Getting started (C# / netframework)
Note
This demo is available in your FlexCel installation at <FlexCel Install Folder>\samples\csharp\VS2022\netframework\10.API\10.GettingStarted and also at https://github.com/tmssoftware/TMS-FlexCel.NET-demos/tree/master/csharp/VS2022/netframework/Modules/10.API/10.GettingStarted
Overview
A simple demo showing how to create an Excel file with the API from scratch.
Concepts
Before using FlexCel, you have to add it to the references, and add "using FlexCel.Core" and "using FlexCel.XlsAdapter" to your using statements.
The most important class here is the XlsFile class, from where you can read and write to any Excel 2 or newer file.
To set the value for a cell, use XlsFile.SetCellValue. You can set any kind of object here, not just text. If you set it to a TFormula object, you will enter a formula.
As explained in the FlexCel API Developer Guide, formats in Excel are indexes to an XF (eXtended Format list) To modify the format on a cell, you have to assign an XF index to that cell. To create new XF formats, use XlsFile.AddFormat
Files
AssemblyInfo.cs
using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
//
// General Information about an assembly is controlled through the following
// set of attributes. Change these attribute values to modify the information
// associated with an assembly.
//
[assembly: AssemblyTitle("")]
[assembly: AssemblyDescription("")]
[assembly: AssemblyConfiguration("")]
[assembly: AssemblyCompany("")]
[assembly: AssemblyProduct("")]
[assembly: AssemblyCopyright("(c) 2002 - 2025 TMS Software")]
[assembly: AssemblyTrademark("")]
[assembly: AssemblyCulture("")]
//
// Version information for an assembly consists of the following four values:
//
// Major Version
// Minor Version
// Build Number
// Revision
//
// You can specify all the values or you can default the Revision and Build Numbers
// by using the '*' as shown below:
[assembly: AssemblyVersion("7.24.0.0")]
//
// In order to sign your assembly you must specify a key to use. Refer to the
// Microsoft .NET Framework documentation for more information on assembly signing.
//
// Use the attributes below to control which key is used for signing.
//
// Notes:
// (*) If no key is specified, the assembly is not signed.
// (*) KeyName refers to a key that has been installed in the Crypto Service
// Provider (CSP) on your machine. KeyFile refers to a file which contains
// a key.
// (*) If the KeyFile and the KeyName values are both specified, the
// following processing occurs:
// (1) If the KeyName can be found in the CSP, that key is used.
// (2) If the KeyName does not exist and the KeyFile does exist, the key
// in the KeyFile is installed into the CSP and used.
// (*) In order to create a KeyFile, you can use the sn.exe (Strong Name) utility.
// When specifying the KeyFile, the location of the KeyFile should be
// relative to the project output directory which is
// %Project Directory%\obj\<configuration>. For example, if your KeyFile is
// located in the project directory, you would specify the AssemblyKeyFile
// attribute as [assembly: AssemblyKeyFile("..\\..\\mykey.snk")]
// (*) Delay Signing is an advanced option - see the Microsoft .NET Framework
// documentation for more information on this.
//
[assembly: AssemblyDelaySign(false)]
[assembly: AssemblyKeyFile("")]
[assembly: AssemblyKeyName("")]
Form1.cs
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Collections;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Data;
using FlexCel.Core;
using FlexCel.XlsAdapter;
using System.IO;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Threading;
namespace GettingStarted
{
/// <summary>
/// A small example on how to create a simple file with the API.
/// Note that you can use the APIMate tool (in Start Menu->TMS FlexCel Studio->Tools) to find out the
/// methods you need to call.
/// </summary>
public partial class mainForm: System.Windows.Forms.Form
{
public mainForm()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
ExcelFile Xls = new XlsFile(true);
AddData(Xls);
if (cbAutoOpen.Checked)
AutoOpen(Xls);
else
NormalOpen(Xls);
}
private void AddData(ExcelFile Xls)
{
//Create a new file. We could also open an existing file with Xls.Open
Xls.NewFile(1, TExcelFileFormat.v2019);
//Set some cell values.
Xls.SetCellValue(1, 1, "Hello to the world");
Xls.SetCellValue(2, 1, 3);
Xls.SetCellValue(3, 1, 2.1);
Xls.SetCellValue(4, 1, new TFormula("=Sum(A2,A3)"));
//Load an image from disk.
string AssemblyPath = Path.GetDirectoryName(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location);
using (Image Img = Image.FromFile(AssemblyPath + Path.DirectorySeparatorChar + ".." + Path.DirectorySeparatorChar + ".." + Path.DirectorySeparatorChar + "Test.bmp"))
{
//Add a new image on cell E2
Xls.AddImage(2, 6, Img);
//Add a new image with custom properties at cell F6
Xls.AddImage(Img, new TImageProperties(new TClientAnchor(TFlxAnchorType.DontMoveAndDontResize, 2, 10, 6, 10, 100, 100, Xls), ""));
//Swap the order of the images. it is not really necessary here, we could have loaded them on the inverse order.
Xls.BringToFront(1);
}
//Add a comment on cell a2
Xls.SetComment(2, 1, "This is 3");
//Custom Format cells a2 and a3
TFlxFormat f = Xls.GetDefaultFormat;
f.Font.Name = "Times New Roman";
f.Font.Color = Color.Red;
f.FillPattern.Pattern = TFlxPatternStyle.LightDown;
f.FillPattern.FgColor = Color.Blue;
f.FillPattern.BgColor = Color.White;
//You can call AddFormat as many times as you want, it will never add a format twice.
//But if you know the format you are going to use, you can get some extra CPU cycles by
//calling addformat once and saving the result into a variable.
int XF = Xls.AddFormat(f);
Xls.SetCellFormat(2, 1, XF);
Xls.SetCellFormat(3, 1, XF);
f.Rotation = 45;
f.FillPattern.Pattern = TFlxPatternStyle.Solid;
int XF2 = Xls.AddFormat(f);
//Apply a custom format to all the row.
Xls.SetRowFormat(1, XF2);
//Merge cells
Xls.MergeCells(5, 1, 10, 6);
//Note how this one merges with the previous range, creating a final range (5,1,15,6)
Xls.MergeCells(10, 6, 15, 6);
//Make the page print in landscape or portrait mode
Xls.PrintLandscape = false;
}
//This is part of an advanced feature (showing the user using a file) , you do not need to use
//this method on normal places.
private string GetLockingUser(string FileName)
{
try
{
XlsFile xerr = new XlsFile();
xerr.Open(FileName);
return " - File might be in use by: " + xerr.Protection.WriteAccess;
}
catch
{
return String.Empty;
}
}
private static void LaunchFile(string f)
{
if (f != null)
{
using (Process p = new Process())
{
p.StartInfo.FileName = f;
p.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = true;
p.Start();
}
}
}
private void NormalOpen(ExcelFile Xls)
{
if (saveFileDialog1.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
{
try
{
Xls.Save(saveFileDialog1.FileName);
}
catch (IOException ex) //This is not really needed, just to show the username of the user locking the file.
{
throw new IOException(ex.Message + GetLockingUser(saveFileDialog1.FileName), ex);
}
if (MessageBox.Show("Do you want to open the generated file?", "Confirm", MessageBoxButtons.YesNo) == DialogResult.Yes)
{
LaunchFile(saveFileDialog1.FileName);
}
}
}
//This method will use a "trick" to create a temporary file and delete it even when it is open on Excel.
//We will create a "template" (xlt/x file), and tell Excel to create a new file based on this template.
//Then we can safely delete the xlt/x file, since Excel opened a copy.
private void AutoOpen(ExcelFile Xls)
{
string FilePath = Path.GetTempPath(); //GetTempFileName does not allow us to specify the "xltx" extension.
string FileName = Path.Combine(FilePath, Guid.NewGuid().ToString() + ".xltx"); //xltx is the extension for excel templates.
try
{
using (FileStream OutStream = new FileStream(FileName, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.ReadWrite))
{
Xls.IsXltTemplate = true; //Make it an xltx template.
Xls.Save(OutStream);
}
LaunchFile(FileName);
}
finally
{
//For .Net 4 and newer you can use Task.Run here. See https://doc.tmssoftware.com/flexcel/net/tips/automatically-open-generated-excel-files.html
new Thread(delegate()
{
Thread.Sleep(30000); //wait for 30 secs to give Excel time to start.
File.Delete(FileName); //As it is an xltx file, we can delete it even when it is open on Excel.
});
}
}
/// <summary>
/// This is the method that will be called by the ASP.NET front end. It returns an array of bytes
/// with the report data, so the ASP.NET application can stream it to the client.
/// </summary>
/// <returns>The generated file as a byte array.</returns>
public byte[] WebRun()
{
ExcelFile Xls = new XlsFile(true);
AddData(Xls);
using (MemoryStream OutStream = new MemoryStream())
{
Xls.Save(OutStream);
return OutStream.ToArray();
}
}
}
}
Form1.Designer.cs
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Collections;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Data;
using FlexCel.Core;
using FlexCel.XlsAdapter;
using System.IO;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Reflection;
namespace GettingStarted
{
public partial class mainForm: System.Windows.Forms.Form
{
/// <summary>
/// Required designer variable.
/// </summary>
private System.ComponentModel.Container components = null;
/// <summary>
/// Clean up any resources being used.
/// </summary>
protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
{
if (disposing)
{
if (components != null)
{
components.Dispose();
}
}
base.Dispose(disposing);
}
#region Windows Form Designer generated code
/// <summary>
/// Required method for Designer support - do not modify
/// the contents of this method with the code editor.
/// </summary>
private void InitializeComponent()
{
this.button1 = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();
this.saveFileDialog1 = new System.Windows.Forms.SaveFileDialog();
this.label1 = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.cbAutoOpen = new System.Windows.Forms.CheckBox();
this.SuspendLayout();
//
// button1
//
this.button1.Anchor = System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Bottom;
this.button1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(78, 160);
this.button1.Name = "button1";
this.button1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(75, 23);
this.button1.TabIndex = 0;
this.button1.Text = "GO!";
this.button1.Click += new System.EventHandler(this.button1_Click);
//
// saveFileDialog1
//
this.saveFileDialog1.Filter = "Excel Files|*.xls;*.xlsx;*.xlsm|Excel 97/2003|*.xls|Excel 2007|*.xlsx;*.xlsm|All " +
"files|*.*";
this.saveFileDialog1.RestoreDirectory = true;
//
// label1
//
this.label1.Anchor = ((System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles)((((System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Top | System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Bottom)
| System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Left)
| System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Right)));
this.label1.BackColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(((int)(((byte)(255)))), ((int)(((byte)(255)))), ((int)(((byte)(192)))));
this.label1.BorderStyle = System.Windows.Forms.BorderStyle.FixedSingle;
this.label1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(16, 16);
this.label1.Name = "label1";
this.label1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(205, 80);
this.label1.TabIndex = 1;
this.label1.Text = "A first demo on how to create basic things with FlexCel API.";
//
// cbAutoOpen
//
this.cbAutoOpen.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(16, 104);
this.cbAutoOpen.Name = "cbAutoOpen";
this.cbAutoOpen.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(144, 48);
this.cbAutoOpen.TabIndex = 2;
this.cbAutoOpen.Text = "Auto open the generated file without saving it";
//
// mainForm
//
this.AutoScaleDimensions = new System.Drawing.SizeF(6F, 13F);
this.AutoScaleMode = System.Windows.Forms.AutoScaleMode.Font;
this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(229, 197);
this.Controls.Add(this.cbAutoOpen);
this.Controls.Add(this.label1);
this.Controls.Add(this.button1);
this.Name = "mainForm";
this.Text = "Getting Started";
this.ResumeLayout(false);
}
#endregion
private System.Windows.Forms.Button button1;
private System.Windows.Forms.SaveFileDialog saveFileDialog1;
private System.Windows.Forms.Label label1;
private System.Windows.Forms.CheckBox cbAutoOpen;
}
}
Program.cs
using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace GettingStarted
{
static class Program
{
/// <summary>
/// The main entry point for the application.
/// </summary>
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new mainForm());
}
}
}