python xlwt set custom background colour of a cell

Question

I am using python 2.7 and xlwt module for excel export

I would like to set backgroung colour of a cell i know i can use

style1 = xlwt.easyxf('pattern: pattern solid, fore_colour red;')

but I would like to set custom color smth. like #8a8eef or is there a palette of possible colors, because light blue is not working :)

thank you

alecxe · Answer 1 · 2014-12-08T04:14:18.003

35

Nowadays, there is a way (originally proposed here) to define and use custom colour using add_palette_colour() and set_colour_RGB().

Here's an example:

import xlwt


book = xlwt.Workbook()

# add new colour to palette and set RGB colour value
xlwt.add_palette_colour("custom_colour", 0x21)
book.set_colour_RGB(0x21, 251, 228, 228)

# now you can use the colour in styles
sheet1 = book.add_sheet('Sheet 1')
style = xlwt.easyxf('pattern: pattern solid, fore_colour custom_colour')
sheet1.write(0, 0, 'Some text', style)

book.save('test.xls')

Also see the actual pull request that made this happen.

edited Dec 08 '14 at 04:14

answered Jan 09 '14 at 05:29

alecxe

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In your example, you used `0x21`. Is there any reason you picked that? If I want to add more, should I use `0x22`, `0x23`, and so on? – Nick Oct 13 '16 at 20:42
@Nick [source code](https://github.com/python-excel/xlwt/blob/917a8ad8db35d6e8abb306a2fda2ace648a6ab89/xlwt/Style.py#L374) suggests that `0x21` can be any number in range `8 <= colour_index <= 63` – moriesta Nov 03 '16 at 20:13
Note that you can omit `add_palette_colour` by overwriting an existing palette color. Example: `book.set_colour_RGB(0x16, 245, 245, 245); style = xlwt.easyxf('pattern: pattern solid, fore_colour gray25')` – Blaise Jan 05 '17 at 10:51
NB: although `add_palette_colour()` accepts upper case letters in color names, trying to use them in `easyxf()` fails. Make sure you apply `.lower()` if needs be. – Arnaud P Aug 31 '18 at 12:36

score 13 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 10 '13 at 19:21

13

If you are not using easyxf() and instead are building XFStyle object step by step, here is another way of using user friendly color names:

import xlwt

style = xlwt.XFStyle()
pattern = xlwt.Pattern()
pattern.pattern = xlwt.Pattern.SOLID_PATTERN
pattern.pattern_fore_colour = xlwt.Style.colour_map['dark_purple']
style.pattern = pattern

edited Nov 10 '13 at 19:21

Frank

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answered Mar 05 '13 at 17:59

darklow

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score 6 · Answer 3 · edited Dec 04 '13 at 15:12

6

For predefined colors see xlwt.Style._colour_map_text in Style.py.

To use custom colors you will have to probably redefine palette, because colors are not used directly in cells but as a index to color in a palette. I don't know how to extend palette. Sorry.

edited Dec 04 '13 at 15:12

alecxe

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answered Oct 12 '11 at 21:44

Michał Šrajer

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is there any way to add custom RGB colour to cell? – Ishikawa Yoshi May 11 '12 at 03:45

Sandeep · Answer 4 · 2015-04-03T15:42:01.120

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Alternative solution:

If you can get away with the colors defined in xlwt, go to a color information site like http://www.colorhexa.com/90ee90 and match from one of the following Python Excel colors: http://bit.ly/1NMH67F

edited Apr 03 '15 at 15:42

answered Apr 03 '15 at 11:34

Sandeep

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score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 06 '17 at 21:38

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I recommend to use XlsxWriter, has awesome features too. http://xlsxwriter.readthedocs.io/

answered Jul 06 '17 at 21:38

Angie Alejo

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XlsxWriter has more intuitive API b/c it uses key value pairs to set the formats – Wes Jul 21 '17 at 19:36
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xlwt is for old xls format, while xlsxwriter is for the new format, so they're not interchangeable. – Gregory Mar 15 '21 at 15:12

python xlwt set custom background colour of a cell

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