Member Avatar for mpatram

Hi All,

I've some excel programs. I want to attach those programs to my vb.net application. Is it possible? If yes then How? If its possible then can the excel file be editable?

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Short answer: yes — you can attach and edit Excel files from VB.NET by (a) automating Excel (COM Interop), (b) treating a workbook as a data source (OLE DB / ACE), or (c) using a managed library that reads/writes the file format directly. asked the original question; pointed out Interop and OLE DB options and later asked about processing cells. ’s note about “perfect” spreadsheets matches a real problem: the ACE/JET drivers scan a sample of rows and guess column types, so mixed-type columns can be returned as nulls or coerced. (learn.microsoft.com)

Practical guidance and caveats:

  • Use COM Interop only for desktop apps where Excel is installed and user interaction is expected. Microsoft explicitly warns against automating Office on server-side processes (stability, scalability, security and licensing issues). (support.microsoft.com)
  • OLE DB/ACE is handy for simple tabular reads/writes but is brittle with mixed types (see TypeGuessRows / ImportMixedTypes / IMEX). If spreadsheets are produced by others you don’t control, expect headaches. (learn.microsoft.com)
  • For reliable server-side or cross-platform work, prefer libraries that operate on the file format: Open XML SDK (official, low-level), ClosedXML (easy API), EPPlus (feature-rich — note newer versions have stricter licensing), ExcelDataReader (fast read-only), or NPOI for older .xls support. Pick one by needs: editing+formatting -> ClosedXML/EPPlus; read-only high performance -> ExcelDataReader. (learn.microsoft.com)

Example (VB.NET using ClosedXML — edits a cell and saves):

Imports ClosedXML.Excel

Using wb = New XLWorkbook()
    Dim ws = wb.Worksheets.Add("Sheet1")
    ws.Cell("A1").Value = "Updated from VB.NET"
    ws.Cell(2, 1).Value = 123
    wb.SaveAs("C:\Temp\MyWorkbook.xlsx")
End Using

Quick checklist:

  • If using Interop: run only on client desktops, call Quit and release COM objects (Marshal.ReleaseComObject), and avoid server automation. (support.microsoft.com)
  • If using OLE DB: watch HDR/IMEX, TypeGuessRows, and nulls from type guessing. (learn.microsoft.com)
  • If using third‑party libs: install via NuGet and verify license (EPPlus has commercial vs noncommercial rules). (github.com)

This expands on the earlier replies and points to safer, modern options depending on whether you need UI/macro support or robust programmatic editing.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for emurf

The first thing that you'll need to do is add a reference to the Microsoft Excel Object Library. In your code you will need to create an Excel application object and excel workbooks. Then you should be able to access the file to edit the cells. It may look something like this;

'declare an instance of an excel application
Dim oExcel As New Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.Application

'make a book 
Dim oBook As Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.Workbook
'set it to the excel doc
oBook = oExcel.Workbooks.Open("path to your file")

'get the sheet 
Dim oSheet As Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.Worksheet = oBook.Worksheets("Sheetname")

'here you would put any other code to edit the sheet

There is information about manipulating the data at this link, http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;302094

Member Avatar for 隐姓埋名

I wonder how to process the data in the excel cells with the vb.net codes. thnx

Member Avatar for emurf

If you are wanting to just read what is on the sheet like it is a database column you would use an OleDb connection object like this;

Dim strSql As String = "select * from [" & SheetName & "$]"
Dim conConn As New OleDb.OleDbConnection("provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0; " & _
"data source=" & c:\PathToFile & "; " & _
"Extended Properties=Excel 8.0;")
Dim cmd As New OleDb.OleDbCommand(strSql, conConn)
Dim dr As OleDb.OleDbDataReader

Then use as any other OleDb connection. To access individual cells you need to create Excel objects like the post above and then loop through each row and cell, check the link in that post for examples.

Member Avatar for Member #46692

A word of warning I found out later if using oledb - the spreadsheet must be perfect

In other words:

Every column must either number numeric or non-numeric, if there is a mismatch it doesn't work.

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