How to: Programmatically Add an Excel Web Access Web Part to a Page

Article
07/24/2014

Applies to: SharePoint Server 2010

This example shows how to programmatically add an Excel Web Access Web Part to a SharePoint page. It also shows you how to display an Excel workbook programmatically in an Excel Web Access Web Part.

The following project uses Microsoft Visual Studio.

Note

Depending on the Visual Studio version and the Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE) settings that you are using, the process and steps to create a Visual Studio project could be slightly different from the procedures shown in this topic.

Note

It is assumed that you have already created a SharePoint document library and made it a trusted location. For more information, see How to: Trust a Location.

Adding a Reference

The following steps show how to locate Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.dll and how to add a reference to it. Repeat for Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.Internal.dll and Microsoft.SharePoint.dll.

Note

It is assumed that you have already copied Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.dll and Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.Internal.dll from the global assembly cache to a folder of your choice. For more information about how to locate and copy Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.dll and Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.Internal.dll, see How to: Locate and Copy Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.dll and Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.Internal.dll.

To add a reference to Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.dll

On the Project menu, click Add Reference.
In the Add Reference dialog box, click Browse.

Note

You can also open the Add Reference dialog box in the Solution Explorer pane by right-clicking References and selecting Add Reference.
Browse to the location of Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.dll.
Select Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.dll, and then click OK.
Click Add Reference. A reference to Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.dll is added to your project.

Instantiating a Web Part

To instantiate the Excel Web Access Web Part

Add the Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI namespace as a directive to your code, so that when you use the types in this namespace, you do not need to fully qualify them:
```
using Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI;
```
```
Imports Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI
```

Instantiate and initialize the Excel Web Access Web Part, as follows:


 ExcelWebRenderer ewaWebPart = new ExcelWebRenderer();

Dim ewaWebPart As New ExcelWebRenderer()

To display a workbook programmatically

In this example, the AddWebPart method takes in the path to an Excel workbook location as an argument. The user provides the path by typing in a Windows Forms text box and clicking a button.

Sample code provided by: Daniel Mullowney, Microsoft Corporation

public bool AddWebPart(string sitename, string book)
{
...
}
            private void AddEWAButton_Click(object sender, 
                EventArgs e)
            {
                siteurl = textBox1.Text;
                bookuri = textBox2.Text;
                succeeded = AddWebPart(siteurl, bookuri);
                if (succeeded)
                {
                    MessageBox.Show(
                        success,
                        appname,
                        MessageBoxButtons.OK,
                        MessageBoxIcon.Information);
                    progressBar1.Value = 1;
                }
            }

Public Function AddWebPart(ByVal sitename As String, ByVal book As String) As Boolean
...
End Function
Private Sub AddEWAButton_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
        siteurl = textBox1.Text
        bookuri = textBox2.Text
        succeeded = AddWebPart(siteurl, bookuri)
        If succeeded Then
            MessageBox.Show(success, appname, MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)
            progressBar1.Value = 1
        End If
End Sub

Important

Ensure that the location where the workbook is saved is a trusted location.

You can display an Excel workbook programmatically by using the following code.

Sample code provided by: Daniel Mullowney, Microsoft Corporation

...
// Instantiate Excel Web Access Web Part.
// Add an Excel Web Access Web Part in a shared view.
ExcelWebRenderer ewaWebPart = new ExcelWebRenderer();
ewaWebPart.WorkbookUri = book;
progressBar1.PerformStep();

try
{
    webPartManager.AddWebPart(ewaWebPart, "Left", 0);
}
catch (Exception exc)
{
    MessageBox.Show(
        addWebPartError + "\n" + exc.Message,
        appName,
        MessageBoxButtons.OK,
        MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk);
    progressBar1.Value = 1;
    return b;

'Instantiate Excel Web Access Web Part.
'Add an Excel Web Access Web Part in a shared view.
Dim ewaWebPart As New ExcelWebRenderer()
ewaWebPart.WorkbookUri = book
progressBar1.PerformStep()

Try
    webPartManager.AddWebPart(ewaWebPart, "Left", 0)
Catch exc As Exception
    MessageBox.Show(addWebPartError & vbLf & exc.Message, appName, 
        MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk)
    progressBar1.Value = 1
    Return b
End Try

Example

The following example is a Windows Forms application that enables a user to enter information on a SharePoint site and display an Excel workbook saved in a trusted location programmatically. It programmatically creates an Excel Web Access Web Part on the default.aspx page of the specified site and displays the specified Excel workbook.

The code sample is the code from the Form1.cs and Form1.vb example files described in the previous procedures. The code sample uses two text boxes, a progress bar, and a button. The code is only a portion of the Windows Forms project. For example, the code involving the layout of the form is not shown.

Sample code provided by: Daniel Mullowney, Microsoft Corporation

namespace AddEWATool
{
    using System;
    using System.Windows.Forms;
    using Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI;
    using Microsoft.SharePoint;
    using Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages;

    /// <summary>
    /// Form1 class derived from System.Windows.Forms.
    /// </summary>
    public partial class Form1 : Form
    {
        private string appName = "AddEWATool";
        private string specifyInputError = "Please add a site URL, for example: http://myserver/site/";
        private string openSiteError = "There was a problem with the site name. Please check that the site exists.";
        private string addWebPartError = "There was a problem adding the Web Part.";
        private string successMessage = "Web Part successfully added.";

        /// <summary>
        /// Add the Excel Web Access Web Part to the Default.aspx page of the specified site.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="siteName">URL of the SharePoint site</param>
        /// <param name="book">URI to the workbook</param>
        /// <returns>Returns true if the WebPart was successfully added; otherwise, false.</returns>
        public bool AddWebPart(string siteName, string book)
        {
            SPSite site = null;
            SPWeb targetWeb = null;
            SPLimitedWebPartManager webPartManager = null;

            bool b = false;
            progressBar1.Visible = true;
            progressBar1.Minimum = 1;
            progressBar1.Maximum = 4;
            progressBar1.Value = 1;
            progressBar1.Step = 1;

            if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(siteName))
            {
                MessageBox.Show(
                    specifyInputError,
                    appName,
                    MessageBoxButtons.OK,
                    MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk);
                return b;
            }

            try
            {
                try
                {
                    site = new SPSite(siteName);
                    targetWeb = site.OpenWeb();
                }
                catch (Exception exc)
                {
                    MessageBox.Show(
                        openSiteError + "\n" + exc.Message,
                        appName,
                        MessageBoxButtons.OK,
                        MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk);
                    progressBar1.Value = 1;
                    return b;
                }

                progressBar1.PerformStep();

                try
                {
                    // Get the shared Web Part manager on the Default.aspx page.
                    webPartManager = targetWeb.GetLimitedWebPartManager(
                        "Default.aspx",
                        System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.PersonalizationScope.Shared);
                }
                catch (Exception exc)
                {
                    MessageBox.Show(
                        openSiteError + "\n" + exc.Message,
                        appName,
                        MessageBoxButtons.OK,
                        MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk);
                    progressBar1.Value = 1;
                    return b;
                }

                progressBar1.PerformStep();

                // Instantiate Excel Web Access Web Part.
                // Add an Excel Web Access Web Part in a shared view.
                ExcelWebRenderer ewaWebPart = new ExcelWebRenderer();
                ewaWebPart.WorkbookUri = book;
                progressBar1.PerformStep();

                try
                {
                    webPartManager.AddWebPart(ewaWebPart, "Left", 0);
                }
                catch (Exception exc)
                {
                    MessageBox.Show(
                        addWebPartError + "\n" + exc.Message,
                        appName,
                        MessageBoxButtons.OK,
                        MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk);
                    progressBar1.Value = 1;
                    return b;
                }
            }
            finally
            {
                if (site != null)
                {
                    site.Dispose();
                }

                if (targetWeb != null)
                {
                    targetWeb.Dispose();
                }

                if (webPartManager != null)
                {
                    webPartManager.Dispose();
                }
            }

            progressBar1.PerformStep();
            b = true;
            return b;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// AddEWAButton click handler.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="sender">caller</param>
        /// <param name="e">event</param>
        private void AddEWAButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            string siteUrl = textBox1.Text;
            string bookUri = textBox2.Text;
            bool succeeded = AddWebPart(siteUrl, bookUri);
            if (succeeded)
            {
                MessageBox.Show(
                    successMessage,
                    appName,
                    MessageBoxButtons.OK,
                    MessageBoxIcon.Information);
                progressBar1.Value = 1;
            }
        }
    }
}

Imports System
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI
Imports Microsoft.SharePoint
Imports Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages

Namespace AddEWATool
    ''' <summary>
    ''' Form1 class derived from System.Windows.Forms.
    ''' </summary>
    Partial Public Class Form1
        Inherits Form

        Private appName As String = "AddEWATool"
        Private specifyInputError As String = "Please add a site URL, for example, http://myserver/site/"
        Private openSiteError As String = "There was a problem with the site name. Please check that the site exists."
        Private addWebPartError As String = "There was a problem adding the Web Part."
        Private successMessage As String = "Web Part successfully added."

        ''' <summary>
        ''' Add the Excel Web Access Web Part to the Default.aspx page of the specified site.
        ''' </summary>
        ''' <param name="siteName">URL of the SharePoint site</param>
        ''' <param name="book">URI to the workbook</param>
        ''' <returns>Returns true if the WebPart was successfully added; otherwise, false.</returns>
        Public Function AddWebPart(ByVal siteName As String, ByVal book As String) As Boolean
            Dim site As SPSite = Nothing
            Dim targetWeb As SPWeb = Nothing
            Dim webPartManager As SPLimitedWebPartManager = Nothing

            Dim b As Boolean = False
            progressBar1.Visible = True
            progressBar1.Minimum = 1
            progressBar1.Maximum = 4
            progressBar1.Value = 1
            progressBar1.Step = 1

            If String.IsNullOrEmpty(siteName) Then
                MessageBox.Show(specifyInputError, appName, MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk)
                Return b
            End If

            Try
                Try
                    site = New SPSite(siteName)
                    targetWeb = site.OpenWeb()
                Catch exc As Exception
                    MessageBox.Show(openSiteError & vbLf & exc.Message, appName, MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk)
                    progressBar1.Value = 1
                    Return b
                End Try

                progressBar1.PerformStep()

                Try
                    ' Get the shared Web Part manager on the Default.aspx page.
                    webPartManager = targetWeb.GetLimitedWebPartManager( _
                            "Default.aspx", _
                            System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.PersonalizationScope.Shared)
                Catch exc As Exception
                    MessageBox.Show(openSiteError & vbLf & exc.Message, appName, MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk)
                    progressBar1.Value = 1
                    Return b
                End Try

                progressBar1.PerformStep()

                'Instantiate Excel Web Access Web Part.
                'Add an Excel Web Access Web Part in a shared view.
                Dim ewaWebPart As New ExcelWebRenderer()
                ewaWebPart.WorkbookUri = book
                progressBar1.PerformStep()

                Try
                    webPartManager.AddWebPart(ewaWebPart, "Left", 0)
                Catch exc As Exception
                    MessageBox.Show(addWebPartError & vbLf & exc.Message, appName, MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk)
                    progressBar1.Value = 1
                    Return b
                End Try
            Finally
                If Not IsNothing(site) Then
                    site.Dispose()
                End If

                If Not IsNothing(targetWeb) Then
                    targetWeb.Dispose()
                End If

                If Not IsNothing(webPartManager) Then
                    webPartManager.Dispose()
                End If
            End Try

            progressBar1.PerformStep()
            b = True
            Return b
        End Function

        ''' <summary>
        ''' AddEWAButton click handler.
        ''' </summary>
        ''' <param name="sender">caller</param>
        ''' <param name="e">event</param>
        Private Sub AddEWAButton_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
            Dim siteUrl As String = textBox1.Text
            Dim bookUri As String = textBox2.Text
            Dim succeeded As Boolean = AddWebPart(siteUrl, bookUri)
            If succeeded Then
                MessageBox.Show(successMessage, appName, MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)
                progressBar1.Value = 1
            End If
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

Robust Programming

The Excel workbook that you are using must be in a trusted location.

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How to: Programmatically Add an Excel Web Access Web Part to a Page

Adding a Reference

To add a reference to Microsoft.Office.Excel.WebUI.dll

Instantiating a Web Part

To instantiate the Excel Web Access Web Part

To display a workbook programmatically

Example

Robust Programming

See Also

Tasks

Concepts

Additional resources