How to Rename Excel WorkSheet in C#
Renaming Excel files programmatically is a common task in various applications. Whether you're organizing files, automating tasks, or managing data, having the ability to rename Excel files through code can be highly beneficial. In this article, we'll explore how to rename Excel files using IronXL library from Iron Software.
How to Rename Excel WorkSheet in C#
- Create a Visual Studio Project to rename Excel sheets.
- Install IronXL library from Iron Software.
- Rename Excel sheets using IronXL.
IronXL library from Iron Software
IronXL is a powerful C# Excel library developed by Iron Software. It allows you to work with Excel documents in your .NET projects without the need for Microsoft Office or Excel Interop.
Key Features of IronXL
- Read, Edit, and Create Excel Files: IronXL enables you to read, generate, and edit Excel spreadsheet files (including XLSX, XLS, XLSM, XLTX, CSV, and TSV formats) directly from your C# or VB.NET code.
- No Office Interop Required: You won’t need to install Microsoft Office or deal with the complexities of Office Interop. IronXL provides a hassle-free experience.
- Cross-Platform Support: IronXL is designed for .NET 8, 7, 6, Core, Framework, and Azure. Whether you’re building console applications, web apps, or desktop software, IronXL has you covered.
User-Friendly API: The intuitive API allows you to perform tasks like reading cell values, calculating aggregate values, working with formulas, creating charts, and more. Let’s briefly examine an example:
using IronXL; namespace RenameExcelSheets { public class Program { public static void Main() { Console.WriteLine("Rename Excel Sheets Using IronXL"); // Load an existing Excel file into a WorkBook object WorkBook workBook = WorkBook.Load("sample.xlsx"); // sample excel file // Select the specified worksheet (first sheet) WorkSheet workSheet = workBook.WorkSheets[0]; // Read a cell value from the workbook int cellValue = workSheet["A2"].IntValue; // Iterate through a range of cells and print their values foreach (var cell in workSheet["A2:A10"]) { Console.WriteLine($"Cell {cell.AddressString} has value '{cell.Text}'"); } // Calculate aggregate values decimal sum = workSheet["A2:A10"].Sum(); decimal max = workSheet["A2:A10"].Max(c => c.DecimalValue); // Save as a new workbook workBook.SaveAs("sampleResult.xlsx"); } } }
using IronXL; namespace RenameExcelSheets { public class Program { public static void Main() { Console.WriteLine("Rename Excel Sheets Using IronXL"); // Load an existing Excel file into a WorkBook object WorkBook workBook = WorkBook.Load("sample.xlsx"); // sample excel file // Select the specified worksheet (first sheet) WorkSheet workSheet = workBook.WorkSheets[0]; // Read a cell value from the workbook int cellValue = workSheet["A2"].IntValue; // Iterate through a range of cells and print their values foreach (var cell in workSheet["A2:A10"]) { Console.WriteLine($"Cell {cell.AddressString} has value '{cell.Text}'"); } // Calculate aggregate values decimal sum = workSheet["A2:A10"].Sum(); decimal max = workSheet["A2:A10"].Max(c => c.DecimalValue); // Save as a new workbook workBook.SaveAs("sampleResult.xlsx"); } } }
Imports IronXL Namespace RenameExcelSheets Public Class Program Public Shared Sub Main() Console.WriteLine("Rename Excel Sheets Using IronXL") ' Load an existing Excel file into a WorkBook object Dim workBook As WorkBook = WorkBook.Load("sample.xlsx") ' sample excel file ' Select the specified worksheet (first sheet) Dim workSheet As WorkSheet = workBook.WorkSheets(0) ' Read a cell value from the workbook Dim cellValue As Integer = workSheet("A2").IntValue ' Iterate through a range of cells and print their values For Each cell In workSheet("A2:A10") Console.WriteLine($"Cell {cell.AddressString} has value '{cell.Text}'") Next cell ' Calculate aggregate values Dim sum As Decimal = workSheet("A2:A10").Sum() Dim max As Decimal = workSheet("A2:A10").Max(Function(c) c.DecimalValue) ' Save as a new workbook workBook.SaveAs("sampleResult.xlsx") End Sub End Class End Namespace
$vbLabelText $csharpLabel- Excel Functionality Without the Hassle: IronXL allows you to create, load, save, and manipulate spreadsheets effortlessly. Whether you’re dealing with metadata, permissions, formulas, or styling, IronXL simplifies the process.
Remember, IronXL is trusted by millions of engineers worldwide for its accuracy, ease of use, and speed. If you’re working with Excel files in C# or VB.NET, IronXL is your go-to library!
Setting Up the Environment
Before diving into the coding part, make sure you have the necessary tools installed:
- Visual Studio: Install Visual Studio or any other preferred C# IDE.
- Microsoft Excel: Make sure Microsoft Excel is installed on your system.
To demonstrate a real-world example of renaming an Excel file, let us write a program to take a folder containing all the files to rename and use IronXL to rename all the files, then store them in the output folder.
Step 1: Create Visual Studio Project to rename Excel sheets.
Open Visual Studio and create a new project for the demo. Select Console app from the below template.
Provide names to the Project and path to store the files.
Select the required .NET version.
Step 2: Install IronXL library from Iron Software.
IronXL library can be installed from Visual Studio Package manager as below.
Or can be installed from NuGet Package Manager with command.
dotnet add package IronXL.Excel --version 2024.4.4
Once installed the project is ready to start coding for renaming Excel worksheets.
Step 3: Rename Excel sheets using IronXL
Below is the program to rename all the files and worksheets in a directory for business applications.
Input:
using System;
using System.IO;
using IronXL;
namespace RenameExcelSheets
{
public class Program
{
public static void Main()
{
Console.WriteLine("Demo Rename Excel Sheets Using IronXL");
Console.WriteLine("Enter Folder where Excel Files are present to rename to FinancialReport2024");
// Getting input folder path from user
var folderPath = Console.ReadLine();
// Check if the provided path is not empty
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(folderPath))
{
throw new ArgumentException("Path is empty");
}
// Check if the given folder path exists
if (!Directory.Exists(folderPath))
{
throw new ArgumentException("Path is Wrong");
}
// Get all files in the directory
var files = Directory.GetFiles(folderPath);
// Define output directory for renamed files
var outputPath = Path.Combine(folderPath, "output");
Directory.CreateDirectory(outputPath); // Ensures the output directory exists
var index = 0;
foreach (var file in files)
{
// Load an existing Excel file
WorkBook workBook = WorkBook.Load(file);
// Select the first worksheet (index 0)
WorkSheet workSheet = workBook.WorkSheets[0];
// Rename the worksheet
workSheet.Name = "FinancialReport2024"; // change the name property
// Save the modified workbook with a new name in the output folder
workBook.SaveAs(Path.Combine(outputPath, $"FinancialReport2024_{index++}.xlsx"));
}
}
}
}
using System;
using System.IO;
using IronXL;
namespace RenameExcelSheets
{
public class Program
{
public static void Main()
{
Console.WriteLine("Demo Rename Excel Sheets Using IronXL");
Console.WriteLine("Enter Folder where Excel Files are present to rename to FinancialReport2024");
// Getting input folder path from user
var folderPath = Console.ReadLine();
// Check if the provided path is not empty
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(folderPath))
{
throw new ArgumentException("Path is empty");
}
// Check if the given folder path exists
if (!Directory.Exists(folderPath))
{
throw new ArgumentException("Path is Wrong");
}
// Get all files in the directory
var files = Directory.GetFiles(folderPath);
// Define output directory for renamed files
var outputPath = Path.Combine(folderPath, "output");
Directory.CreateDirectory(outputPath); // Ensures the output directory exists
var index = 0;
foreach (var file in files)
{
// Load an existing Excel file
WorkBook workBook = WorkBook.Load(file);
// Select the first worksheet (index 0)
WorkSheet workSheet = workBook.WorkSheets[0];
// Rename the worksheet
workSheet.Name = "FinancialReport2024"; // change the name property
// Save the modified workbook with a new name in the output folder
workBook.SaveAs(Path.Combine(outputPath, $"FinancialReport2024_{index++}.xlsx"));
}
}
}
}
Imports System
Imports System.IO
Imports IronXL
Namespace RenameExcelSheets
Public Class Program
Public Shared Sub Main()
Console.WriteLine("Demo Rename Excel Sheets Using IronXL")
Console.WriteLine("Enter Folder where Excel Files are present to rename to FinancialReport2024")
' Getting input folder path from user
Dim folderPath = Console.ReadLine()
' Check if the provided path is not empty
If String.IsNullOrEmpty(folderPath) Then
Throw New ArgumentException("Path is empty")
End If
' Check if the given folder path exists
If Not Directory.Exists(folderPath) Then
Throw New ArgumentException("Path is Wrong")
End If
' Get all files in the directory
Dim files = Directory.GetFiles(folderPath)
' Define output directory for renamed files
Dim outputPath = Path.Combine(folderPath, "output")
Directory.CreateDirectory(outputPath) ' Ensures the output directory exists
Dim index = 0
For Each file In files
' Load an existing Excel file
Dim workBook As WorkBook = WorkBook.Load(file)
' Select the first worksheet (index 0)
Dim workSheet As WorkSheet = workBook.WorkSheets(0)
' Rename the worksheet
workSheet.Name = "FinancialReport2024" ' change the name property
' Save the modified workbook with a new name in the output folder
'INSTANT VB WARNING: An assignment within expression was extracted from the following statement:
'ORIGINAL LINE: workBook.SaveAs(Path.Combine(outputPath, string.Format("FinancialReport2024_{0}.xlsx", index++)));
workBook.SaveAs(Path.Combine(outputPath, $"FinancialReport2024_{index}.xlsx"))
index += 1
Next file
End Sub
End Class
End Namespace
Code Explanation
- The program prompts the user to enter a folder path where Excel files are located.
- It checks if the folder path is an empty string and if the folder actually exists.
- It retrieves all the files from the specified folder.
- It iterates through these files, loading each one into a WorkBook object from the IronXL library.
- For each workbook, it renames the first worksheet.
- It saves each modified workbook in an "output" folder within the original folder.
Output
In the below output, you can see all the 3 files are renamed and the Excel sheet inside them is also renamed to FinancialReport2024.
Advantages of renaming Excel sheets programmatically include
- Efficiency: Automation reduces manual effort and human errors associated with manual renaming, saving time and resources.
- Consistency: Automated renaming ensures uniformity and adherence to naming conventions across sheets, enhancing data organization and readability.
- Scalability: Programmatically renaming sheets allows for bulk renaming and scalability, making it suitable for handling large datasets or repetitive tasks.
- Integration: Integration with existing workflows or applications enables seamless data processing and enhances overall productivity.
- Customization: Automation provides flexibility to customize renaming logic based on specific business requirements or criteria.
Licensing
IronXL is an enterprise library that works with a license agreement. More on license can be found here. The license key needs to be placed in the appsettings.json file here.
{
"IronXL.License.LicenseKey" : "IRONXL-MYLICENSE-KEY-1EF01"
}
Conclusion
Renaming Excel files using C# is a straightforward process. By leveraging the IronXL library from Iron Software, you can easily rename Excel files within your C# applications. This library is a handy tool for developers for all Excel sheet operations, be it reading, writing, or managing.
Now that you've learned how to rename Excel files programmatically, you can incorporate this feature into your C# projects to streamline file management tasks and improve automation capabilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is IronXL?
IronXL is a powerful C# Excel library developed by Iron Software. It allows developers to work with Excel documents in .NET projects without needing Microsoft Office or Excel Interop.
How do I rename an Excel worksheet using C#?
To rename an Excel worksheet using C#, you can use the IronXL library. Load the Excel file into a WorkBook object, select the worksheet you want to rename, and change its Name property.
Do I need Microsoft Office installed for Excel operations in C#?
No, using the IronXL library from Iron Software, you do not need Microsoft Office installed. It provides a hassle-free experience by eliminating the need for Office Interop.
What are the advantages of renaming worksheets programmatically?
Programmatically renaming worksheets offers several benefits such as efficiency, consistency, scalability, integration with workflows, and customization based on specific business requirements.
What formats are supported for Excel operations in C#?
The IronXL library supports various formats including XLSX, XLS, XLSM, XLTX, CSV, and TSV for reading, editing, and creating Excel files.
How can I set up Excel operations in a C# project?
You can set up Excel operations by installing the IronXL library via the Visual Studio Package Manager or by using the NuGet Package Manager with the command: dotnet add package IronXL.Excel --version 2024.4.4.
Is the Excel library compatible with various .NET versions?
Yes, the IronXL library is compatible with .NET 8, 7, 6, Core, Framework, and Azure, making it suitable for console applications, web apps, and desktop software.
What is required to set up the development environment for Excel operations in C#?
You need to have Visual Studio or any other preferred C# IDE installed. While Microsoft Excel is not needed for using IronXL, having it may be beneficial for testing and viewing Excel files.
Is a license required for the Excel library?
Yes, the IronXL library requires a license agreement. The license key needs to be placed in the appsettings.json file of your project.
Can the Excel library be used for tasks other than renaming worksheets?
Yes, the IronXL library can be used for a wide range of tasks including reading cell values, calculating aggregate values, working with formulas, creating charts, and more.