How to Export File to Excel in .NET 6

In this article, one of the most popular libraries, IronXL, will be used to compare and contrast how to interact with Microsoft Excel documents programmatically in .NET technologies, whether in CSV format or the standard Excel format.

2.0 IronXL Library Features

Microsoft Excel documents can be read and converted to CSV files using the C# IronXL .NET Excel library. IronXL is a stand-alone .NET software library that can read multiple spreadsheet formats and does not require Microsoft Office or Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel to be installed.

With the simple C# API of IronXL, you can quickly read, modify, and create Excel spreadsheets in the .NET environment. IronXL fully supports .NET Core, .NET Framework, Xamarin, Mobile, Linux, macOS, and Azure.

• IronXL is one of the best Excel spreadsheet libraries for C#, supporting both the .NET Framework and .NET Core.
• IronXL supports nearly all .NET Frameworks, including Console Applications, Windows Forms, and Web Applications.
• IronXL is compatible with the Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems.
• IronXL can quickly and effortlessly read Excel files.
• IronXL can read a variety of Excel file types, including XLSX, CSV, XLS, XLST, TSV, XLSM, and others. IronXL also offers a lot of options, including the ability to import, update, and export data tables and datasets.
• IronXL is capable of generating calculations for Excel.
• IronXL supports several Excel column data formats, including text, numbers, formulas, dates, currencies, and percentages.
• IronXL supports the following Excel column data types: text, integers, formulas, dates, currencies, and percentages.

Visit the official IronXL website to learn more.

3.0 Creating a .NET Core 6 Project

The following sections of this newsletter provide an example to illustrate how easily the IronXL library generates QR codes.

Open Visual Studio and select "New Project" from the "File" menu option.

In the resulting dialog box, select the "Console App" template and click "Next."

Create a new project in Visual Studio

Enter any project name you choose for the Project name, and then enter the location of the new project in the Location field. Click the Next button to proceed.

Configure your new project

Select a .NET Framework from the Framework drop-down option. Here, we're using .NET 6.0, which has long-term support. Then click Create.

.NET Framework selection

Next, download the required IronXL library for the solution. To do so, use the following command in the Package Manager Console:

Install-Package IronXL.Excel

Package Manager Console tab

Alternatively, the package 'IronXL' can be searched and installed using the NuGet Package Manager. This will list all the NuGet packages related to IronXL, and then you can select the required package to download.

Search and install the IronXL package in NuGet Package Manager UI

The created Form has added a 'Save As' dialog box which allows saving the generated IronXL images to the selected location.

4.0 Export Data using IronXL

Exporting data to Excel format can be easily done using IronXL as well as exporting data into various file types, such as XLS, XLSX, CSV, JSON, and XML, using IronXL.

4.1 Export Data to an Excel File

It is very simple to export data to .xlsx or .xls formats with just a few lines of code. Below is a sample source code to export data from an Excel file into a simple tabular format:

// Load an existing Excel file into a WorkBook object.
var workbook = IronXL.WorkBook.LoadExcel("Demo file.xlsx");

// Save the entire workbook as export.xlsx.
workbook.SaveAs("export.xlsx");

// Alternatively, save as export.xls.
workbook.SaveAs("export.xls");

// Save a specific worksheet, identified by index, as export.xls.
workbook.WorkSheets[0].SaveAs("export.xls");

// Load an existing Excel file into a WorkBook object.
var workbook = IronXL.WorkBook.LoadExcel("Demo file.xlsx");

// Save the entire workbook as export.xlsx.
workbook.SaveAs("export.xlsx");

// Alternatively, save as export.xls.
workbook.SaveAs("export.xls");

// Save a specific worksheet, identified by index, as export.xls.
workbook.WorkSheets[0].SaveAs("export.xls");

' Load an existing Excel file into a WorkBook object.
Dim workbook = IronXL.WorkBook.LoadExcel("Demo file.xlsx")

' Save the entire workbook as export.xlsx.
workbook.SaveAs("export.xlsx")

' Alternatively, save as export.xls.
workbook.SaveAs("export.xls")

' Save a specific worksheet, identified by index, as export.xls.
workbook.WorkSheets(0).SaveAs("export.xls")

In the above example, an existing Excel file is loaded using the LoadExcel method, which allows passing the file name with the file path as a parameter. This loads the file into the 'Workbook' object. The WorkBook object provides a method called SaveAs, which allows saving the Excel document as an XLSX or XLS file. This method saves the entire file into the chosen format.

It is also possible to select a specific Excel worksheet by using the index value of the worksheet or by specifying the name of the sheet. Then, use the SaveAs function to export the data of the Excel worksheet into a separate file.

4.2 Export Data to a CSV File

We can also export data into CSV using IronXL. Below is an example code to export the data source into CSV format:

// Load an existing Excel file into an WorkBook object.
var excelDoc = IronXL.WorkBook.LoadExcel("Demo file.xlsx");

// Save the loaded Excel document as a CSV file.
excelDoc.SaveAsCsv("export.csv");

// Load an existing Excel file into an WorkBook object.
var excelDoc = IronXL.WorkBook.LoadExcel("Demo file.xlsx");

// Save the loaded Excel document as a CSV file.
excelDoc.SaveAsCsv("export.csv");

' Load an existing Excel file into an WorkBook object.
Dim excelDoc = IronXL.WorkBook.LoadExcel("Demo file.xlsx")

' Save the loaded Excel document as a CSV file.
excelDoc.SaveAsCsv("export.csv")

The above code is similar to exporting to XLS. IronXL provides a separate method called SaveAsCsv, which helps to export XLSX files into CSV files. It is easy and simple to use. In the above code, an XLSX file is loaded, converted, and saved into a CSV file with just a few lines of code. We can also pass user input such as a password as a parameter on the LoadExcel method.

4.3 Export Data to a JSON File

Saving XLSX files as JSON has never been easier by using the following code:

// Load the Excel document into an WorkBook object.
var excelDoc = IronXL.WorkBook.LoadExcel("Demo file.xlsx");

// Save the loaded document as a JSON file.
excelDoc.SaveAsJson("export.json");

// Alternatively, save as an XML file.
excelDoc.SaveAsXml("export.xml");

// Load the Excel document into an WorkBook object.
var excelDoc = IronXL.WorkBook.LoadExcel("Demo file.xlsx");

// Save the loaded document as a JSON file.
excelDoc.SaveAsJson("export.json");

// Alternatively, save as an XML file.
excelDoc.SaveAsXml("export.xml");

' Load the Excel document into an WorkBook object.
Dim excelDoc = IronXL.WorkBook.LoadExcel("Demo file.xlsx")

' Save the loaded document as a JSON file.
excelDoc.SaveAsJson("export.json")

' Alternatively, save as an XML file.
excelDoc.SaveAsXml("export.xml")

The above sample code demonstrates that IronXL provides separate methods to save files as XML and JSON, which can be easily implemented.

IronXL offers features such as header rows, font sizes, formulas, colors, and more. Visit IronXL tutorials for more information.

Conclusion

IronXL is one of the most widely used Excel utilities that can operate independently of any other external libraries. It doesn't require Microsoft Excel to be installed and uses a variety of channels to function.

For all tasks related to Microsoft Excel documents that need to be implemented programmatically, IronXL offers an all-in-one solution. You can perform formula calculations, sort strings or numbers, cut and append data, find and replace, merge and unmerge cells, and save files. Additionally, it allows you to set cell data formats and perform spreadsheet data validation. You can also read and write CSV files, enabling interaction with Excel data.

IronXL is available for $749 at launch and provides the option for customers to pay a one-year membership charge for updates and product support. For an additional charge, IronXL provides security for unrestricted redistribution. Visit the licensing page to learn more details about the pricing information.