Create Excel (XLSX) or PDF file in ASP.NET Core

GemBox.Spreadsheet provides a support for .NET Standard which is why it can be used on various .NET platforms such as .NET Framework, .NET Core, Xamarin and Universal Windows Platform (UWP). The .NET Standard version of GemBox.Spreadsheet has full functionality of .NET Framework version, but with few rendering limitations (unsupported features):

Printing workbooks.
Saving workbooks to PDF, XPS and image formats.
Calling Row and Column AutoFit methods.

Also, GemBox.Spreadsheet provides a version for .NET Core 3.0 that has no rendering limitations when used on Windows. However, when used on a non-Windows platform then the same .NET Standard limitations are applied. For more information see Linux / macOS example.

To create a PDF file from ASP.NET Core 3.0 web application using GemBox.Spreadsheet, you'll need to add Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App framework reference in the project file.

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web">

 <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>netcoreapp3.0</TargetFramework>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <FrameworkReference Include="Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App" />
  </ItemGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="GemBox.Spreadsheet" Version="*" />
  </ItemGroup>

</Project>

Or in case of a .NET Core 3.0 desktop application, you'll need to use Microsoft.NET.Sdk.WindowsDesktop SDK and add UseWPF property in the project file.

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.WindowsDesktop">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>netcoreapp3.0</TargetFramework>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <PropertyGroup>
    <UseWPF>true</UseWPF>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="GemBox.Spreadsheet" Version="*" />
  </ItemGroup>

</Project>

GemBox.Spreadsheet is ideal for web applications (like ASP.NET Core, ASP.NET MVC and ASP.NET Web Forms) because of its fast performance and thread safety when working with multiple ExcelFile objects.

The following example is a simple ASP.NET Core MVC application that exports data to an Excel file in the specified output format.

An ASP.NET Core MVC application that exports data with GemBox.Spreadsheet — Screenshot of an ASP.NET Core MVC application that exports data with GemBox.Spreadsheet

A file exported from an ASP.NET Core MVC application with GemBox.Spreadsheet — Screenshot of a file exported from an ASP.NET Core MVC application with GemBox.Spreadsheet

Demo
CSHTML
C#

@model Spreadsheet.Samples.Core.Controllers.WorkbookModel

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width">
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <title>Create an Excel Workbook</title>
    <link href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.0.0/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" integrity="sha384-Gn5384xqQ1aoWXA+058RXPxPg6fy4IWvTNh0E263XmFcJlSAwiGgFAW/dAiS6JXm" crossorigin="anonymous">
    <style type="text/css">
        thead tr {
            text-align: center;
        }

        .table th {
            color: white;
            background-color: rgb(242, 101, 34);
            padding: 0.5rem;
        }

        .table td {
            padding: 0.5rem;
        }

        .table input {
            font-size: 0.9rem;
            padding: 0.3rem 0.35rem;
        }

        .first-column {
            text-align: center;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body style="padding:20px; font-size: 0.9rem">
    <form asp-action="Create">
        <div asp-validation-summary="ModelOnly" class="text-danger"></div>
        <table class="table table-bordered table-condensed">
            <colgroup>
                <col style="width: 10%" />
                <col style="width: 45%" />
                <col style="width: 45%" />
            </colgroup>
            <thead>
                <tr>
                    <th>ID</th>
                    <th>First Name</th>
                    <th>Last Name</th>
                </tr>
            </thead>
            <tbody>
                @for (int i = 0; i < Model.Items.Count; i++)
                {
                    <tr>
                        <td><input asp-for="Items[i].Id" type="text" class="form-control-plaintext first-column" readonly /></td>
                        <td><input asp-for="Items[i].FirstName" type="text" class="form-control" /></td>
                        <td><input asp-for="Items[i].LastName" type="text" class="form-control" /></td>
                    </tr>
                }
            </tbody>
        </table>
        <div>
            <h4>Output format:</h4>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="XLSX" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" checked value="XLSX" />
                <label for="XLSX" class="form-check-label">XLSX</label>
            </div>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="XLS" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" value="XLS" />
                <label for="XLS" class="form-check-label">XLS</label>
            </div>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="ODS" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" value="ODS" />
                <label for="ODS" class="form-check-label">ODS</label>
            </div>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="CSV" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" value="CSV" />
                <label for="CSV" class="form-check-label">CSV</label>
            </div>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="HTML" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" value="HTML" />
                <label for="HTML" class="form-check-label">HTML</label>
            </div>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="PDF" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" value="PDF" />
                <label for="PDF" class="form-check-label">PDF</label>
            </div>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="XPS" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" value="XPS" />
                <label for="XPS" class="form-check-label">XPS</label>
            </div>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="BMP" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" value="BMP" />
                <label for="BMP" class="form-check-label">BMP</label>
            </div>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="GIF" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" value="GIF" />
                <label for="GIF" class="form-check-label">GIF</label>
            </div>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="JPG" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" value="JPG" />
                <label for="JPG" class="form-check-label">JPG</label>
            </div>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="PNG" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" value="PNG" />
                <label for="PNG" class="form-check-label">PNG</label>
            </div>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="TIF" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" value="TIF" />
                <label for="TIF" class="form-check-label">TIF</label>
            </div>
            <div class="form-check">
                <input id="WMP" name="SelectedFormat" type="radio" class="form-check-input" value="WMP" />
                <label for="WMP" class="form-check-label">WMP</label>
            </div>
        </div>
        <hr />
        <button type="submit" class="btn btn-default">Export</button>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using GemBox.Spreadsheet;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

public class WorkbookController : Controller
{
    private static readonly IList<WorkbookItemModel> data = new List<WorkbookItemModel>()
        {
            new WorkbookItemModel() { Id = 100, FirstName = "John", LastName = "Doe"},
            new WorkbookItemModel() { Id = 101, FirstName = "Fred", LastName = "Nurk"},
            new WorkbookItemModel() { Id = 102, FirstName = "Hans", LastName = "Meier"},
            new WorkbookItemModel() { Id = 103, FirstName = "Ivan", LastName = "Horvat"},
            new WorkbookItemModel() { Id = 104, FirstName = "Jean", LastName = "Dupont"},
            new WorkbookItemModel() { Id = 105, FirstName = "Mario", LastName = "Rossi"},
        };

    private static SaveOptions GetSaveOptions(string format)
    {
        switch (format.ToUpperInvariant())
        {
            case "XLSX":
                return SaveOptions.XlsxDefault;
            case "XLS":
                return SaveOptions.XlsDefault;
            case "ODS":
                return SaveOptions.OdsDefault;
            case "CSV":
                return SaveOptions.CsvDefault;
            case "HTML":
                return SaveOptions.HtmlDefault;
            case "PDF":
                return SaveOptions.PdfDefault;
            case "XPS":
                return SaveOptions.XpsDefault;
            case "BMP":
                return new ImageSaveOptions() { Format = ImageSaveFormat.Bmp };
            case "GIF":
                return new ImageSaveOptions() { Format = ImageSaveFormat.Gif };
            case "JPG":
                return new ImageSaveOptions() { Format = ImageSaveFormat.Jpeg };
            case "PNG":
                return new ImageSaveOptions() { Format = ImageSaveFormat.Png };
            case "TIF":
                return new ImageSaveOptions() { Format = ImageSaveFormat.Tiff };
            case "WMP":
                return new ImageSaveOptions() { Format = ImageSaveFormat.Wmp };
            default:
                throw new NotSupportedException("Format '" + format + "' is not supported.");
        }
    }

    private static byte[] GetBytes(ExcelFile file, SaveOptions options)
    {
        using (var stream = new MemoryStream())
        {
            file.Save(stream, options);
            return stream.ToArray();
        }
    }

    public IActionResult Create()
    {
        return View(new WorkbookModel() { Items = data, SelectedFormat = "XLSX" });
    }

    [HttpPost]
    [ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
    public IActionResult Create(WorkbookModel model)
    {
        SpreadsheetInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        if (!ModelState.IsValid)
            return View(model);

        var options = GetSaveOptions(model.SelectedFormat);
        var workbook = new ExcelFile();
        var worksheet = workbook.Worksheets.Add("Sheet1");

        var style = worksheet.Rows[0].Style;
        style.Font.Weight = ExcelFont.BoldWeight;
        style.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignmentStyle.Center;
        worksheet.Columns[0].Style.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignmentStyle.Center;

        worksheet.Columns[0].SetWidth(50, LengthUnit.Pixel);
        worksheet.Columns[1].SetWidth(150, LengthUnit.Pixel);
        worksheet.Columns[2].SetWidth(150, LengthUnit.Pixel);

        worksheet.Cells["A1"].Value = "ID";
        worksheet.Cells["B1"].Value = "First Name";
        worksheet.Cells["C1"].Value = "Last Name";

        for (int r = 1; r <= model.Items.Count; r++)
        {
            var item = model.Items[r - 1];
            worksheet.Cells[r, 0].Value = item.Id;
            worksheet.Cells[r, 1].Value = item.FirstName;
            worksheet.Cells[r, 2].Value = item.LastName;
        }

        return File(GetBytes(workbook, options), options.ContentType, "Create." + model.SelectedFormat.ToLowerInvariant());
    }
}

public class WorkbookModel
{
    public string SelectedFormat { get; set; }
    public IList<WorkbookItemModel> Items { get; set; }
}

public class WorkbookItemModel
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string FirstName { get; set; }
    public string LastName { get; set; }
}

GemBox.Spreadsheet is only licensed per developer and the licenses include a royalty-free deployment. There are no server or OEM licenses, there are no additional costs for anything (like building, testing and deploying).

So, you're free to build an unlimited number of applications and deploy or distribute them to an unlimited number of servers or end user machines with no extra cost.

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Check the next example or select an example from the menu. You can also download our examples from the GitHub.

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Download Buy

If you want to try the GemBox.Spreadsheet yourself, you can download the free version. It delivers the same performance and set of features as the professional version, but with some operations limited. To remove the limitation, you need to purchase a license.