PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet · error · SpreadsheetException

unusable type $gettype

Error message

unusable type $gettype

What it means

Error "unusable type $gettype" thrown in PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet.

Source

Thrown at src/PhpSpreadsheet/Cell/DefaultValueBinder.php:86

        if (is_bool($value)) {
            return DataType::TYPE_BOOL;
        }
        if ($value === '') {
            return DataType::TYPE_STRING;
        }
        if ($value instanceof RichText) {
            return DataType::TYPE_INLINE;
        }
        if ($value instanceof BaseDrawing) {
            return DataType::TYPE_DRAWING_IN_CELL;
        }
        if ($value instanceof Stringable) {
            $value = (string) $value;
        }
        if (!is_string($value)) {
            $gettype = is_object($value) ? get_class($value) : gettype($value);

            throw new SpreadsheetException("unusable type $gettype");
        }
        if (strlen($value) > 1 && $value[0] === '=') {
            $calculation = CalculationParserOnly::getParserInstance();

            try {
                if (empty($calculation->parseFormula($value))) {
                    return DataType::TYPE_STRING;
                }
            } catch (CalculationException $e) {
                $message = $e->getMessage();
                if (
                    $message === 'Formula Error: An unexpected error occurred'
                    || str_contains($message, 'has no operands')
                ) {
                    return DataType::TYPE_STRING;
                }
            }

View on GitHub (pinned to 65b080eef4)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at src/PhpSpreadsheet/Cell/DefaultValueBinder.php:86 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet@65b080eef4 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a777762fb85e9010. Report an issue: GitHub.