link called Export.

Click on the Export link, and you will see the disney.xlsx file inside your Download folder.

Exporting collections in CSV in Laravel

By default, the export format is determined by the file’s extension.

public function export() 
{
        return Excel::download(new DisneyplusExport, 'disney.csv');
}

It will download the CSV file.

If you want to configure the export format explicitly, you can pass it through as 2nd parameter.

You can find more details about export in different formats on this link.

Finally, Laravel Export in Excel and CSV data example is over.