HI, actually am new to php enviroment and i need a help in saving the data into the .xls file exectly according to how the data is organised in the php page.
currently i can retrieve the datafrom the database and display it. what should i do to save the data into the .xls file by providing a link?

<?php
$host="localhost";  
$username="root";
$password="";
$db_name="test"; 
$tbl_name="test_mysql";  
 
mysql_connect("$host", "$username", "$password")or die("cannot connect"); 
mysql_select_db("$db_name")or die("cannot select DB");
 
$sql="SELECT * FROM $tbl_name";
$result=mysql_query($sql);
 
while($rows=mysql_fetch_array($result)){
?>
<table width="400" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td width="10%"><? echo $rows['id']; ?></td>
<td width="30%"><? echo $rows['name']; ?></td>
<td width="30%"><? echo $rows['lastname']; ?></td>
<td width="30%"><? echo $rows['email']; ?></td>
</tr>
</table>
<?
 
}
 
mysql_close();
?>

this is how i display the data in the php page according to the format (id,name,lastname,email). how do i save the data into the .xls file so the format in the .xls file will also be the same as how it is displayed in the php page by providing a link?

Do not go to .xls, the format is closed, and microsoft don't gives how it's formatted.

Generate an CSV (comma separated values), and let excel import it if you want to exchange datas.
Simply generate a text file, with the first line being the fields name, and every later lines being the datas:

id,name,value
1,"this is a name", "and it's value"
2,"my name is Joe", "and I love bananas"

Excel will read and display those correctly.
But it only support datas, no formulas/macros

But i am still unclear with
Generate an CSV (comma separated values), and let excel import it if you want to exchange datas.
How should i actually do the. pls give me guide.
thanks

simply create a file with the structure like I've displayed above.
Once this file is created, with an .xls extension, when you try to open it with excel, it will display it like it was an excel file.

Actually i am still blur about it as the enviroment are new to me. kindly could you explain it more detail?
thanks

Actually Excel can accept a type of format in which you can create a dynamic page for it. Its a cross between html and xml in which you can alter the xls layout with specific widths colors styles and multiple other things.

I don't know what the format is, but I bet you could Google it, or better yet find another php script to download to use as an example. (phpMyAdmin export modules for example).

When reading writing csv files in php there are a few key funtions you'll want to read up on:

1. fopen and related - these are simple functions which handle files very well.
2. explode/implode - these are great for converting arrays (which are great for storing tabular data in php) into delimited strings (like you'll want for your csv file).

If I were at work I'd put some sample code for you to play with, but you should be able to make a start from this post. Let me know if you have any trouble.
Tom

here is an example on how to generate xml

PHP Code:

print "<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>\n";
print "<Properties>\n";
print "<Exporter><![CDATA[http://site.com]]></Exporter>\n";
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)) 
        {
            $listings ++;
                

            print "<Property>\n";
            print "<PropertyID><![CDATA[".$row[id1]."]]></PropertyID>\n";
            print "<PropertyName><![CDATA[".$row[title]."]]></PropertyName>\n";
            print "<PropertyTypeName><![CDATA[".xmlentities($propcat[$row[proptype]])."]]></PropertyTypeName>\n";
            print "<LocationName><![CDATA[".$row[location]."]]></LocationName>\n";
            print "<LocationTypeName><![CDATA[".$row[locationtype]."]]></LocationTypeName>\n";
            print "<RegionName><![CDATA[".$row[regionname]."]]></RegionName>\n";
            print "<Description><![CDATA[".strip_tags($row[descr])."]]></Description>\n";
            print "<Area><![CDATA[".$row[size]."]]></Area>\n";
            print "<Garden><![CDATA[0]]></Garden>\n";
            print "<Cost><![CDATA[".$row[price]."]]></Cost>\n";
            print "<Currency><![CDATA[EUR]]></Currency>\n";
        
            print "</Property>\n";
            
        }

well thanks for the reply and i still trying on it as the php is a total new enviroment for me. i will try the solution posted.