Features

The best way to explore supported features is by using our sample explorer. To launch it, your computer needs to have Windows Installer 3.1 and .NET Framework 3.0. These are already installed on majority of Windows machines so just click here:

Launch the GemBox.Spreadsheet Sample Explorer

If above link doesn’t work, click here to install the prerequisites and run the application.

If you don’t want to run the sample explorer, following table lists main GemBox.Spreadsheet features:

GemBox.Spreadsheet FeatureSample CodeSample Files
International characters (Unicode support) C# / VB.NET HelloWorld.xls / HelloWorld.xlsx /
HelloWorld.ods
Various cell data types (numbers, strings, dates, floating point etc.)C# / VB.NETFeatureSamples.xls /
FeatureSamples.xlsx /
FeatureSamples.ods
Cell styles (alignment, indentation, rotation, borders, shading, protection, text wrapping and shrinking etc.)
Font formatting (size, color, font type, italic and strikeout properties, different levels of boldness, underlining, subscript and superscript)
Row and column grouping and outlining
DataTable insert
Custom number formattingC# / VB.NETTableSample.xls / TableSample.xlsx
Row height and column width
Merged regions
FormulasC# / VB.NETFormulas.xls / Formulas.xlsx
Named ranges
Advanced features (pictures, comments, hyperlinks, print and view options, summaries) (XLSX and ODS only)C# / VB.NETInput: Pictures.zip
Output: AdvancedFeatures.xlsx /
AdvancedFeatures.ods
Template support (create new workbooks using existing workbook as a template)C# / VB.NETInput: InvoiceTemplate.xls
Output: Invoice14.xls
CSV files (delimited with comma, tab, semicolon or any other separator)C# / VB.NETInput: LunarIn.csv
Output: Lunar.xls / Lunar.xlsx /
Lunar.ods / Lunar.csv
XLS/XLSX/ODS file readingC# / VB.NETTestWorkbook.xls / TestWorkbook.xlsx / TestWorkbook.ods
XLSX preservation (Illustrations, Shapes, Charts, Header/Footer text and images, AutoFilter, Data Validation, Conditional Formatting, Macros, Pivot Tables)C# / VB.NETInput: XlsxPreserveSamplesIN.xlsm
Output: XlsxPreserveSamplesOUT.xlsm
HTML export (Fully generic way of writing to HTML)C# / VB.NETInput: HtmlExportSampleIN.xls
Output: HtmlExportSampleOUT.html
ASP.NET save to stream (works in medium trust)Web Demo (separate window)

Notice that different file formats have different level of support. Some advanced features are available only in certain file formats, for example:

  • Only in XLSX and ODS: Images and comments.
  • Only in XLSX: Preservation of charts, pivot tables, auto filter and images in header/footer.

Therefore, for file formats that you require, you should check if our current implementation supports features that you need.

New Open XML (.XLSX) and OpenDocument (.ODS) formats are becoming industry standards, because they are open, standardized and extensible. You can read XLSX files in Excel 2003 and older by using Microsoft compatibility pack. ODS files are fully supported in Excel 2007 SP2.

GemBox.Spreadsheet on-line help contains additional information about API and supported features.

Also, there are separate feature release pages for: XLSX methods, HTML export and ODS methods.

For frequently asked licensing and technical questions, consult our FAQ section.