How do I import specific columns from XLSX to an array?

[hohanov]

I need to import a table into an array. And import not all cells, but only 2 columns.

For example, from

A	B	C	D	F
1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10

to

[
    {
        'A' => 1,
        'F' => 5,
    },
    {
        'A' => 6,
        'F' => 10,
    }
]

app\Imports\PricesImport.php

    <?php
    
    namespace App\Imports;
    
    use Maatwebsite\Excel\Concerns\ToArray;
    use Maatwebsite\Excel\Concerns\Importable;
    
    class PricesImport implements ToArray
    {
        use Importable;
    
        public function array(array $rows)
        {
            return array($rows[0], $rows[4]);
        }
    }

And the call in the controller:

    <?php
    
    namespace App\Http\Controllers;
    
    use Illuminate\Http\Request;
    use App\Imports\PricesImport;
    use Maatwebsite\Excel\Facades\Excel;
    
    class SomeController extends Controller
    {
        public function import(Request $request) {
            $array = Excel::toArray(new PricesImport, $request->file('file'));
        }
    }

But it doesn't work. What am I doing wrong?

[hohanov]

Update

Tried this option, but it returns all columns, not 2 specific columns
app\Imports\PricesImport.php

    <?php
    
    namespace App\Imports;
    
    use Maatwebsite\Excel\Concerns\ToArray;
    use Maatwebsite\Excel\Concerns\Importable;
    
    class PricesImport implements ToArray
    {
        use Importable;
        private $data;

        public function __construct()
        {
            $this->data = [];
        }

        public function array(array $rows)
        {
            foreach ($rows as $row) {
                $row = $row->toArray();
                $this->data[] = array('sku' => $row[0], 'price' => $row[4]);
            }
            return $this->data;
        }
    }

[hohanov]

Thanks for your reply.
To be honest, I can't find a similar code example anywhere...

[patrickbrouwers]

When using Excel::toArray you can implement it however you want. It's just a PHP array in the end, nothing this package can provide anything in.

[hohanov]

Thanks.
Yes, I would like to implement the selection of the required columns inside the import class. I hope this helps speed up the processing of large files... But I don't really understand how to build an import class and return an array of the necessary data, and not the whole table

[patrickbrouwers]

I would highly recommend reading the architectural concepts part of the docs to get a better understanding of how import classes work

In your case your code example with $this->data is correct, however you shouldn't return it, but add a getter. See this part of the docs: https://docs.laravel-excel.com/3.1/architecture/objects.html#getters

[hohanov]

Thanks a lot for the hint! It worked. I read all the documentation but lack of experience made it difficult to understand.

[hohanov]

Thanks to a hint from @patrickbrouwers , this worked:
app\Imports\PricesImport.php

    <?php
    
    namespace App\Imports;
    
    use Maatwebsite\Excel\Concerns\ToArray;
    
    class PricesImport implements ToArray
    {
        private $data;

        public function __construct()
        {
            $this->data = [];
        }
        public function array(array $rows)
        {
            foreach ($rows as $row) {
                $this->data[] = array('sku' => $row[0], 'price' => $row[4]);
            }
        }

        public function getArray(): array
        {
            return $this->data;
        }
    }

And the call in the controller:

    <?php
    
    namespace App\Http\Controllers;
    
    use Illuminate\Http\Request;
    use App\Imports\PricesImport;
    use Maatwebsite\Excel\Facades\Excel;
    
    class SomeController extends Controller
    {
        public function import(Request $request) {
            $import = new PricesImport;
            Excel::import($import, $request->file('file'));
            $array = $import->getArray();
        }
    }