Reading Excel files from C#

Answer 1

Excel Package is an open-source (GPL) component for reading/writing Excel 2007 files. I used it on a small project, and the API is straightforward. Works with XLSX only (Excel 200&), not with XLS.

The source code also seems well-organized and easy to get around (if you need to expand functionality or fix minor issues as I did).

At first, I tried the ADO.Net (Excel connection string) approach, but it was fraught with nasty hacks -- for instance if second row contains a number, it will return ints for all fields in the column below and quietly drop any data that doesn't fit.

Answer 2

Lately, partly to get better at LINQ.... I've been using Excel's automation API to save the file as XML Spreadsheet and then get process that file using LINQ to XML.

Answer 3

Just did a quick demo project that required managing some excel files. The .NET component from GemBox software was adequate for my needs. It has a free version with a few limitations.

http://www.gemboxsoftware.com/GBSpreadsheet.htm

Answer 4

I want to show a simple method to read xls/xlsx file with .NET. I hope that the following will be helpful for you.

 private DataTable ReadExcelToTable(string path)    
 {

     //Connection String

     string connstring = "Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=" + path + ";Extended Properties='Excel 8.0;HDR=NO;IMEX=1';";  
     //the same name 
     //string connstring = Provider=Microsoft.JET.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=" + path + //";Extended Properties='Excel 8.0;HDR=NO;IMEX=1';"; 

     using(OleDbConnection conn = new OleDbConnection(connstring))
     {
        conn.Open();
        //Get All Sheets Name
        DataTable sheetsName = conn.GetOleDbSchemaTable(OleDbSchemaGuid.Tables,new object[]{null,null,null,"Table"});  

        //Get the First Sheet Name
        string firstSheetName = sheetsName.Rows[0][2].ToString(); 

        //Query String 
        string sql = string.Format("SELECT * FROM [{0}]",firstSheetName); 
        OleDbDataAdapter ada =new OleDbDataAdapter(sql,connstring);
        DataSet set = new DataSet();
        ada.Fill(set);
        return set.Tables[0];   
   }
 }

Code is from article: http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/uploadfile/d2dcfc/read-excel-file-with-net/. You can get more details from it.

Answer 5

Koogra is an open-source component written in C# that reads and writes Excel files.

Answer 6

SpreadsheetGear is awesome. Yes it's an expense, but compared to twiddling with these other solutions, it's worth the cost. It is fast, reliable, very comprehensive, and I have to say after using this product in my fulltime software job for over a year and a half, their customer support is fantastic!