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Export DataTable to Excel with Formatting in C#

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21 Nov 2014CPOL1 min read 511.9K   12.9K   54   37
Export a DataTable to an Excel file and add format to the contents while writing the Excel file.

Introduction

In this tip, let us see how to export a DataTable to an Excel file and add format to the contents while writing the Excel file.

Step 1: Create a web application and add a class Student with properties as below:

C#
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.Data;
using System.Reflection;

namespace ExportToExcelFromDataTable
{
    public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page
    {
       protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
       {
       }
    }
    public class Student
    {
        public string Name { get; set; }
        public int StudentId { get; set; }
        public int Age { get; set; }
    }
}

Step 2: I have added Gridview_Result. Create a list for students in the page_load event. Add a property dt of type DataTable. Bind the DataTable to the GridView after converting the List to a DataTable. The conversion class is described in the next step.

C#
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    List<Student> Students = new List<Student>(){
        new Student() { Name = "Jack", Age = 15, StudentId = 100 },
        new Student() { Name = "Smith", Age = 15, StudentId = 101 },           
        new Student() { Name = "Smit", Age = 15, StudentId = 102 }
    };
    ListtoDataTableConverter converter = new ListtoDataTableConverter();
    dt = converter.ToDataTable(Students);
    GridView_Result.DataSource = Students;
    GridView_Result.DataBind();
}

Step 3: Now we are going to convert this List object to a DataTable. For that we need to create a new class and a conversion method as below.

C#
public class ListtoDataTableConverter
{
    public DataTable ToDataTable<T>(List<T> items)
    {
        DataTable dataTable = new DataTable(typeof(T).Name);
        //Get all the properties
        PropertyInfo[] Props = typeof(T).GetProperties(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance);
        foreach (PropertyInfo prop in Props)
        {
            //Setting column names as Property names
            dataTable.Columns.Add(prop.Name);
        }

         foreach (T item in items)
        {
            var values = new object[Props.Length];
            for (int i = 0; i < Props.Length; i++)
            {
                //inserting property values to datatable rows
                values[i] = Props[i].GetValue(item, null);
            }

            dataTable.Rows.Add(values);

        }
         //put a breakpoint here and check datatable
        return dataTable;
    }
}

The above method will set the property name as a column name for the DataTable and for each object in the list; it will create a new row in the DataTable and insert values. 

Step 4: I have written the below method which will convert a DataTable to an Excel file. In this method, I added font, made headers bold, and added a border. You can customize the method as per your needs.

C#
private void ExporttoExcel(DataTable table)
{
    HttpContext.Current.Response.Clear();
    HttpContext.Current.Response.ClearContent();
    HttpContext.Current.Response.ClearHeaders();
    HttpContext.Current.Response.Buffer = true;
    HttpContext.Current.Response.ContentType = "application/ms-excel";
    HttpContext.Current.Response.Write(@"<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC ""-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"">");
    HttpContext.Current.Response.AddHeader("Content-Disposition", "attachment;filename=Reports.xls");
   
    HttpContext.Current.Response.Charset = "utf-8";
    HttpContext.Current.Response.ContentEncoding = System.Text.Encoding.GetEncoding("windows-1250");
      //sets font
    HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("<font style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Calibri;'>");
    HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("<BR><BR><BR>");
    //sets the table border, cell spacing, border color, font of the text, background, foreground, font height
    HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("<Table border='1' bgColor='#ffffff' " + 
      "borderColor='#000000' cellSpacing='0' cellPadding='0' " + 
      "style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Calibri; background:white;'> <TR>");
    //am getting my grid's column headers
    int columnscount = GridView_Result.Columns.Count;

    for (int j = 0; j < columnscount; j++)
    {      //write in new column
        HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("<Td>");
        //Get column headers  and make it as bold in excel columns
        HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("<B>");
        HttpContext.Current.Response.Write(GridView_Result.Columns[j].HeaderText.ToString());
        HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("</B>");
        HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("</Td>");
    }
    HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("</TR>");
    foreach (DataRow row in table.Rows)
    {//write in new row
        HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("<TR>");
        for (int i = 0; i < table.Columns.Count; i++)
        {
            HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("<Td>");
            HttpContext.Current.Response.Write(row[i].ToString());
            HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("</Td>");
        }

        HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("</TR>");
    }
    HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("</Table>");
    HttpContext.Current.Response.Write("</font>");
    HttpContext.Current.Response.Flush();
    HttpContext.Current.Response.End();
}

Step 4: Add a button and in the button click event, call the above method by passing a parameter.

C#
protected void Btn_Export_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    ExporttoExcel(dt);
}

For the complete source code, please find the attached solution.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Technical Lead EF (Education First)
India India
I graduated as Production Engineer and started my career as Software Developer then worked as tester for a while before moving into Windows application development using Microsoft Technologies. But for the last few years i am working on javascript, React, Node, AWS, Azure Chatbots

Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionWhat if i want to Change Font Pin
Kishork198926-Feb-21 4:55
Kishork198926-Feb-21 4:55 
QuestionFormat Error Pin
Arsal Hussain25-Oct-17 1:32
Arsal Hussain25-Oct-17 1:32 
AnswerMessage Closed Pin
27-Oct-18 7:23
professionalMember 1075372627-Oct-18 7:23 
QuestionHow to apply custom style to the exported Excel file Pin
TheKarateKid3-Jun-17 6:23
TheKarateKid3-Jun-17 6:23 
Article is helpful, I have one question though,
I see that, the table and the grid has styles hardcoded.
But, If I want to customize the styles based on where I am using this export function.
May I know, how do go about doing it?
Thanks,

GeneralMy vote of 1 Pin
wally7516-Feb-17 0:54
wally7516-Feb-17 0:54 
GeneralRe: My vote of 1 Pin
PopoAle28-Jul-17 4:22
PopoAle28-Jul-17 4:22 
Questionmultiple integer number not working not working Pin
muthukumaranmca15-Feb-16 1:38
muthukumaranmca15-Feb-16 1:38 
GeneralNot a real Excel file Pin
Andestalmoss28-Sep-15 22:45
Andestalmoss28-Sep-15 22:45 
QuestionGood Method!!! One ? Pin
Hellfire123128-Jun-15 17:50
Hellfire123128-Jun-15 17:50 
QuestionThank You so much.. I was in search of this in so many sites, but finally this one is working damn cool.. Pin
RazzSekhar11-May-15 22:18
RazzSekhar11-May-15 22:18 
GeneralMy vote of 1 Pin
nabati reza10-Feb-15 0:43
nabati reza10-Feb-15 0:43 
Bugweak XML generation Pin
sx200826-Nov-14 16:28
sx200826-Nov-14 16:28 
QuestionHow to create real Excel 2007 files (for free) Pin
Michael Gledhill24-Nov-14 23:36
Michael Gledhill24-Nov-14 23:36 
SuggestionMessage Closed Pin
22-Nov-14 9:05
Ciprian Beldi22-Nov-14 9:05 
QuestionAs this code is only export to excel from datatable , but this code also using gridview for headers Pin
vivek123reddy19-Nov-14 19:07
vivek123reddy19-Nov-14 19:07 
AnswerRe: As this code is only export to excel from datatable , but this code also using gridview for headers Pin
Santhosh Kumar Jayaraman19-Nov-14 19:26
Santhosh Kumar Jayaraman19-Nov-14 19:26 
QuestionThank you Pin
Mahsa Hassankashi15-Sep-14 11:05
Mahsa Hassankashi15-Sep-14 11:05 
AnswerRe: Thank you Pin
Santhosh Kumar Jayaraman15-Sep-14 20:55
Santhosh Kumar Jayaraman15-Sep-14 20:55 
QuestionFor thanks Pin
ram salunke13-Jan-14 22:51
ram salunke13-Jan-14 22:51 
AnswerRe: For thanks Pin
Santhosh Kumar Jayaraman15-Sep-14 20:54
Santhosh Kumar Jayaraman15-Sep-14 20:54 
GeneralNice Work Pin
T Pat8-Aug-13 2:26
T Pat8-Aug-13 2:26 
GeneralGood Example Pin
pankulchitrav17-Jun-13 19:21
pankulchitrav17-Jun-13 19:21 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
crazie.coder9-Apr-13 1:07
professionalcrazie.coder9-Apr-13 1:07 
QuestionHTML/Reflection Pin
ripside@gmail.com24-Feb-13 14:27
ripside@gmail.com24-Feb-13 14:27 
QuestionHow to hide the columns in the export Pin
90006056673-Jan-13 2:50
90006056673-Jan-13 2:50 

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