How to extract Excel file header names into array list using POI?

Question

I have a requirement, where dynamic data comes from excel, and I need to extract header(column) names(1st row) into array list.

file =new FileInputStream(new File("excel file")); HSSFWorkbook workbook = new XSSFWorkbook(file);

Any input greatly appreciated, I am very new to java programming.

Thanks

Grab the first sheet, grab the first row, iterate over all the cells, grab/format the values and return? — Gagravarr
– Gagravarr, Commented Apr 2, 2020 at 11:42

Arvind Kumar Avinash · Accepted Answer · 2020-04-02 14:13:44Z

1

Do it as follows:

// Get the workbook instance for XLS file
XSSFWorkbook workbook = new XSSFWorkbook(file);

// Get the first sheet from the workbook
XSSFSheet firstSheet = workbook.getSheetAt(0);

// Get the first row from the sheet
Row row = firstSheet.getRow(0);

// Create a List to store the header data
ArrayList<String> headerData = new ArrayList<>();

// Iterate cells of the row and add data to the List
for (Cell cell : row) {
    switch (cell.getCellType()) {
    case NUMERIC:
        if (HSSFDateUtil.isCellDateFormatted(cell)) {
            DataFormatter dataFormatter = new DataFormatter();
            headerData.add(dataFormatter.formatCellValue(cell));
        } else {
            headerData.add(String.valueOf(cell.getNumericCellValue()));
        }
        break;
    case STRING:
        headerData.add(cell.getStringCellValue());
        break;
    case BOOLEAN:
        headerData.add(String.valueOf(cell.getBooleanCellValue()));
        break;
    default:
        headerData.add("");
        break;
    }
}

// Print the List
System.out.println(headerData);

Feel free to comment in case of any doubt/issue.

edited Apr 2, 2020 at 14:13

answered Apr 2, 2020 at 11:43

Arvind Kumar Avinash

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8 Comments

user2927486 Over a year ago

Thanks Arvind for the quick replay, does the statement needs to be type casted? , as header is string array and cell is an object. I am getting " The method add(string) in the type ArrayList<String> is not applicable for the arguments (cell)

user2927486 Over a year ago

the statement is throwing out the Exception: headerData.add(cellIterator.next())

Gagravarr Over a year ago

You'd probably be better off either checking the cell type, or using a class like DataFormatter - this code will fail for headers like dates or numbers!

Arvind Kumar Avinash Over a year ago

Thanks, @Gagravarr for the suggestion. I've updated the code to incorporate the same.

user2927486 Over a year ago

Thanks Arvind, that was great help

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