XLSX generation in .NET - Microsoft Excel Object Library free alternative

Question

Are there any free alternatives to using "Microsoft Excel 12.0 Object Library" component in the application? It does the job, but it's very slow. I know there are commercial third-party tools, and wondering if there's anything fast, but freeware to accomplish the task.

Answer 1

Microsoft provides an Open XML SDK which is used to generate the XLSX format (it can't generate the older office formats). It is for .NET and doesn't have the overhead of COM. It's very fast, but the API is, well, complicated. The documentation that comes with it isn't too shabby.

You can download it here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb448854.aspx

Answer 2

Try the LGPL licenses project, EPPlus. Supports all sorts of Excel features, including cell ranges, styling, charts and protection. There's a good article with code samples here - looks like it has a pretty 'sane' API.

It even lets you use Linq to enumerate cells.

Answer 3

Give a try to this open source library: OfficeHelper. It is built over the mentioned Open XML SDK from microsoft, but it has some nice features, which makes easy to create xlsx files base on template xlsx files.