External table is not in the expected format

Question

0.00/5 (No votes)

See more:

I'm trying to read an Excel (.xlsx) file using the code shown below.Error is.... External table is not in the expected format.

What I have tried:

C#

DataTable dtData = new DataTable();
        OleDbConnection oOleDbConnection;
        OleDbDataAdapter oOleDbDataAdapter;
        try
        {
            oOleDbConnection = new OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=" + path + ";Extended Properties='Excel 12.0';");
            oOleDbDataAdapter = new OleDbDataAdapter("select * from [sheet1$]", oOleDbConnection);
            oOleDbDataAdapter.Fill(dtData);
            oOleDbConnection.Close();
            oOleDbConnection.Dispose();
            return dtData;
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            return null;
        }

Can you please tell me where I went wrong..

Posted 13-Jun-18 2:01am

anuj___chauhan

Updated 25-Jul-21 12:40pm

Maciej Los

v2

Add a Solution

Comments

Maciej Los 13-Jun-18 8:15am

1. Seems, you forgot to open connection.
2. How do you create and initiate path variable?

anuj___chauhan 13-Jun-18 13:08pm

same code working with .xls format but not working with .xlsx

[no name] 13-Jun-18 14:37pm

Then it's the format or the provider / driver; and not the code.

Richard Deeming 14-Jun-18 13:34pm

Xlsx files - Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0 - ConnectionStrings.com[^]

3 solutions

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

Preview 0

…

Existing Members

Sign in to your account

...or Join us

Download, Vote, Comment, Publish.

Your Email
Password
Forgot your password?

Your Email
This email is in use. Do you need your password?
Optional Password

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Please subscribe me to the CodeProject newsletters

When answering a question please:

Read the question carefully.
Understand that English isn't everyone's first language so be lenient of bad spelling and grammar.
If a question is poorly phrased then either ask for clarification, ignore it, or edit the question and fix the problem. Insults are not welcome.
Don't tell someone to read the manual. Chances are they have and don't get it. Provide an answer or move on to the next question.

Let's work to help developers, not make them feel stupid.

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

OriginalGriff · Answer 1 · 2018-06-13T02:15:00

Solution 1

See here: External table is not in the expected format.[^]

Posted 13-Jun-18 2:15am

OriginalGriff

Maciej Los · Answer 2 · 2018-06-13T02:31:00

Please, read my comment first.

1. You forgot to open connection:

C#

oOleDbConnection = new OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=" + path + ";Extended Properties='Excel 12.0';");
oOleDbConnection.Open(); //you missed that!
oOleDbDataAdapter = new OleDbDataAdapter("select * from [sheet1$]", oOleDbConnection);

2. A path variable should be initiated this way:

C#

string path = @"C:\Folder1\Foder2\FileName.xlsx";
//or - without @
//note: single [\] is an escape character, so you need to pass two [\\] to change its meaning
string path = "C:\\Folder1\\Foder2\\FileName.xlsx";

3. Check if sheet1 exists in a collection of sheets!

4. Use specific connection string for each Excel file (depending on extension):
See: Microsoft ACE OLEDB 12.0 Connection Strings - ConnectionStrings.com[^]
For xlsx files:

C#

string constr = string.Format(@"Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source={0};Extended Properties='Excel 12.0 Xml';", path);

Harvey Jarquin · Answer 3 · 2021-07-25T12:40:00

Solution 3

In my case I fotgoted to close the oOleDbConnection. oOleDbConnection.Close(); In background was an Excel with the opened file, I had to kill te process and reopened visual Studio.

Posted 25-Jul-21 12:40pm

Harvey Jarquin

Comments

CHill60 26-Jul-21 5:01am

That's an unusual message to get when the file is already open. I suggest you check the other solutions because there is more going on than having just left the file already open