In this article I will explain with an example, how to export GridView to Word, Excel, PDF and CSV formats in ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net.
Exporting GridView to Word, Excel and CSV can be easily achieved using ASP.Net without any third party tools, but for exporting to PDF iTextSharp library will be used.
This article will illustrate, how to export all Pages of GridView with Paging Enabled to Word, Excel, PDF and CSV file along with formatting i.e. Styles and Colors in ASP.Net.
 
 
Download iTextSharp and XmlWorkerHelper Libraries
You can download the iTextSharp and XmlWorkerHelper libraries from the following links.
iTextSharp
XmlWorkerHelper
Note: You will need to add the reference of iTextSharp and XmlWorkerHelper libraries in your project.
 
 
Database
For this article I am making use of the Microsoft’s Northwind Database. You can download it from here.
Download and install Northwind Database
 
 
HTML Markup
The HTML Markup consists of:
GridView – For displaying data.
Columns
GridView consists of three BoundField columns.
 
Properties
AllowPaging – For enabling paging in the GridView control. Here it is set to true.
 
Events
The GridView has been assigned with on OnPageIndexChanging event handler.
 
Button – For exporting GridView data to Word, Excel, PDF and CSV.
The Buttons have been assigned with OnClick event handlers.
<asp:GridView ID="gvCustomers" HeaderStyle-BackColor="#3AC0F2" HeaderStyle-ForeColor="White"
    Font-Names="Arial" Font-Size="10" RowStyle-BackColor="#A1DCF2" AlternatingRowStyle-BackColor="White"
    AlternatingRowStyle-ForeColor="#000" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="false"
    AllowPaging="true" OnPageIndexChanging="OnPageIndexChanging">
    <Columns>
        <asp:BoundField DataField="ContactName" HeaderText="Contact Name" ItemStyle-Width="150px" />
        <asp:BoundField DataField="City" HeaderText="City" ItemStyle-Width="100px" />
        <asp:BoundField DataField="Country" HeaderText="Country" ItemStyle-Width="100px" />
    </Columns>
</asp:GridView>
<br />
<asp:Button ID="btnExcel" runat="server" Text="Export To Excel" OnClick="ExportToExcel" Width="120" />
<asp:Button ID="btnWord" runat="server" Text="Export To Word" OnClick="ExportToWord" Width="120" />
<br />
<br />
<asp:Button ID="btnCSV" runat="server" Text="Export To CSV" OnClick="ExportToCSV" Width="120" />
<asp:Button ID="btnPDF" runat="server" Text="Export To PDF" OnClick="ExportToPDF" Width="120" />
 
 
Namespaces
You will need to import the following namespaces.
C#
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Configuration;
using iTextSharp.text;
using iTextSharp.text.pdf;
using iTextSharp.tool.xml;
 
VB.Net
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Configuration
Imports iTextSharp.text
Imports iTextSharp.text.pdf
Imports iTextSharp.tool.xml
 
 
Binding the GridView
Inside the Page Load event handler, the GridView is populated with records fetched from the Customers Table of the Northwind Database.
C#
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!this.IsPostBack)
    {
        this.BindGrid();
    }
}
 
private void BindGrid()
{
    string constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["constr"].ConnectionString;
    using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(constr))
    {
        using (SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("SELECT * FROM Customers"))
        {
            using (SqlDataAdapter sda = new SqlDataAdapter())
            {
                cmd.Connection = con;
                sda.SelectCommand = cmd;
                using (DataTable dt = new DataTable())
                {
                    sda.Fill(dt);
                    gvCustomers.DataSource = dt;
                    gvCustomers.DataBind();
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub Page_Load(sender As Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    If Not IsPostBack Then
        Me.BindGrid()
    End If
End Sub
 
Private Sub BindGrid()
    Dim constr As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("constr").ConnectionString
    Using con As New SqlConnection(constr)
        Using cmd As New SqlCommand("SELECT * FROM Customers")
            Using sda As New SqlDataAdapter()
                cmd.Connection = con
                sda.SelectCommand = cmd
                Using dt As New DataTable()
                    sda.Fill(dt)
                    gvCustomers.DataSource = dt
                    gvCustomers.DataBind()
                End Using
            End Using
        End Using
    End Using
End Sub
 
 
Implement Paging in GridView
Inside the OnPageIndexChanging event handler, the PageIndex property of the GridView is updated with the new Page Number which was clicked.
Finally, the GridView is populated using the BindGrid method which in-turn displays the new GridView page.
C#
protected void OnPageIndexChanging(object sender, GridViewPageEventArgs e)
{
    gvCustomers.PageIndex = e.NewPageIndex;
    this.BindGrid();
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub OnPageIndexChanging(sender As Object, e As GridViewPageEventArgs)
    gvCustomers.PageIndex = e.NewPageIndex
    Me.BindGrid()
End Sub
 
 
Exporting GridView to Word document with Formatting
When the Export Button is clicked,the Response class properties are set.
1. Content-Disposition – It is a response header indicating, the download file is an attachment and allows setting the file name.
Note: For more details on Content-Disposition header, please refer What is Content Disposition Header in ASP.Net.
 
2. ContentType – It informs the Browser about the file type. In this case it is Word document.
 
Next, the StringWriter and HtmlTextWriter class objects are created and the Paging is disabled for the GridView by setting the AllowPaging property to false and the GridView is again populated with records fetched from the database by making call to the BindGrid method.
Then, a FOR EACH loop is executed over the GridView rows and the style and formatting are applied to the Header Row and Alternating Row of the GridView control.
Note: The colors are applied to individual cell of each Row and not to the whole Row as if this is not done then the color will spread on all cells of the Excel sheet.
 
Finally, StringWriter object is written to the Response which initiates the File download operation.
C#
protected void ExportToWord(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    Response.Clear();
    Response.Buffer = true;
    Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=GridViewExport.doc");
    Response.Charset = "";
    Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.ms-word";
    using (StringWriter sw = new StringWriter())
    {
        HtmlTextWriter hw = new HtmlTextWriter(sw);
 
        //To Export all pages.
        gvCustomers.AllowPaging = false;
        this.BindGrid();
 
        gvCustomers.HeaderRow.BackColor = Color.White;
        foreach (TableCell cell in gvCustomers.HeaderRow.Cells)
        {
            cell.BackColor = gvCustomers.HeaderStyle.BackColor;
        }
        foreach (GridViewRow row in gvCustomers.Rows)
        {
            row.BackColor = Color.White;
            foreach (TableCell cell in row.Cells)
            {
                if (row.RowIndex % 2 == 0)
                {
                    cell.BackColor = gvCustomers.AlternatingRowStyle.BackColor;
                }
                else
                {
                    cell.BackColor = gvCustomers.RowStyle.BackColor;
                }
            }
        }
 
        gvCustomers.RenderControl(hw);
 
        Response.Output.Write(sw.ToString());
        Response.Flush();
        Response.End();
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub ExportToWord(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    Response.Clear()
    Response.Buffer = True
    Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=GridViewExport.doc")
    Response.Charset = ""
    Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.ms-word"
 
    Using sw As StringWriter = New StringWriter()
        Dim hw As HtmlTextWriter = New HtmlTextWriter(sw)
 
        'To Export all pages.
        gvCustomers.AllowPaging = False
        Me.BindGrid()
 
        gvCustomers.HeaderRow.BackColor = Color.White
        For Each cell As TableCell In gvCustomers.HeaderRow.Cells
            cell.BackColor = gvCustomers.HeaderStyle.BackColor
        Next
 
        For Each row As GridViewRow In gvCustomers.Rows
            row.BackColor = Color.White
 
            For Each cell As TableCell In row.Cells
 
                If row.RowIndex Mod 2 = 0 Then
                    cell.BackColor = gvCustomers.AlternatingRowStyle.BackColor
                Else
                    cell.BackColor = gvCustomers.RowStyle.BackColor
                End If
            Next
        Next
 
        gvCustomers.RenderControl(hw)
        Response.Output.Write(sw.ToString())
        Response.Flush()
        Response.End()
    End Using
End Sub
 
 
Exporting GridView to Excel with Formatting
When the Export Button is clicked,the Response class properties are set.
1. Content-Disposition – It is a response header indicating, the download file is an attachment and allows setting the file name.
Note: For more details on Content-Disposition header, please refer What is Content Disposition Header in ASP.Net.
 
2. ContentType – It informs the Browser about the file type. In this case it is Excel file.
 
Next, the StringWriter and HtmlTextWriter class objects are created and the Paging is disabled for the GridView by setting the AllowPaging property to false and the GridView is again populated with records fetched from the database by making call to the BindGrid method.
Then, a FOR EACH loop is executed over the GridView rows and the style and formatting are applied to the Header Row and Alternating Row of the GridView control.
Note: The colors are applied to individual cell of each Row and not to the whole Row as if this is not done then the color will spread on all cells of the Excel sheet.
 
After that, CSS class named textmode is applied to each cell of the GridView. This class makes sure that all the contents are rendered in Text format (mso number format).
Note: The mso number format style prevents large numbers from getting converted to exponential values.
 
Finally, StringWriter object is written to the Response which initiates the File download operation.
C#
protected void ExportToExcel(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    Response.Clear();
    Response.Buffer = true;
    Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=GridViewExport.xls");
    Response.Charset = "";
    Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.ms-excel";
    using (StringWriter sw = new StringWriter())
    {
        HtmlTextWriter hw = new HtmlTextWriter(sw);
 
        //To Export all pages.
        gvCustomers.AllowPaging = false;
        this.BindGrid();
 
        gvCustomers.HeaderRow.BackColor = Color.White;
        foreach (TableCell cell in gvCustomers.HeaderRow.Cells)
        {
            cell.BackColor = gvCustomers.HeaderStyle.BackColor;
        }
        foreach (GridViewRow row in gvCustomers.Rows)
        {
            row.BackColor = Color.White;
            foreach (TableCell cell in row.Cells)
            {
                if (row.RowIndex % 2 == 0)
                {
                    cell.BackColor = gvCustomers.AlternatingRowStyle.BackColor;
                }
                else
                {
                    cell.BackColor = gvCustomers.RowStyle.BackColor;
                }
                cell.CssClass = "textmode";
            }
        }
        gvCustomers.RenderControl(hw);
 
        //Style to format numbers to string.
        string style = @"<style> .textmode { mso-number-format:\@; } </style>";
        Response.Write(style);
        Response.Output.Write(sw.ToString());
        Response.Flush();
        Response.End();
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub ExportToExcel(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
    Response.Clear()
    Response.Buffer = True
    Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=GridViewExport.xls")
    Response.Charset = ""
    Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.ms-excel"
    Using sw As New StringWriter()
        Dim hw As New HtmlTextWriter(sw)
 
        'To Export all pages.
        gvCustomers.AllowPaging = False
        Me.BindGrid()
 
        gvCustomers.HeaderRow.BackColor = Color.White
        For Each cell As TableCell In gvCustomers.HeaderRow.Cells
            cell.BackColor = gvCustomers.HeaderStyle.BackColor
        Next
        For Each row As GridViewRow In gvCustomers.Rows
            row.BackColor = Color.White
            For Each cell As TableCell In row.Cells
                If row.RowIndex Mod 2 = 0 Then
                    cell.BackColor = gvCustomers.AlternatingRowStyle.BackColor
                Else
                    cell.BackColor = gvCustomers.RowStyle.BackColor
                End If
                cell.CssClass = "textmode"
            Next
        Next
 
        gvCustomers.RenderControl(hw)
 
        'Style to format numbers to string.
        Dim style As String = "<style> .textmode { mso-number-format:\@; } </style>"
        Response.Write(style)
        Response.Output.Write(sw.ToString())
        Response.Flush()
        Response.End()
 
    End Using
End Sub
 
 
Exporting GridView to PDF with Formatting
When the Export Button is clicked,the Response class properties are set.
1. Content-Disposition – It is a response header indicating, the download file is an attachment and allows setting the file name.
Note: For more details on Content-Disposition header, please refer What is Content Disposition Header in ASP.Net.
 
2. ContentType – It informs the Browser about the file type. In this case it is PDF.
The Paging is disabled for the GridView by setting the AllowPaging property to false and the GridView is again populated with records fetched from the database by making call to the BindGrid method.
Next, the GridView is rendered into an HTML string using HtmlTextWriter and then, the generated HTML is added to the iTextSharp PDF document using Document class.
After that, the PDF document is opened and the GridView data is written using ParseXHtml method of XmlWorkerHelper class.
Finally, StringWriter object is written to the Response which initiates the File download operation.
C#
protected void ExportToPDF(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    Response.Clear();
    Response.Buffer = true;
    Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=GridViewExport.pdf");
    Response.Charset = "";
    Response.ContentType ="application/pdf";
 
    //To Export all pages.
    gvCustomers.AllowPaging = false;
    this.BindGrid();
 
    using (StringWriter sw = new StringWriter())
    {
        using (HtmlTextWriter hw = new HtmlTextWriter(sw))
        {
            gvCustomers.RenderControl(hw);
            using (StringReader sr = new StringReader(sw.ToString()))
            {
                using (Document pdfDoc = new Document(PageSize.A4, 10f, 10f, 10f, 0f))
                {
                    using (PdfWriter writer = PdfWriter.GetInstance(pdfDoc, Response.OutputStream))
                    {
                        pdfDoc.Open();
                        XMLWorkerHelper.GetInstance().ParseXHtml(writer, pdfDoc, sr);
                        pdfDoc.Close();
                        Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache);
                        Response.Write(pdfDoc);
                        Response.End();
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub ExportToPDF(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    Response.Clear()
    Response.Buffer = True
    Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=GridViewExport.pdf")
    Response.Charset = ""
    Response.ContentType = "application/pdf"
 
    'To Export all pages.
    gvCustomers.AllowPaging = False
    Me.BindGrid()
 
    Using sw As StringWriter = New StringWriter()
        Using hw As HtmlTextWriter = New HtmlTextWriter(sw)
            gvCustomers.RenderControl(hw)
            Using sr As StringReader = New StringReader(sw.ToString())
                Using pdfDoc As Document = New Document(PageSize.A4, 10.0F, 10.0F, 10.0F, 0.0F)
                    Using writer As PdfWriter = PdfWriter.GetInstance(pdfDoc, Response.OutputStream)
                        pdfDoc.Open()
                        XMLWorkerHelper.GetInstance().ParseXHtml(writer, pdfDoc, sr)
                        pdfDoc.Close()
                        Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache)
                        Response.Write(pdfDoc)
                        Response.End()
                    End Using
                End Using
            End Using
        End Using
    End Using
End Sub
 
 
Exporting GridView to CSV file
When the Export Button is clicked,the Response class properties are set.
1. Content-Disposition – It is a response header indicating, the download file is an attachment and allows setting the file name.
Note: For more details on Content-Disposition header, please refer What is Content Disposition Header in ASP.Net.
 
2. ContentType – It informs the Browser about the file type. In this case it is CSV file.
 
The Paging is disabled for the GridView by setting the AllowPaging property to false and the GridView is again populated with records fetched from the database by making call to the BindGrid method.
Next, the StringBuilder class object is created and a FOR EACH loop is executed over the Header row cells of the GridView and value of each cell added to the StringBuilder object with comma separated (delimited) string.
Then, a FOR EACH loop is executed over the GridView Rows and Columns and a comma separated (delimited) string is generated.
Finally, StringBuilder object is written to the Response which initiates the File download operation.
C#
protected void ExportToCSV(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    Response.Clear();
    Response.Buffer = true;
    Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=GridViewExport.csv");
    Response.Charset = "";
    Response.ContentType = "text/csv";
 
    //To Export all pages.
    gvCustomers.AllowPaging = false;
    this.BindGrid();
 
    StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
    foreach (TableCell cell in gvCustomers.HeaderRow.Cells)
    {
        //Append data with separator.
        sb.Append(cell.Text + ',');
    }
    //Append new line character.
    sb.Append("\r\n");
 
    foreach (GridViewRow row in gvCustomers.Rows)
    {
        foreach (TableCell cell in row.Cells)
        {
            //Append data with separator.
            sb.Append(cell.Text + ',');
        }
        //Append new line character.
        sb.Append("\r\n");
    }
 
    Response.Output.Write(sb.ToString());
    Response.Flush();
    Response.End();
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub ExportToCSV(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    Response.Clear()
    Response.Buffer = True
    Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=GridViewExport.csv")
    Response.Charset = ""
    Response.ContentType = "text/csv"
    gvCustomers.AllowPaging = False
    Me.BindGrid()
    Dim sb As StringBuilder = New StringBuilder()
 
    For Each cell As TableCell In gvCustomers.HeaderRow.Cells
        'Append data with separator.
        sb.Append(cell.Text & ",")
    Next
 
    'Append new line character.
    sb.Append(vbCr & vbLf)
 
    For Each row As GridViewRow In gvCustomers.Rows
 
       For Each cell As TableCell In row.Cells
            'Append data with separator.
            sb.Append(cell.Text & ",")
        Next
 
        'Append new line character.
        sb.Append(vbCr & vbLf)
    Next
 
    Response.Output.Write(sb.ToString())
    Response.Flush()
    Response.End()
End Sub
 
 
Error
The following error occurs when you tries to render a control such as GridView to HTML using the RenderControl method.
Server Error in '/ASP.Net' Application.
Control gvCustomers of type 'GridView' must be placed inside a form tag with runat=server.

Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.

Exception Details: System.Web.HttpException: Control 'gvCustomers ' of type 'GridView' must be placed inside a form tag with runat=server.
 
 
Solution
The solution to this problem is to override VerifyRenderingInServerForm event handler.
For more details please refer my article, Exception - Control GridView1 of type GridView must be placed inside a form tag with runat server.
 
 
Screenshots
GridView with Paging enabled
Export GridView to Word Excel PDF CSV Formats in ASP.Net
 
Exported Word Document
Export GridView To Word Excel PDF CSV Formats in ASP.Net
 
Exported Excel file
Export GridView To Word Excel PDF CSV Formats in ASP.Net
 
Exported PDF file
Export GridView To Word Excel PDF CSV Formats in ASP.Net
 
Exported CSV (Text) file
Export GridView To Word Excel PDF CSV Formats in ASP.Net
 
 
Demo
View Demo
 
 
Downloads
Download Code