On the PHPBuilder.com site today, they spotlight a handy tool that can be used to translate CVS data into an XLS spreadsheet quickly and easily.

CSVtoXLS is a utility that is used to convert CSV data into business class XLS spreadsheet files, and is compatible with OpenOffice 2.0 Calc and Excel 2000. The Spreadsheet_Excel_Writer module provides for a high level of formatting and also offers formulas. CSVtoXLS.php takes advantage of those features and provides meaningful formatting and a simple Column SUM is automatically generated at the bottom of any Decimal Column.

The utility is simple to use - they give you the command to execute and how to format your CVS data for optimal results. There's also some simple installation steps and a sample test script to get you started.