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Updated February 7, 2024

How to Create CSV File in C# (Step-By-Step) Tutorial

Looking for how to create/write a new CSV file data format using a C# .NET library in a Console Application? If yes, then you are in the right place.

This is a simple tutorial written for creating multi-row CSV files (with headings) from strings using the IronXL C# .NET library. IronXL is the market-leading .NET library for handling documents like Excel, CSV and XLS without any additional user configuration.

How can I create and write CSV files using C#?

The simplest method for generating and editing CSV files using C#, is following those simple steps:

• Create a C# Console Application in Visual Studio.
• Install IronXL .NET library.
• Create CSV file from another source within two lines of code.

1. Starting a New Project in Visual Studio

Open the Visual Studio IDE.

Go to the File menu, and select Console Application after choosing "New Project".

Enter the Project Name and the preferred project location in the appropriate text box.

Configure New Project

Click the Next button, select the required .NET Framework, as shown in the screenshot below, and click on Create.

Target Framework Selection

The program.cs file will open.

Program.cs

2. Install the IronXL C# Library

The IronXL library can be downloaded and installed in two different ways:

• Using the Visual Studio NuGet Package Manager
• Using the Visual Studio Command-Line

2.1. Using the Visual Studio NuGet Package Manager

The NuGet Package Manager option is available in the Visual Studio software to install the package directly into the solution. The below screenshot shows how to open it.

NuGet Package Manager

The NuGet Package Manager feature provides an area where users can browse and search for packages that are offered on the NuGet website. Enter "IronXL" in the search field to find the IronXL library.

NuGet Package Manager

From the linked packages from the search in the image up above, select the IronXL option and install the package to the solution.

2.2. Using the Visual Studio Command-Line

In the Visual Studio menu go to Tools, move the cursor to NuGet Package Manager and click on Package Manager Console.

Visual Studio Commandline

Package Manager Console will appear at the bottom of the screen. Just write the following code command and press enter, IronXL will install an instance.

Install-Package IronXL.Excel

3. Creating CSV Files

In this blog, there are two different methods for creating a CSV file using IronXL.

1. Create CSV from XLSX file
2. Create a CSV file by creating a new WorkBook and writing data

3.1. Create CSV from an XLSX file

For creating a CSV file, the Excel file should contain some example data.

Sample Excel File

Enter the code given below in the opened program.cs file and run the project.

using IronXL;

WorkBook wb = WorkBook.Load("test.xlsx");
wb.SaveAsCsv("Parsed CSV.csv");

using IronXL;

WorkBook wb = WorkBook.Load("test.xlsx");
wb.SaveAsCsv("Parsed CSV.csv");

Imports IronXL

Private wb As WorkBook = WorkBook.Load("test.xlsx")
wb.SaveAsCsv("Parsed CSV.csv")

After execution is completed, a new file named Parsed CSV.csv file will be created. Open the file using your preferred Spreadsheet application.

CSV Data

3.2. Create new CSV Workbook Programmatically

This example code shows how to create a CSV file from scratch using IronXL.

using IronXL;

WorkBook xlsWorkbook = WorkBook.Create(ExcelFileFormat.XLSX);
xlsWorkbook.Metadata.Author = "IronXL";
WorkSheet xlsSheet = xlsWorkbook.CreateWorkSheet("new_sheet");
xlsSheet["A1"].Value = "Hello";
xlsSheet["B1"].Value = "World";
xlsSheet["A2"].Value = "New CSV example output";
xlsSheet["B2"].Value = "From Scratch";
xlsWorkbook.SaveAsCsv("NewCSVFile.csv");

using IronXL;

WorkBook xlsWorkbook = WorkBook.Create(ExcelFileFormat.XLSX);
xlsWorkbook.Metadata.Author = "IronXL";
WorkSheet xlsSheet = xlsWorkbook.CreateWorkSheet("new_sheet");
xlsSheet["A1"].Value = "Hello";
xlsSheet["B1"].Value = "World";
xlsSheet["A2"].Value = "New CSV example output";
xlsSheet["B2"].Value = "From Scratch";
xlsWorkbook.SaveAsCsv("NewCSVFile.csv");

Imports IronXL

Private xlsWorkbook As WorkBook = WorkBook.Create(ExcelFileFormat.XLSX)
xlsWorkbook.Metadata.Author = "IronXL"
Dim xlsSheet As WorkSheet = xlsWorkbook.CreateWorkSheet("new_sheet")
xlsSheet("A1").Value = "Hello"
xlsSheet("B1").Value = "World"
xlsSheet("A2").Value = "New CSV example output"
xlsSheet("B2").Value = "From Scratch"
xlsWorkbook.SaveAsCsv("NewCSVFile.csv")

The sample code above first creates a new Workbook and then populates the rows and columns of the WorkBook with data. Afterward, it saves the file using the SaveAsCsv method.

CSV File Output

4. Conclusion

This article demonstrated how to create a new CSV file using the C# .NET library IronXL using two different methods.

Additionally, the IronXL Excel library provides the following features:

• Support for Excel's most popular file formats (.xlsx) and other file formats.
• A broad set of functions, including data manipulation, data export, data import and importing from other sources.
• Support chart management that is fully compatible with Excel.
• Support for cell formatting such as text alignment, font size, color, etc.

For more information about IronXL, browse the Code Examples pages. Download IronXL and try it out for 30-days for free before buying a license.

Buy the complete Iron Suite to get IronXL and four other products for the same price as two IronXL licenses.