title: Apache POI - Writing to Excel template without overwriting existing cell formatting
body: <p>I am using Apache POI to write data to an Excel template. The template only contains headers on the first row, but I also applied specific styles to the entire column (e.g. Accounting and Percentage).</p>
  
  <p>It would be nice to use these formats when I write data to the new cells. But if I use the <code>createRow</code> and <code>createCell</code> methods, the cell format is overwritten and I get General for all the cells. If I try to use <code>getRow</code> and <code>getCell</code> instead, I run into NullPointerExceptions retrieving the blank cell.</p>
  
  <p>Is there a way to use the pre-existing cell formatting saved in the template? Or am I stuck setting the data format myself through the API?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks for your help.</p>