diff --git a/tests/__init__.py b/tests/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/python.bmp b/tests/python.bmp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bd1ba3f
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/python.bmp differ
diff --git a/tests/test_biffrecords.py b/tests/test_biffrecords.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4e00735
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_biffrecords.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+__author__ = 'hrwl'
+
+import unittest
+import six
+
+from xlwt import BIFFRecords
+
+
+class SharedStringTableTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_shared_string_table(self):
+        expected_result = six.b('\xfc\x00\x11\x00\x01\x00\x00\x00\x01\x00\x00\x00\x03\x00\x01\x1e\x04;\x04O\x04')
+        string_record = BIFFRecords.SharedStringTable(encoding='cp1251')
+        string_record.add_str(six.b('\xCE\xEB\xFF'))
+        self.assertEqual(expected_result, string_record.get_biff_record())
+
+        expected_result = six.b('\xfc\x00\x16\x00\x01\x00\x00\x00\x01\x00\x00\x00\x0b\x00\x00All around!')
+        string_record = BIFFRecords.SharedStringTable(encoding='ascii')
+        string_record.add_str(six.b('All around!'))
+        self.assertEqual(expected_result, string_record.get_biff_record())
+
+
+class Biff8BOFRecordTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_class(self):
+        biff = BIFFRecords.Biff8BOFRecord(BIFFRecords.Biff8BOFRecord.BOOK_GLOBAL).get()
+        self.assertEqual(six.b('\x09\x08\x10\x00\x00\x06\x05\x00\xbb\x0D\xcc\x07\x00\x00\x00\x00\x06\x00\x00\x00'), biff)
+
+
+class WriteAccessRecordTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_class(self):
+        biff = BIFFRecords.WriteAccessRecord('Hans').get()
+        self.assertEqual(six.b('\\\x00p\x00Hans                                                                                                            '), biff)
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    unittest.main()
+
diff --git a/tests/test_examples.py b/tests/test_examples.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dc59cb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_examples.py
@@ -0,0 +1,498 @@
+__author__ = 'hrwl'
+
+from datetime import datetime
+import hashlib
+import os
+from six import BytesIO
+import unittest
+
+from xlwt import *
+
+
+class FullTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.python_bmp = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)), 'python.bmp')
+
+    def test_blanks(self):
+        font0 = Font()
+        font0.name = 'Times New Roman'
+        font0.struck_out = True
+        font0.bold = True
+
+        style0 = XFStyle()
+        style0.font = font0
+
+        wb = Workbook()
+        ws0 = wb.add_sheet('0')
+
+        ws0.write(1, 1, 'Test', style0)
+
+        for i in range(0, 0x53):
+            borders = Borders()
+            borders.left = i
+            borders.right = i
+            borders.top = i
+            borders.bottom = i
+
+            style = XFStyle()
+            style.borders = borders
+
+            ws0.write(i, 2, '', style)
+            ws0.write(i, 3, hex(i), style0)
+
+        ws0.write_merge(5, 8, 6, 10, "")
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        wb.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('353fa63cf6f9f4b1369ac589564d7f5b', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_col_width(self):
+        wb = Workbook()
+        ws = wb.add_sheet('Hey, Dude')
+
+        for i in range(6, 80):
+            fnt = Font()
+            fnt.height = i*20
+            style = XFStyle()
+            style.font = fnt
+            ws.write(1, i, 'Test')
+            ws.col(i).width = 0x0d00 + i
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        wb.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('2f60c22c584d8c078427cbaafc9dd23d', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_country(self):
+        wb = Workbook()
+
+        wb.country_code = 61
+        ws = wb.add_sheet('AU')
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        wb.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('25322fbea1f258f93137f8b6f72cfdaa', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_dates(self):
+        w = Workbook()
+        ws = w.add_sheet('Hey, Dude')
+
+        fmts = [
+            'M/D/YY',
+            'D-MMM-YY',
+            'D-MMM',
+            'MMM-YY',
+            'h:mm AM/PM',
+            'h:mm:ss AM/PM',
+            'h:mm',
+            'h:mm:ss',
+            'M/D/YY h:mm',
+            'mm:ss',
+            '[h]:mm:ss',
+            'mm:ss.0',
+            ]
+
+        i = 0
+        for fmt in fmts:
+            ws.write(i, 0, fmt)
+
+            style = XFStyle()
+            style.num_format_str = fmt
+
+            ws.write(i, 4, datetime(2013, 5, 10), style)
+
+            i += 1
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        w.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('82fed69d4f9ea0444d159fa30080f0a3', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_format(self):
+        font0 = Font()
+        font0.name = 'Times New Roman'
+        font0.struck_out = True
+        font0.bold = True
+
+        style0 = XFStyle()
+        style0.font = font0
+
+        wb = Workbook()
+        ws0 = wb.add_sheet('0')
+
+        ws0.write(1, 1, 'Test', style0)
+
+        for i in range(0, 0x53):
+            fnt = Font()
+            fnt.name = 'Arial'
+            fnt.colour_index = i
+            fnt.outline = True
+
+            borders = Borders()
+            borders.left = i
+
+            style = XFStyle()
+            style.font = fnt
+            style.borders = borders
+
+            ws0.write(i, 2, 'colour', style)
+            ws0.write(i, 3, hex(i), style0)
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        wb.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('da1e62ee3e7f9a09430e7a8227cb1215', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_formula(self):
+        wb = Workbook()
+        ws = wb.add_sheet('F')
+
+        ws.write(0, 0, Formula("-(1+1)"))
+        ws.write(1, 0, Formula("-(1+1)/(-2-2)"))
+        ws.write(2, 0, Formula("-(134.8780789+1)"))
+        ws.write(3, 0, Formula("-(134.8780789e-10+1)"))
+        ws.write(4, 0, Formula("-1/(1+1)+9344"))
+
+        ws.write(0, 1, Formula("-(1+1)"))
+        ws.write(1, 1, Formula("-(1+1)/(-2-2)"))
+        ws.write(2, 1, Formula("-(134.8780789+1)"))
+        ws.write(3, 1, Formula("-(134.8780789e-10+1)"))
+        ws.write(4, 1, Formula("-1/(1+1)+9344"))
+
+        ws.write(0, 2, Formula("A1*B1"))
+        ws.write(1, 2, Formula("A2*B2"))
+        ws.write(2, 2, Formula("A3*B3"))
+        ws.write(3, 2, Formula("A4*B4*sin(pi()/4)"))
+        ws.write(4, 2, Formula("A5%*B5*pi()/1000"))
+
+        ##############
+        ## NOTE: parameters are separated by semicolon!!!
+        ##############
+
+
+        ws.write(5, 2, Formula("C1+C2+C3+C4+C5/(C1+C2+C3+C4/(C1+C2+C3+C4/(C1+C2+C3+C4)+C5)+C5)-20.3e-2"))
+        ws.write(5, 3, Formula("C1^2"))
+        ws.write(6, 2, Formula("SUM(C1;C2;;;;;C3;;;C4)"))
+        ws.write(6, 3, Formula("SUM($A$1:$C$5)"))
+
+        ws.write(7, 0, Formula('"lkjljllkllkl"'))
+        ws.write(7, 1, Formula('"yuyiyiyiyi"'))
+        ws.write(7, 2, Formula('A8 & B8 & A8'))
+        ws.write(8, 2, Formula('now()'))
+
+        ws.write(10, 2, Formula('TRUE'))
+        ws.write(11, 2, Formula('FALSE'))
+        ws.write(12, 3, Formula('IF(A1>A2;3;"hkjhjkhk")'))
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        wb.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('2ce3745746c1b254f916623b92c3cec0', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_hyperlink(self):
+        f = Font()
+        f.height = 20*72
+        f.name = 'Verdana'
+        f.bold = True
+        f.underline = Font.UNDERLINE_DOUBLE
+        f.colour_index = 4
+
+        h_style = XFStyle()
+        h_style.font = f
+
+        w = Workbook()
+        ws = w.add_sheet('F')
+
+        ##############
+        ## NOTE: parameters are separated by semicolon!!!
+        ##############
+
+        n = "HYPERLINK"
+        ws.write_merge(1, 1, 1, 10, Formula(n + '("http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1000.pdf";"f1000.pdf")'), h_style)
+        ws.write_merge(2, 2, 2, 25, Formula(n + '("mailto:roman.kiseliov@gmail.com?subject=pyExcelerator-feedback&Body=Hello,%20Roman!";"pyExcelerator-feedback")'), h_style)
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        w.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('420ff541deaad546519c8748118954d6', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_image(self):
+        w = Workbook()
+        ws = w.add_sheet('Image')
+        ws.insert_bitmap(self.python_bmp, 2, 2)
+        ws.insert_bitmap(self.python_bmp, 10, 2)
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        w.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('e3462afe1c0a38e1395c50e819d1b6cc', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_img_chg_col_wid(self):
+        w = Workbook()
+        ws = w.add_sheet('Image')
+
+        ws.write(0, 2, "chg wid: none")
+        ws.insert_bitmap(self.python_bmp, 2, 2)
+
+        ws.write(0, 4, "chg wid: after")
+        ws.insert_bitmap(self.python_bmp, 2, 4)
+        ws.col(4).width = 20 * 256
+
+        ws.write(0, 6, "chg wid: before")
+        ws.col(6).width = 20 * 256
+        ws.insert_bitmap(self.python_bmp, 2, 6)
+
+        ws.write(0, 8, "chg wid: after")
+        ws.insert_bitmap(self.python_bmp, 2, 8)
+        ws.col(5).width = 8 * 256
+
+        ws.write(0, 10, "chg wid: before")
+        ws.col(10).width = 8 * 256
+        ws.insert_bitmap(self.python_bmp, 2, 10)
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        w.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('765cdbe8ae8e27a81ba54d07861bdce5', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_merged(self):
+        fnt = Font()
+        fnt.name = 'Arial'
+        fnt.colour_index = 4
+        fnt.bold = True
+
+        borders = Borders()
+        borders.left = 6
+        borders.right = 6
+        borders.top = 6
+        borders.bottom = 6
+
+        al = Alignment()
+        al.horz = Alignment.HORZ_CENTER
+        al.vert = Alignment.VERT_CENTER
+
+        style = XFStyle()
+        style.font = fnt
+        style.borders = borders
+        style.alignment = al
+
+        wb = Workbook()
+        ws0 = wb.add_sheet('sheet0')
+        ws1 = wb.add_sheet('sheet1')
+        ws2 = wb.add_sheet('sheet2')
+
+        for i in range(0, 0x200, 2):
+            ws0.write_merge(i, i+1, 1, 5, 'test %d' % i, style)
+            ws1.write_merge(i, i, 1, 7, 'test %d' % i, style)
+            ws2.write_merge(i, i+1, 1, 7 + (i%10), 'test %d' % i, style)
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        wb.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('1ec1ec7bc76911f3a100b6573711b818', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_merged0(self):
+        wb = Workbook()
+        ws0 = wb.add_sheet('0')
+
+        fnt = Font()
+        fnt.name = 'Arial'
+        fnt.colour_index = 4
+        fnt.bold = True
+
+        borders = Borders()
+        borders.left = 6
+        borders.right = 6
+        borders.top = 6
+        borders.bottom = 6
+
+        style = XFStyle()
+        style.font = fnt
+        style.borders = borders
+
+        ws0.write_merge(3, 3, 1, 5, 'test1', style)
+        ws0.write_merge(4, 10, 1, 5, 'test2', style)
+        ws0.col(1).width = 0x0d00
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        wb.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('b55f49cfd1fb786bd611ed5b02b9d16c', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_merged1(self):
+        wb = Workbook()
+        ws0 = wb.add_sheet('0')
+
+        fnt1 = Font()
+        fnt1.name = 'Verdana'
+        fnt1.bold = True
+        fnt1.height = 18*0x14
+
+        pat1 = Pattern()
+        pat1.pattern = Pattern.SOLID_PATTERN
+        pat1.pattern_fore_colour = 0x16
+
+        brd1 = Borders()
+        brd1.left = 0x06
+        brd1.right = 0x06
+        brd1.top = 0x06
+        brd1.bottom = 0x06
+
+        fnt2 = Font()
+        fnt2.name = 'Verdana'
+        fnt2.bold = True
+        fnt2.height = 14*0x14
+
+        brd2 = Borders()
+        brd2.left = 0x01
+        brd2.right = 0x01
+        brd2.top = 0x01
+        brd2.bottom = 0x01
+
+        pat2 = Pattern()
+        pat2.pattern = Pattern.SOLID_PATTERN
+        pat2.pattern_fore_colour = 0x01F
+
+        fnt3 = Font()
+        fnt3.name = 'Verdana'
+        fnt3.bold = True
+        fnt3.italic = True
+        fnt3.height = 12*0x14
+
+        brd3 = Borders()
+        brd3.left = 0x07
+        brd3.right = 0x07
+        brd3.top = 0x07
+        brd3.bottom = 0x07
+
+        fnt4 = Font()
+
+        al1 = Alignment()
+        al1.horz = Alignment.HORZ_CENTER
+        al1.vert = Alignment.VERT_CENTER
+
+        al2 = Alignment()
+        al2.horz = Alignment.HORZ_RIGHT
+        al2.vert = Alignment.VERT_CENTER
+
+        al3 = Alignment()
+        al3.horz = Alignment.HORZ_LEFT
+        al3.vert = Alignment.VERT_CENTER
+
+        style1 = XFStyle()
+        style1.font = fnt1
+        style1.alignment = al1
+        style1.pattern = pat1
+        style1.borders = brd1
+
+        style2 = XFStyle()
+        style2.font = fnt2
+        style2.alignment = al1
+        style2.pattern = pat2
+        style2.borders = brd2
+
+        style3 = XFStyle()
+        style3.font = fnt3
+        style3.alignment = al1
+        style3.pattern = pat2
+        style3.borders = brd3
+
+        price_style = XFStyle()
+        price_style.font = fnt4
+        price_style.alignment = al2
+        price_style.borders = brd3
+        price_style.num_format_str = '_(#,##0.00_) "money"'
+
+        ware_style = XFStyle()
+        ware_style.font = fnt4
+        ware_style.alignment = al3
+        ware_style.borders = brd3
+
+
+        ws0.merge(3, 3, 1, 5, style1)
+        ws0.merge(4, 10, 1, 6, style2)
+        ws0.merge(14, 16, 1, 7, style3)
+        ws0.col(1).width = 0x0d00
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        wb.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('335d9b34aa4cf170d7416b5313a3a260', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_number_formats(self):
+        w = Workbook()
+        ws = w.add_sheet('Hey, Dude')
+
+        fmts = [
+            'general',
+            '0',
+            '0.00',
+            '#,##0',
+            '#,##0.00',
+            '"$"#,##0_);("$"#,##',
+            '"$"#,##0_);[Red]("$"#,##',
+            '"$"#,##0.00_);("$"#,##',
+            '"$"#,##0.00_);[Red]("$"#,##',
+            '0%',
+            '0.00%',
+            '0.00E+00',
+            '# ?/?',
+            '# ??/??',
+            'M/D/YY',
+            'D-MMM-YY',
+            'D-MMM',
+            'MMM-YY',
+            'h:mm AM/PM',
+            'h:mm:ss AM/PM',
+            'h:mm',
+            'h:mm:ss',
+            'M/D/YY h:mm',
+            '_(#,##0_);(#,##0)',
+            '_(#,##0_);[Red](#,##0)',
+            '_(#,##0.00_);(#,##0.00)',
+            '_(#,##0.00_);[Red](#,##0.00)',
+            '_("$"* #,##0_);_("$"* (#,##0);_("$"* "-"_);_(@_)',
+            '_(* #,##0_);_(* (#,##0);_(* "-"_);_(@_)',
+            '_("$"* #,##0.00_);_("$"* (#,##0.00);_("$"* "-"??_);_(@_)',
+            '_(* #,##0.00_);_(* (#,##0.00);_(* "-"??_);_(@_)',
+            'mm:ss',
+            '[h]:mm:ss',
+            'mm:ss.0',
+            '##0.0E+0',
+            '@'
+        ]
+
+        i = 0
+        for fmt in fmts:
+            ws.write(i, 0, fmt)
+
+            style = XFStyle()
+            style.num_format_str = fmt
+
+            ws.write(i, 4, -1278.9078, style)
+
+            i += 1
+
+        stream = BytesIO()
+        w.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('a87b0d3626f3ab3a2ece9bd03df1bf79', md5.hexdigest())
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/tests/test_unicode.py b/tests/test_unicode.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..197b648
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_unicode.py
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+__author__ = 'hrwl'
+
+import hashlib
+import six
+import unittest
+
+from xlwt import Workbook
+
+
+class UnicodeTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_unicode(self):
+        book = Workbook(encoding='cp1251')
+        sheet = book.add_sheet('cp1251-demo')
+        sheet.write(0, 0, six.b('\xCE\xEB\xFF'))
+
+        stream = six.BytesIO()
+        book.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('27dd1a8f898c84c58be1b6ce3e704371', md5.hexdigest())
+
+    def test_unicode1(self):
+        book = Workbook()
+        ws1 = book.add_sheet(six.u('\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA}\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA}\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA}'))
+
+        ws1.write(0, 0, six.u('\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA}\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA}\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA}'))
+        ws1.write(1, 1, six.u('\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA}x = 1 + \N{GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA}'))
+
+        ws1.write(2, 0, six.u('A\u2262\u0391.'))      # RFC2152 example
+        ws1.write(3, 0, six.u('Hi Mom -\u263a-!'))    # RFC2152 example
+        ws1.write(4, 0, six.u('\u65E5\u672C\u8A9E'))  # RFC2152 example
+        ws1.write(5, 0, six.u('Item 3 is \u00a31.'))  # RFC2152 example
+        ws1.write(8, 0, six.u('\N{INTEGRAL}'))        # RFC2152 example
+
+        book.add_sheet(six.u('A\u2262\u0391.'))     # RFC2152 example
+        book.add_sheet(six.u('Hi Mom -\u263a-!'))   # RFC2152 example
+        one_more_ws = book.add_sheet(six.u('\u65E5\u672C\u8A9E'))  # RFC2152 example
+        book.add_sheet(six.u('Item 3 is \u00a31.'))  # RFC2152 example
+
+        one_more_ws.write(0, 0, six.u('\u2665\u2665'))
+
+        book.add_sheet(six.u('\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH TONOS}'))
+
+        stream = six.BytesIO()
+        book.save(stream)
+        md5 = hashlib.md5()
+        md5.update(stream.getvalue())
+        self.assertEqual('0049fc8cdd164385c45198d2a75a4155', md5.hexdigest())
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    unittest.main()
+
diff --git a/tests/test_utils.py b/tests/test_utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..68fe894
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+__author__ = 'hrwl'
+
+import unittest
+
+from xlwt.Utils import *
+
+
+class UtilsTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_col_by_name(self):
+        self.assertEqual(col_by_name('A'), 0)
+        self.assertEqual(col_by_name('AA'), 26)
+
+    def test_cell_to_rowcoll(self):
+        x = cell_to_rowcol('AA7')
+        self.assertEqual(x, (6, 26, False, False))
+        y = cell_to_rowcol('$A$9')
+        self.assertEqual(y, (8, 0, True, True))
+
+    def test_cell_to_rowcoll2(self):
+        row, col = cell_to_rowcol2('AA7')
+        self.assertEqual(col, 26)
+        self.assertEqual(row, 6)
+
+    def test_rowcol_to_cell(self):
+        cell = rowcol_to_cell(5, 27)
+        self.assertEqual(cell, 'AB6')
+        cell = rowcol_to_cell(5, 27, True, True)
+        self.assertEqual(cell, '$AB$6')
+
+    def test_rowcol_pair_to_cellrange(self):
+        cell = rowcol_pair_to_cellrange(5, 27, 9, 30)
+        self.assertEqual(cell, 'AB6:AE10')
+
+    def test_cellrange_to_rowcol_pair(self):
+        x = cellrange_to_rowcol_pair('AB6:AE10')
+        self.assertEqual(x, (5, 27, 9, 30))
+
+    def test_cell_to_packed_rowcol(self):
+        x = cell_to_packed_rowcol('AA7')
+        self.assertEqual(x, (6, 49178))
+        y = cell_to_packed_rowcol('$AA7')
+        self.assertEqual(y, (6, 32794))
+
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    unittest.main()