How do I save a datagrid to excel in vb.net?

Question

I know that this should be easy but how do I export/save a DataGridView to excel?

Answer 1

First Import COM library Microsoft Excel Object

Sample Code:

Public Sub exportOfficePCandWorkstation(ByRef mainForm As Form1, ByVal Location As String, ByVal WorksheetName As String)
        Dim xlApp As New Excel.Application
        Dim xlWorkBook As Excel.Workbook
        Dim xlWorkSheet As Excel.Worksheet
        Dim misValue As Object = System.Reflection.Missing.Value
        Dim Header(23) As String
        Dim HeaderCell(23) As String
        Header = {"No.", "PC Name", "User", "E-mail", "Department/Location", "CPU Model", "CPU Processor", "CPU Speed", "CPU HDD#1", "CPU HDD#2", "CPU Memory", "CPU OS", "CPU Asset Tag", "CPU MAC Address", "Monitor 1 Model", "Monitor Serial Number", "Monitor2 Model", "Monitor2 Serial Number", "Office", "Wi-LAN", "KVM Switch", "Attachment", "Remarks", "Date and Time"}
        HeaderCell = {"A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "F", "G", "H", "I", "J", "K", "L", "M", "N", "O", "P", "Q", "R", "S", "T", "U", "V", "W", "X"}
        xlWorkBook = xlApp.Workbooks.Add
        xlWorkSheet = xlWorkBook.Sheets("Sheet1")
        xlWorkSheet.Name = WorksheetName
        xlApp.Visible = True
        xlWorkSheet.Application.ActiveWindow.SplitRow = 1
        xlWorkSheet.Application.ActiveWindow.SplitColumn = 3
        xlWorkSheet.Application.ActiveWindow.FreezePanes = True
        With xlWorkSheet
            For count As Integer = 0 To 23
                .Range(HeaderCell(count) & 1).Value = Header(count)
            Next
            With .Range("A1:X1")
                .Interior.Color = 1
                With .Font
                    .Size = 16
                    .ColorIndex = 2
                    .Name = "Times New Roman"
                End With
            End With
            For i = 0 To mainForm.DataGridView1.RowCount - 1
                For j = 0 To mainForm.DataGridView1.ColumnCount - 1
                    If mainForm.DataGridView1(j, i).Value.ToString = "System.Byte[]" Then
                        xlWorkSheet.Cells(i + 2, j + 2) = "Attached"
                    Else
                        xlWorkSheet.Cells(i + 2, j + 2) = mainForm.DataGridView1(j, i).Value.ToString()
                    End If
                Next
                .Range("A" & i + 2).Value = (i + 1).ToString
            Next
            With .Range("A:Z")
                .EntireColumn.AutoFit()
            End With
            With .Range("B2:X" & mainForm.DataGridView1.RowCount + 1)
                .HorizontalAlignment = Excel.XlVAlign.xlVAlignJustify
            End With
            With .Range("A1:A" & mainForm.DataGridView1.RowCount + 1)
                .HorizontalAlignment = Excel.XlVAlign.xlVAlignCenter
            End With
            '-----------------------------------Insert Border Lines--------------------------------------
            With .Range("A1:X" & mainForm.DataGridView1.RowCount + 1)
                With .Borders(Excel.XlBordersIndex.xlEdgeLeft)
                    .LineStyle = Excel.XlLineStyle.xlDouble
                    .ColorIndex = 0
                    .TintAndShade = 0
                    .Weight = Excel.XlBorderWeight.xlThin
                End With
                With .Borders(Excel.XlBordersIndex.xlEdgeTop)
                    .LineStyle = Excel.XlLineStyle.xlContinuous
                    .ColorIndex = 0
                    .TintAndShade = 0
                    .Weight = Excel.XlBorderWeight.xlThin
                End With
                With .Borders(Excel.XlBordersIndex.xlEdgeBottom)
                    .LineStyle = Excel.XlLineStyle.xlContinuous
                    .ColorIndex = 0
                    .TintAndShade = 0
                    .Weight = Excel.XlBorderWeight.xlThin
                End With
                With .Borders(Excel.XlBordersIndex.xlEdgeRight)
                    .LineStyle = Excel.XlLineStyle.xlContinuous
                    .ColorIndex = 0
                    .TintAndShade = 0
                    .Weight = Excel.XlBorderWeight.xlThin
                End With
                With .Borders(Excel.XlBordersIndex.xlInsideVertical)
                    .LineStyle = Excel.XlLineStyle.xlContinuous
                    .ColorIndex = 0
                    .TintAndShade = 0
                    .Weight = Excel.XlBorderWeight.xlThin
                End With
                With .Borders(Excel.XlBordersIndex.xlInsideHorizontal)
                    .LineStyle = Excel.XlLineStyle.xlContinuous
                    .ColorIndex = 0
                    .TintAndShade = 0
                    .Weight = Excel.XlBorderWeight.xlThin
                End With
            End With
        End With
            xlWorkSheet.SaveAs(Location)
            xlWorkBook.Close()
        xlApp.Quit()
        MsgBox("Export Record successful", MsgBoxStyle.Information, "Export to Excel")
End Sub

I Use SaveFileDialog to Create the excel in the specific location

Answer 2

Does it need to be a native XLS file? Your best bet is probably just to export the data to a CSV file, which is plain text and reasonably easy to generate. CSVs open in Excel by default for most users so they won't know the difference.

Answer 3

Here some code we use to do it across lots of our apps. We have a special method to clean up "not exportable" column. Additionally, we don't export cols without headers but you can adjust that logic to your needs.

Edit: The code formatter doesn't love vb.net - you can copy/paste into visual studio and it will be fine.

  Public Overloads Shared Function BuildExcel(ByVal gView As System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView) As String

            PrepareGridViewForExport(gView)


            Dim excelDoc As New StringBuilder

            Dim startExcelXML As String = "  " + _
                 " " + _
                 " " + _
                 "   " + _
                 "   " + _
                 "   " + _
                 "      " + _
                 "      " + _
                 " "
            Dim endExcelXML As String = ""

            Dim rowCount As Int64 = 0
            Dim sheetCount As Int16 = 1


            excelDoc.Append(startExcelXML)
            excelDoc.Append("")
            excelDoc.Append("")

            ' write out column headers
            excelDoc.Append("")

            For x As Int32 = 0 To gView.Columns.Count - 1

                'Only write out columns that have column headers.
                If Not gView.Columns(x).HeaderText = String.Empty Then
                    excelDoc.Append("")
                    excelDoc.Append(gView.Columns(x).HeaderText.ToString)
                    excelDoc.Append("")
                End If
            Next

            excelDoc.Append("")

            For r As Int32 = 0 To gView.Rows.Count - 1

                rowCount += rowCount

                If rowCount = 64000 Then
                    rowCount = 0
                    sheetCount += sheetCount
                    excelDoc.Append("")
                    excelDoc.Append(" ")
                    excelDoc.Append("")
                    excelDoc.Append("")
                End If

                excelDoc.Append("")

                For c As Int32 = 0 To gView.Rows(r).Cells.Count - 1

                    'Don't write out a column without a column header.

                    If Not gView.Columns(c).HeaderText = String.Empty Then
                        Dim XMLstring As String = gView.Rows(r).Cells(c).Text

                        XMLstring = XMLstring.Trim()
                        XMLstring = XMLstring.Replace("&", "&")
                        XMLstring = XMLstring.Replace(">", ">")
                        XMLstring = XMLstring.Replace("" + "")
                        excelDoc.Append(XMLstring)
                        excelDoc.Append("")
                    End If

                Next

                excelDoc.Append("")
            Next

            excelDoc.Append("")
            excelDoc.Append(" ")
            excelDoc.Append(endExcelXML)



            Return excelDoc.ToString


        End Function

        Shared Sub PrepareGridViewForExport(ByVal gview As System.Web.UI.Control)
            ' Cleans up grid for exporting.  Takes links and visual elements and turns them into text.
            Dim lb As New System.Web.UI.WebControls.LinkButton
            Dim l As New System.Web.UI.WebControls.Literal
            Dim name As String = String.Empty


            For i As Int32 = 0 To gview.Controls.Count - 1

                If TypeOf gview.Controls(i) Is System.Web.UI.WebControls.LinkButton Then
                    l.Text = CType(gview.Controls(i), System.Web.UI.WebControls.LinkButton).Text
                    gview.Controls.Remove(gview.Controls(i))
                    gview.Controls.AddAt(i, l)
                ElseIf TypeOf gview.Controls(i) Is System.Web.UI.WebControls.DropDownList Then
                    l.Text = CType(gview.Controls(i), System.Web.UI.WebControls.DropDownList).SelectedItem.Text
                    gview.Controls.Remove(gview.Controls(i))
                    gview.Controls.AddAt(i, l)
                ElseIf TypeOf gview.Controls(i) Is System.Web.UI.WebControls.CheckBox Then
                    l.Text = CType(gview.Controls(i), System.Web.UI.WebControls.CheckBox).Checked.ToString
                    gview.Controls.Remove(gview.Controls(i))
                    gview.Controls.AddAt(i, l)
                End If


                If gview.Controls(i).HasControls() Then
                    PrepareGridViewForExport(gview.Controls(i))
                End If

            Next
        End Sub

Answer 4

I use this all the time:

public static class GridViewExtensions
    {
        public static void ExportToExcel(this GridView gridView, string fileName, IEnumerable<string> excludeColumnNames)
        {
            //Prepare Response
            HttpContext.Current.Response.Clear();
            HttpContext.Current.Response.AddHeader("content-disposition",
                string.Format("attachment; filename={0}", fileName));
            HttpContext.Current.Response.ContentType = "application/ms-excel";



            using (StringWriter sw = new StringWriter())
            {
                using (HtmlTextWriter htw = new HtmlTextWriter(sw))
                {
                    //  Create a table to contain the grid
                    Table table = new Table();

                    //  include the gridline settings
                    table.GridLines = gridView.GridLines;

                    //  add the header row to the table
                    if (gridView.HeaderRow != null)
                    {
                        PrepareControlForExport(gridView.HeaderRow);
                        table.Rows.Add(gridView.HeaderRow);
                    }

                    //  add each of the data rows to the table
                    foreach (GridViewRow row in gridView.Rows)
                    {
                        PrepareControlForExport(row);
                        table.Rows.Add(row);
                    }

                    //  add the footer row to the table
                    if (gridView.FooterRow != null)
                    {
                        PrepareControlForExport(gridView.FooterRow);
                        table.Rows.Add(gridView.FooterRow);
                    }

                    // Remove unwanted columns (header text listed in removeColumnList arraylist)
                    foreach (DataControlField column in gridView.Columns)
                    {
                        if (excludeColumnNames != null && excludeColumnNames.Contains(column.HeaderText))
                        {
                            column.Visible = false;
                        }
                    }

                    //  render the table into the htmlwriter
                    table.RenderControl(htw);

                    //  render the htmlwriter into the response
                    HttpContext.Current.Response.Write(sw.ToString());
                    HttpContext.Current.Response.End();
                }
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Replace any of the contained controls with literals
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="control"></param>
        private static void PrepareControlForExport(Control control)
        {
            for (int i = 0; i < control.Controls.Count; i++)
            {
                Control current = control.Controls[i];

                if (current is LinkButton)
                {
                    control.Controls.Remove(current);
                    control.Controls.AddAt(i, new LiteralControl((current as LinkButton).Text));
                }
                else if (current is ImageButton)
                {
                    control.Controls.Remove(current);
                    control.Controls.AddAt(i, new LiteralControl((current as ImageButton).AlternateText));
                }
                else if (current is HyperLink)
                {
                    control.Controls.Remove(current);
                    control.Controls.AddAt(i, new LiteralControl((current as HyperLink).Text));
                }
                else if (current is DropDownList)
                {
                    control.Controls.Remove(current);
                    control.Controls.AddAt(i, new LiteralControl((current as DropDownList).SelectedItem.Text));
                }
                else if (current is CheckBox)
                {
                    control.Controls.Remove(current);
                    control.Controls.AddAt(i, new LiteralControl((current as CheckBox).Checked ? "True" : "False"));
                }

                if (current.HasControls())
                {
                    PrepareControlForExport(current);
                }
            }
        }
    }

Answer 5

Try this out, it's a touch simpler than Brendans but not as 'feature rich':

    Protected Sub btnExport_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
    'Export to excel
    Response.Clear()
    Response.Buffer = True
    Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.ms-excel"
    Response.Charset = ""
    Me.EnableViewState = False
    Dim oStringWriter As System.IO.StringWriter = New System.IO.StringWriter
    Dim oHtmlTextWriter As System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter = New System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter(oStringWriter)
    Me.ClearControls(gvSearchTerms)
    gvSearchTerms.RenderControl(oHtmlTextWriter)
    Response.Write(oStringWriter.ToString)
    Response.End()
End Sub



Private Sub ClearControls(ByVal control As Control)
    Dim i As Integer = (control.Controls.Count - 1)
    Do While (i >= 0)
        ClearControls(control.Controls(i))
        i = (i - 1)
    Loop
    If Not (TypeOf control Is TableCell) Then
        If (Not (control.GetType.GetProperty("SelectedItem")) Is Nothing) Then
            Dim literal As LiteralControl = New LiteralControl
            control.Parent.Controls.Add(literal)
            Try
                literal.Text = CType(control.GetType.GetProperty("SelectedItem").GetValue(control, Nothing), String)
            Catch ex As System.Exception

            End Try
            control.Parent.Controls.Remove(control)
        ElseIf (Not (control.GetType.GetProperty("Text")) Is Nothing) Then
            Dim literal As LiteralControl = New LiteralControl
            control.Parent.Controls.Add(literal)
            literal.Text = CType(control.GetType.GetProperty("Text").GetValue(control, Nothing), String)
            control.Parent.Controls.Remove(control)
        End If
    End If
    Return
End Sub



Public Overrides Sub VerifyRenderingInServerForm(ByVal control As Control)
    Return
End Sub

Answer 6

I'd warn again doing a double for loop to pull out each datacell's data, and writing out individually to an excel cell. Instead, use a 2D object array, and loop through your datagrid saving all your data there. You'll then be able to set an excel range equal to that 2D object array.

This will be several orders of magnitude faster than writing excel cell by cell. Some reports that I've been working on that used to take two hours simply to export have been cut down to under a minute.