Free Library Recommendation for Excel Operations in C#

Question

Hello,

I am developing a project in C# where I need to export data to an Excel file and import it back into my application. I initially considered using the EPPlus library, but since it requires a license for commercial use, I am concerned that it might cause issues in the future.

Could you recommend a comprehensive free library that allows me to read and write data, add comments to cells if necessary, and adjust column widths, even when Microsoft Office is not installed?

Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

Hi @fatih uyanık , Welcome to Microsoft Q&A,

ClosedXML has an MIT license, suitable for commercial use. (This forum does not recommend the use of third-party products, nor does it provide subsequent support for them. Use with caution.)

using ClosedXML.Excel;
using System;

namespace xxx
{
    internal class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            using (var workbook = new XLWorkbook())
            {
                var worksheet = workbook.Worksheets.Add("data");

                worksheet.Cell(1, 1).Value = "ID";
                worksheet.Cell(1, 2).Value = "Name";
                worksheet.Cell(1, 3).Value = "Age";

                worksheet.Cell(2, 1).Value = 1;
                worksheet.Cell(2, 2).Value = "Zhang San";
                worksheet.Cell(2, 3).Value = 30;

                int currentRow = 1;
                int currentCol = 1;
                string myComment = "This is a comment"; worksheet.Cell(currentRow, currentCol).GetComment().AddText(myComment);

                worksheet.Columns().AdjustToContents(); // Automatically adjust column width

                workbook.SaveAs("Sample.xlsx");
            }

            Console.WriteLine("Excel file created!");
        }
    }
}

Best Regards,

Jiale

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Answer 2

You could use Open XML SDK : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/open-xml/spreadsheet/overview