# fill in merged cells
  my $ma = $page->{sheet}->{MergedArea};
  for my $a ( @$ma ) {
   my ( $tr, $lc, $br, $rc ) = @$a;
# propogate values top left to bottom right
  my $p = $page->{sheet}->{Cells}->[$tr]->[$lc]->{Val};
  for ( my $row=$tr; $row<=$br; $row++ ) {
   for ( my $col=$lc; $col<=$rc; $col++ ) {
    $page->{sheet}->{Cells}->[$row]->[$col]->{Val}=$p;
   }
  }
} # for $a