The function that you need is FmtString() which is a method of the Spreadsheet::ParseExcel::FmtDefault class.

Here is a short example which assumes that there is formatted data in cell A1 of the first worksheet: 

    #!/usr/bin/perl -w

    use strict;
    use Spreadsheet::ParseExcel;
    use Spreadsheet::ParseExcel::FmtDefault;

    my $file     = Spreadsheet::ParseExcel->new();
    my $format   = Spreadsheet::ParseExcel::FmtDefault->new();
    my $workbook = $file->Parse('test.xls');


    my ($row, $col) = (0, 0);
    my $worksheet   = $workbook->{Worksheet}[0];
    my $cell        = $worksheet->{Cells}[$row][$col];

    print $format->FmtString($cell, $workbook), "\n";

[download]

You could also consider the Spreadsheet::ParseExcel::SaveParser part of Spreadsheet::ParseExcel which can be used to update an existing Excel file. The following is an example from the pod of the newer simplified interface. 

    use strict;
    use Spreadsheet::ParseExcel::SaveParser;
    $oBook = 
        Spreadsheet::ParseExcel::SaveParser::Workbook->Parse('Test97.x
+ls');
    my $oWs = $oBook->AddWorksheet('TEST1');
    $oWs->AddCell(10, 1, 'New Cell');
    $oBook->SaveAs('iftest.xls');

[download]

--
John.

In reply to Re: Spreadsheet::ParseExcel Numeric Format Woes by jmcnamara
in thread Spreadsheet::ParseExcel Numeric Format Woes by Mr. Muskrat

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.