PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet · error · PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Exception

Sheet does not have a chart named $chartName.

Error message

Sheet does not have a chart named $chartName.

What it means

Thrown by Worksheet::getChartByNameOrThrow() when getChartByName() returns false, i.e. no chart in this worksheet's chart collection carries the exact requested name. Chart lookup is per-worksheet and name-exact, so a chart living on another sheet or named differently (case, spaces) is 'not found'.

Source

Thrown at src/PhpSpreadsheet/Worksheet/Worksheet.php:657

    public function getChartByName(string $chartName)
    {
        foreach ($this->chartCollection as $index => $chart) {
            if ($chart->getName() == $chartName) {
                return $chart;
            }
        }

        return false;
    }

    public function getChartByNameOrThrow(string $chartName): Chart
    {
        $chart = $this->getChartByName($chartName);
        if ($chart !== false) {
            return $chart;
        }

        throw new Exception("Sheet does not have a chart named $chartName.");
    }

    /**
     * Refresh column dimensions.
     *
     * @return $this
     */
    public function refreshColumnDimensions(): static
    {
        $newColumnDimensions = [];
        foreach ($this->getColumnDimensions() as $objColumnDimension) {
            $newColumnDimensions[$objColumnDimension->getColumnIndex()] = $objColumnDimension;
        }

        $this->columnDimensions = $newColumnDimensions;

        return $this;
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 65b080eef4)

Solutions

1. Enumerate charts first: foreach ($sheet->getChartCollection() as $chart) { ... $chart->getName() } and match dynamically
2. Use the non-throwing $sheet->getChartByName($name) and check !== false before using the result
3. Verify you are on the right sheet: search all sheets' collections for the name

Example fix

// before
$chart = $sheet->getChartByNameOrThrow('SalesChart'); // throws if absent

// after
$chart = $sheet->getChartByName('SalesChart');
if ($chart === false) {
    // log / render placeholder / search other sheets
}

$chart = $sheet->getChartByName('SalesChart');
if ($chart === false) {
    // enumerate to find the real name
    foreach ($sheet->getChartCollection() as $c) {
        // inspect $c->getName()
    }
    return;
}

/** @param mixed $chart Chart|false from getChartByName() */
function chartFound($chart): bool
{
    return $chart !== false;
}

try {
    $chart = $sheet->getChartByNameOrThrow($name);
} catch (\PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Exception $e) {
    if (str_contains($e->getMessage(), 'does not have a chart named')) {
        // fall back to positional access: $sheet->getChartByIndex(0)
    } else {
        throw $e;
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: $sheet->getChartByNameOrThrow('Chart 5') when the sheet has no charts or the chart is named 'chart 5'/'Chart5'; calling it on the active sheet when the chart actually sits on another sheet; after renaming charts in the source xlsx.

Common situations: Hardcoding chart names that change between template versions; reading user-uploaded files whose chart names differ; assuming chart names are workbook-global when they are per-sheet.

Related errors

• #N/A
• #VALUE!
• Cannot update when cell is not bound to a worksheet
• Cannot get column when cell is not bound to a worksheet
• Cannot get row when cell is not bound to a worksheet

AI-assisted analysis of PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet@65b080eef4 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7678ff614c8b2047. Report an issue: GitHub.