Non-Static Methods

Excel functions can be non-static Java methods so long as the class has a public default constructor or a public constructor that takes a single parameter of type ExcelAddIn.

The ExcelAddIn interface can be used to call back into Excel and the Jinx add-in and has, among others, the following methods:

Method Description
String getAddInPath() Returns the path to the jinx.xll file being used.
ClassLoader getClassLoader() Returns the ClassLoader used to load the classes.
List<String> getConfigSections() Returns a List of config sections parsed from the config file.
List<String> getConfigSectionKeys(String section) Returns a list of keys for a config section.
boolean hasConfigValue(String section, String key) Returns true if a config setting exists.
String getConfigValue(String section, String key) Returns an item from the config.
<T> convertArgument(Object arg, Class<T> cls) Converts an Object passed to an Excel function to a Java type.
long getExcelApplication() Retrieves the COM Excel.Application instance for the current Excel process.
ExcelReference getCaller() Get the calling cell as an ExcelReference instance.
Future schedule(Runnable task) Schedule a callback on the main thread to be run as a macro.
void log(LogRecord logRecord) Logs to the xll log file.

Full documentation for the ExcelAddIn interface can be found in the javadocs.

The convertArgument method is particularly useful for functions that take a variety of different types or an array of Objects.

Below is a contrived example, but it illustrates a non-static method using a public constructor taking an ExcelAddIn.

import com.exceljava.jinx.ExcelFunction;
import com.exceljava.jinx.ExcelAddIn;

class CarUtils {
    private final ExcelAddIn xl;

    public CarUtils(ExcelAddIn xl) {
        this.xl = xl;
    }

    @ExcelFunction
    public String carToString(Object obj) {
        Car car;
        try {
            car = xl.convertArgument(obj, Car.class);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Expected a car", e);
        }
        return car.toString();
    }
}

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