HotXLS Component for Delphi spreadsheet applications

Native Excel workbook automation for Delphi and C++Builder

HotXLS Component is a source-level Object Pascal spreadsheet library for Delphi and C++Builder. It creates new workbooks, opens existing Excel files, changes worksheets, evaluates formulas, applies formatting, and saves the result without launching Microsoft Excel, using COM automation, or depending on a desktop Office installation.

Use it when your application needs repeatable workbook generation, template filling, report export, file conversion, workbook inspection, or controlled round-trip editing in an installer, service, batch tool, desktop utility, or line-of-business application.

Current release and platform coverage

Current HotXLS release: Version 2.88.108. See the release notes for recent XLS, XLSX, formula, export, template-editing, protection, and round-trip preservation updates.

HotXLS supports Delphi XE5 through Delphi 13 Florence and C++Builder XE5 through C++Builder 13 Florence. The package includes Delphi and C++Builder demos, API documentation, examples for workbook editing and report export, and full Object Pascal / Delphi source code for licensed customers.

Two focused workbook APIs

API surface	Primary use
lxHandle	Classic Excel 97-2003 BIFF8 .xls workflows, including workbook read/write, formulas, formatting, comments, hyperlinks, chart sheets, pivot-table support, VBA payload preservation, HTML, RTF, CSV, and TSV exports.
lxHandleX	Excel 2007+ OOXML .xlsx workflows, including workbook and stream I/O, style palettes, shared strings, worksheet tables, charts, comments, drawings, external links, XLSX-specific exports, and streaming write for larger sheets.

Main capabilities

• XLS and XLSX workbook workflows: create, open, modify, and save Excel workbooks from files or streams, and quickly list sheet names from XLS or XLSX packages without loading every worksheet.
• Cell, range, and template editing: read and write numbers, strings, dates, booleans, formulas, merged cells, row and column sizes, hidden rows and columns, outlines, selections, and workbook ranges. Callback helpers can scan loaded cells, fill ranges, find text, and replace template placeholders.
• Formatting and page layout: apply fonts, colours, borders, fills, alignment, number formats, rich text, theme colours, indexed palettes, tab colours, page setup, headers, footers, print titles, page breaks, and worksheet view options.
• Formulas and calculation: evaluate formulas through the built-in calculation engine for classic XLS and XLSX workbooks, including cell references, ranges, cross-sheet references, defined names, and application-defined functions through an OnUserFunction callback.
• Workbook data features: work with hyperlinks, internal sheet anchors, defined names, comments, conditional formats, data validation, AutoFilter ranges and criteria, Excel-style tables, document properties, external links, and pivot-table records.
• Images, charts, and drawings: embed images, create worksheet charts and chart sheets, preserve VBA project payloads, and keep Excel-authored OfficeArt connector, solver, shape, and comment metadata stable during round-trip saves where supported.
• Protection and encryption: handle worksheet and workbook protection, classic XLS password workflows, and XLSX AES-protected save output while keeping unsupported encrypted-package read paths explicit in the developer documentation.
• Export helpers: export workbooks, worksheets, selected ranges, database tables, and DBGrid content to Excel, HTML, RTF, CSV, and TSV outputs, including HTML table fragments for previews, emails, or web reports.

Designed for controlled automation

HotXLS is useful when Office automation is not a good fit for a production workflow. Spreadsheet processing stays inside your application process, which reduces dependence on interactive desktop sessions and makes deployment easier for unattended tools and server-side jobs.

The library is developed around documented workbook structures and practical Excel interoperability. Recent releases focus on preserving Excel-authored records, workbook metadata, comments, hyperlinks, external-link data, worksheet state, protection options, VBA payloads, table data, AutoFilter state, drawing records, and view settings during open/save round trips. That approach helps applications make targeted edits without unnecessarily rewriting parts of the workbook they do not own.

HotXLS is an independent losLab Software product. Microsoft Excel is not required at runtime, and this page does not claim Microsoft certification, endorsement, or trademark ownership.

Common use cases

Scenario	How HotXLS helps
Report generation	Create styled workbooks from application data, database tables, DBGrid content, or callback-driven worksheet writers.
Template editing	Open an existing workbook, find and replace text placeholders, fill ranges, preserve surrounding metadata, and save the edited file.
Workbook inspection	Read sheet names, worksheet ranges, document properties, comments, hyperlinks, names, filters, and selected workbook metadata from controlled code.
Office-free export	Generate Excel-compatible output on machines where Microsoft Office is not installed, including services and unattended batch jobs.
Legacy and modern workbook support	Use one component family for classic BIFF8 .xls workflows and current OOXML .xlsx workflows.
Preview and conversion pipelines	Export whole sheets or selected ranges to HTML, RTF, CSV, or TSV for previews, email fragments, imports, and downstream systems.
Auditable document pipelines	Keep workbook transformations inside your own Delphi or C++Builder code path instead of driving an external UI application.

Evaluation, licensing, and support

Download the HotXLS Delphi Spreadsheet Component demo package to review the demos and API documentation before purchase.

New commercial licences include the full Object Pascal / Delphi source code, one year of software updates, one year of email support, and royalty-free use in unlimited applications under the selected developer-count licence.

Pay with credit/debit cards, PayPal, AliPay, or wire transfer:
HotXLS Single Licence ($499)
HotXLS Team/SME Licence ($999)
HotXLS Enterprise Licence ($1999)

Purchase yearly renewal for existing licences. Renewal pricing is listed on the HotXLS purchase page.

Open the HotXLS online documentation or contact losLab Software with licensing and technical questions.