# Content options panel

This panel includes options for customizing the format of the spreadsheet.

| Field                                        | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| -------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Start writing at cell**                    | Specify the cell in the MS Excel spreadsheet (letter column, number row) to start writing to in Excel notation, for example, `A1`.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| **When writing rows**                        | <p>Specify how to write in new rows when the spreadsheet contains existing rows with data.</p><ul><li>Select <strong>overwrite existing cells</strong> to keep the existing cells and write the new data to them.</li><li>Select <strong>shift existing cells down</strong> to append the new rows to the top of the sheet, shifting down existing cells.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| **Write Header**                             | <p>Decide whether to use the first row as the header row in the output spreadsheet.</p><ul><li>Select to use the first row of cells as the header row names for the output spreadsheet.</li><li>Clear to keep the first row formatted as is.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| **Write Footer**                             | <p>Decide whether to use the last row as the footer row in the output spreadsheet.</p><ul><li>Select to use the last row of cells as the footer row names for the output spreadsheet</li><li>Clear to keep the last row formatted as is.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| **Auto size columns**                        | <p>Decide whether the columns should automatically resize to fit the content.</p><p>Note that auto-sizing is not a feature directly supported by <code>.xls</code> and <code>.xlsx</code> file formats, so results may vary.</p><ul><li>Select this option to auto-size columns to fit the content. To ensure the most accurate column-width calculations when using the auto-size feature, install the appropriate fonts on your server environment.</li><li>Clear this option to maintain column width, despite content size.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| **Retain NULL values**                       | <p>Decide if null values in a cell are retained when reading.- Select this option to keep the null values.</p><ul><li>Clear this option to replace the null values with empty strings.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| **Force formula recalculation**              | <p>Decide whether you want the step to attempt to update all the formula fields in the output file.</p><p>When selected for the <code>.xls</code> file format, a flag is set by the step. The formulas are recalculated as soon as the file is opened in MS Excel. When selected for the <code>.xlsx</code> file format, the step attempts to recalculate the formula fields; however, the underlying POI library does not support the full set of Excel formulas, which may contribute to errors if the step cannot recalculate the formulas.</p><ul><li>Select this option to force the step to update all the formula fields in the output file.</li><li>Clear this option to keep the formula fields as is and not update them.</li></ul> |
| **Leave styles of existing cells unchanged** | <p>Decide whether you want the step to set the style of existing cells being written, which is useful when writing to pre-formatted template sheets.</p><ul><li>Select this option to leave the style information of existing cells unchanged.</li><li>Clear this option to overwrite the style of existing cells.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| **Extend data validation range**             | <p>Decide whether you want to extend the validation range when performing Data Validation in the template.- Select this option to validate data up to and including the last row written.</p><ul><li>Clear this option to use the normal validation.</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |


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