# Using ruby to open an Excel file on a mac **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [July 8, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/using-ruby-to-open-an-excel-file-on-a-mac/171766 "2009-07-08T21:45:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jimmyether](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@jimmyether](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/jimmyether)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/using-ruby-to-open-an-excel-file-on-a-mac/171766/1 "2009-07-08T21:45:23Z")
Hello everyone, I have a bit of an issue that I’m trying to work through pertaining to opening an excel file I want to open using ruby. I tried looking in google and all sorts of places but all I could really find is how to open a new file of Excel. This I can do no problem, however I am unable to open an existing file. I am currently using: Mac OS X v 10.4.11 PowerPC G4. Ruby v1.8.6 Rubygems v1.3.4 On the mac my beginning code looks like this #!/usr/local/bin/env ruby require ‘rubygems’ require ‘appscript’ #This script retrieves the data from excel and puts it into arrays class Test\_arraydata def EXTCOdata(\*arrays listed here, removed for security purposes) begin #opens excel $excel=Appscript.app(‘Microsoft Excel’) workbook=$excel.activate(’\Automation\Safari\’) If anyone could help me out with this, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![jimmyether](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@jimmyether](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/jimmyether)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/using-ruby-to-open-an-excel-file-on-a-mac/171766/2 "2009-07-08T23:55:51Z")
Ryan W. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > require ‘appscript’ > workbook=$excel.activate(‘\Automation\Safari\’) > So, you’re doing this with appscript? Well then, in the first place, > “activate” is not “open” (and in any case “activate” doesn’t take any > arguments, and doesn’t return a value). If you mean “open”, say “open”. Next we come to your argument. What is that funny string with backward slashes? If it is meant to be a posix path, it would need forward slashes. But in any case, “open” does not take a posix path. You need to use an alias (i.e. a MacTypes::Alias). So, for example: require ‘appscript’ f = MacTypes::Alias.path(“/Users/mattleopard/Desktop/testing.xls”) excel = Appscript.app(“Microsoft Excel”) excel.activate excel.open f I can’t tell whether what you need to learn is AppleScript or rb-appscript, but I have a written a print book about the one and an online book about the other: AppleScript: > **[AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition](https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/applescript-the-definitive/0596102119/)** > > Mac users everywhere--even those who know nothing about programming--are discovering the value of the latest version of AppleScript, Apple's vastly improved scripting language for Mac OS X Tiger. And with … - Selection from AppleScript: The... rb-appscript: [http://www.apeth.com/rbappscript/00intro.html](http://www.apeth.com/rbappscript/00intro.html) Hope this helps - m. ---
**Author:** ![jimmyether](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@jimmyether](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/jimmyether)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/using-ruby-to-open-an-excel-file-on-a-mac/171766/3 "2009-07-09T15:46:08Z")
I have another question pertaining to individual tabs in the excel workbook itself. I looked through the link on appscript that you sent and maybe I missed it and if I did my apologies. In windows I’m able to to do the following in order to get data from different worksheets within the excel workbook worksheet1= workbook.Worksheets(‘Testdata’) worksheet2= workbook.Worksheets(‘Items’) I have workbook defined as: workbook = MacTypes::Alisas.path(/insert path here/workbookname.xls) This should be the last question I have. Thanks for again for the help ---
**Author:** ![jimmyether](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@jimmyether](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/jimmyether)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/using-ruby-to-open-an-excel-file-on-a-mac/171766/4 "2009-07-09T17:27:09Z")
Ryan W. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > I have workbook defined as: > workbook = MacTypes::Alisas.path(/insert path here/workbookname.xls) > > This should be the last question I have. Thanks for again for the help But this is what I mean about learning AppleScript / appscript. What you are really asking, I think, is just “how do I refer to worksheets of a workbook?” But Excel’s scripting dictionary tells you that, clearly. This is very basic stuff. The stuff I linked you to tells you how to read the scripting dictionary, discover the worksheets element of a workbook object, and use it within rb-appscript. For the scripting dictionary, see chapter 8 of the online book: [http://www.apeth.com/rbappscript/08dictionary.html](http://www.apeth.com/rbappscript/08dictionary.html) If nothing else, you could just say (assuming you’ve installed ASDictionary, ): require ‘appscript’ excel = Appscript.app(“Microsoft Excel”) excel.workbooks.help And chapter 5 of the online book tells you how to form the desired reference: [http://www.apeth.com/rbappscript/05propel.html](http://www.apeth.com/rbappscript/05propel.html) Incidentally, Hamish Sanderson has just released a new version of rb-appscript so be sure to update it (along with ASDictionary and ASTranslate). I’ll be updating the online book Real Soon Now to take account of the changes. m. ---
**Author:** ![jimmyether](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@jimmyether](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/jimmyether)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/using-ruby-to-open-an-excel-file-on-a-mac/171766/5 "2009-07-09T17:34:15Z")
Thanks again for the response. I will admit that I have never really programmed before, never really taken a class. Was asked to do this for a project where I work and been stumbling along trying to learn as I go. So my apologies on being a little slow on not knowing the basics. ---
**Author:** ![jimmyether](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@jimmyether](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/jimmyether)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/using-ruby-to-open-an-excel-file-on-a-mac/171766/6 "2009-07-09T18:51:25Z")
Ryan W. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Thanks again for the response. I will admit that I have never really > programmed before, never really taken a class. Was asked to do this for > a project where I work and been stumbling along trying to learn as I go. > So my apologies on being a little slow on not knowing the basics. You’re doing very well, don’t worry! Contact me directly by email if you need to, but I think you’ll find if you’ll take a day to _read_ the online rb-appscript documentation I’ve written, the answers to your questions so far are there. m.