LaravelYannick Lyn Fatt3 min readintermediate
Fast Excel 5.x Adds Streaming Imports and Safer Exports
Summary
Fast Excel 5.x adds lazy imports, chunked import controls, sheet/column selection, and formula escaping, enabling low‑memory processing of large Excel files in Laravel. It now requires PHP 8+ and Laravel 6‑13 and uses OpenSpout 4.
- importLazy() streams rows via a Laravel LazyCollection, letting you batch‑insert without loading the whole file
- headerRow(), startRow() and limitRows() let you chunk imports and separate headings from data rows
- sheet() and onlyColumns() restrict imports to specific sheets and columns, cutting out empty fields
- escapeFormulas() writes user‑controlled values as plain text to prevent accidental formula execution
Laravel engineers handling large Excel uploads or generating exports should use Fast Excel 5 to avoid memory bloat and mitigate formula‑injection risks.
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