If you want to write to a scalar instead of a file I can send you a patch (it will be in the next version) that will let you do this:

    #!/usr/bin/perl -w

    use strict;
    use IO::Scalar;
    use Spreadsheet::WriteExcel;

    my $xls_str; 
    tie *XLS, 'IO::Scalar', \$xls_str;

    my $workbook  = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new(\*XLS);
    my $worksheet = $workbook->addworksheet();
    $worksheet->write(0, 0,  "Hi Excel!");
    $workbook->close();
    
    # The Excel file is now in $xls_str.
[download]

or to some other filehandle like this:     my $workbook  = Spreadsheet::WriteExcel->new(\*STDOUT);

John.
--
And the eighth and final rule, if this is your first time using Perl, you will have to write code.