XLWT : Changing the Cell Background Color

[Chanman]

How does one change the cell background color using the xlwt module?
I've looked at several tutorials but none show how to change the
background color. I've tried the following:

badBG = xlwt.Pattern()
badBG.SOLID_PATTERN = 0x34
badBG.NO_PATTERN = 0x34
badBG.pattern_fore_colour = 0x34
badBG.pattern_back_colour = 0x34

badFontStyle = xlwt.XFStyle()
badFontStyle.Pattern = badBG

sheet1.write(1,1,'hello world', badFontStyle)

However, the background cell color still remains white. Any help?

[John Machin]

On Jun 20, 2:23 am, Chanman <bryancc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> How does one change the cell background color using the xlwt module?
> I've looked at several tutorials but none show how to change the
> background color. I've tried the following:
>
> badBG = xlwt.Pattern()
> badBG.SOLID_PATTERN = 0x34
> badBG.NO_PATTERN = 0x34

Python convention is that UPPER_CASE is used for pseudo-constants --
assigning different values to them is at best pointless and at worst
could make things blow up.

You need
badBG.pattern = badBG.SOLID_PATTERN
to set what type of pattern you want. The default is NO_PATTERN.

> badBG.pattern_fore_colour = 0x34
> badBG.pattern_back_colour = 0x34

Setting pattern_back_colour is neither necessary nor useful for a
SOLID_PATTERN -- you only see the pattern_fore_colour. On the other
hand, for any other pattern type, you need to set pattern_fore_colour
and pattern_back_colour to two different colours; if they are the
same, you would get the same effect as SOLID_PATTERN.

>
> badFontStyle = xlwt.XFStyle()

"Font" is irrelevant and/or potentially misleading here -- but I
should address my grumble to the author of the blog from which you
copied this :-)

> badFontStyle.Pattern = badBG
>
> sheet1.write(1,1,'hello world', badFontStyle)
>
> However, the background cell color still remains white. Any help?

HTH,
John

[Chanman]

Yes, it did, thank you. For those that didn't quite follow, the code
below (perhaps not the most elegant) makes a style with a green cell
background:

badBG = xlwt.Pattern()
badBG.pattern = badBG.SOLID_PATTERN
badBG.pattern_fore_colour = 3

badFontStyle = xlwt.XFStyle()
badFontStyle.pattern = badBG

Bryan