Add a placeholder text using PhpSpreadsheet

Is there a way to add a placeholder text to a cell using PhpSpreadsheet?

I want a piece of text to be placeholder, so clients can instantly type in that cell instead of first needing to remove the text in that cell.

Answer

There is no built-in way in Excel to have a “placeholder” text that is visible in the cell when it is empty (see this Super User answer).

However, you can add a prompt message that will look like this in Excel:

Here’s how you do it:

$validation = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()->getCell('B3')
    ->getDataValidation();
$validation->setShowInputMessage(true);
$validation->setPromptTitle('Prompt title');
$validation->setPrompt('Prompt message');