npm package: @michael_ting/node-red-template2xlsx
Description: A Node-RED node to generate Excel files from a template using ExcelJS
Author: Michael_Ting
Latest version: 1.0.0

# @michael_ting/node-red-template2xlsx

A Node-RED node to generate Excel files from a template using ExcelJS.

## Installation

To install this node, run the following command in your Node-RED user directory (typically `~/.node-red`):

```bash
npm install @michael_ting/node-red-template2xlsx
Usage
This node allows you to generate Excel files based on a template. You can specify the template file path and the output file path either in the node configuration or in the incoming message.

Node Configuration
Template File Path: The path to the Excel template file.
Output File Path: The path where the generated Excel file will be saved.
Message Configuration
You can also specify the template and output file paths in the incoming message. The message should have the following structure:

<JSON>
{
  "templatePath": "/path/to/template.xlsx",
  "outputPath": "/path/to/output.xlsx",
  "payload": {
    "items": [
      {
        "name": "Item 1",
        "price": { "type": "currency", "value": 10.5 },
        "tags": [
          { "tagName": "Tag1" },
          { "tagName": "Tag2" }
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": "Item 2",
        "price": { "type": "currency", "value": 20.0 },
        "tags": [
          { "tagName": "Tag3" },
          { "tagName": "Tag4" }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}
Example Flow
Here is an example flow that demonstrates how to use the exceljs-template node:

<JSON>
[
  {
    "id": "1",
    "type": "inject",
    "z": "1",
    "name": "",
    "props": [
      {
        "p": "payload"
      }
    ],
    "repeat": "",
    "crontab": "",
    "once": false,
    "onceDelay": 0.1,
    "topic": "",
    "payload": "{\"items\":[{\"name\":\"Item 1\",\"price\":{\"type\":\"currency\",\"value\":10.5},\"tags\":[{\"tagName\":\"Tag1\"},{\"tagName\":\"Tag2\"}]},{\"name\":\"Item 2\",\"price\":{\"type\":\"currency\",\"value\":20.0},\"tags\":[{\"tagName\":\"Tag3\"},{\"tagName\":\"Tag4\"}]}]}",
    "payloadType": "json",
    "x": 150,
    "y": 100,
    "wires": [
      [
        "2"
      ]
    ]
  },
  {
    "id": "2",
    "type": "exceljs-template",
    "z": "1",
    "name": "",
    "templatePath": "/path/to/template.xlsx",
    "outputPath": "/path/to/output.xlsx",
    "x": 350,
    "y": 100,
    "wires": [
      [
        "3"
      ]
    ]
  },
  {
    "id": "3",
    "type": "debug",
    "z": "1",
    "name": "",
    "active": true,
    "tosidebar": true,
    "console": false,
    "tostatus": false,
    "complete": "true",
    "targetType": "full",
    "x": 550,
    "y": 100,
    "wires": []
  }
]
Error Handling
If the node fails to find the specified worksheet or loop placeholders, it will throw an error. The following messages may be logged:

"Failed to get worksheet by index, trying to get it by name."
"Failed to find the specified worksheet"
"Failed to find loop placeholders"
Development
To contribute to the development of this node, clone the repository and install the dependencies:

<BASH>
git clone https://github.com/your-repo/@michael_ting/node-red-template2xlsx.git
cd @michael_ting/node-red-template2xlsx
npm install
License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgements
This node uses the ExcelJS library to handle Excel file operations.