In this article I will explain with an example, how to upload, read and display Excel file data using OLEDB in ASP.Net MVC.
The uploaded Excel file data will be read using OLEDB library and the read data will be displayed in View using HTML Table (Grid) format.
Note: For beginners in ASP.Net MVC, please refer my article ASP.Net MVC Hello World Tutorial with Sample Program example.
 
 

Download System.Data.OleDb DLL

There are two ways you can download the System.Data.OleDb DLL.
MSI Installer: Download Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0 provider for 32bit and 64bit.
Nuget: Install System.Data.OleDb Nuget Package.
 
 

Connection Strings

The first thing is to build connection strings to Excel files and Excel files are broadly divided into two types and Excel 97-2003 and Excel 2007 and higher.
Excel 97 – 2003 format which uses Microsoft Jet driver and the Excel version is set to 8.0 and Header is set to YES i.e. first row in Excel sheet will be Header Row.
<add name="Excel03ConString" connectionString="Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source={0};Extended Properties='Excel 8.0;HDR=YES'" />
 
Excel 2007 and higher format which uses Microsoft Ace driver and the Excel version is set to 12.0 and Header is set to YES i.e. first row in Excel sheet will be Header Row.
<add name="Excel07ConString" connectionString="Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source={0};Extended Properties='Excel 8.0;HDR=YES'" />
 
 

Model

The Model class consists of following properties.
public class CustomerModel
{
    ///<summary>
    /// Gets or sets CustomerId.
    ///</summary>
    public int CustomerId { get; set; }
 
    ///<summary>
    /// Gets or sets Name.
    ///</summary>
    public string Name { get; set; }
 
    ///<summary>
    /// Gets or sets Country.
    ///</summary>
    public string Country { get; set; }
}
 
 

Namespaces

You will need to import the following namespaces.
using System.IO;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.OleDb;
using System.Configuration;
 
 

Controller

The Controller consists of following Action methods.

Action method for handling GET operation

Inside this Action method, simple the View is returned.
 

Action method for handling POST operation for uploading and reading Excel file

This Action method gets called when the Import Button is clicked and it accepts HttpPostedFileBase class as a parameter.
Note: In case the HttpPostedFileBase parameter is appearing NULL, then please refer the article, ASP.Net MVC: HttpPostedFileBase always returns NULL.
 
First a check is performed if the file is selected or not, if selected then the selected file is saved into a Folder (Directory) named Uploads.
Then, using the switch case statement, the Excel file extension is determined and the connection string is built.
A connection is established with the Excel file using OLEDB classes and the name of the first sheet is determined and the first sheet data is read into a DataTable.
Finally, a FOR EACH loop is executed over the DataTable and the records are copied into the Generic List collection of CustomerModel class objects which is then sent to the View.
public class HomeController : Controller
{
    // GET: Home
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        return View();
    }
 
    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult Index(HttpPostedFileBase postedFile)
    {
        List<CustomerModel> customers = new List<CustomerModel>();
        string filePath = string.Empty;
        if (postedFile != null)
        {
            string path = Server.MapPath("~/Uploads/");
            if (!Directory.Exists(path))
            {
                Directory.CreateDirectory(path);
            }
 
            filePath = path + Path.GetFileName(postedFile.FileName);
            string extension = Path.GetExtension(postedFile.FileName);
            postedFile.SaveAs(filePath);
            string constr = string.Empty;
            switch (extension)
            {
                case".xls": //Excel 97-03.
                    constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["Excel03ConString"].ConnectionString;
                    break;
                case".xlsx": //Excel 07 and above.
                    constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["Excel07ConString"].ConnectionString;
                    break;
            }
 
            constr = string.Format(constr, filePath);
            using (OleDbConnection connExcel = new OleDbConnection(constr))
            {
                using (OleDbCommand cmdExcel = new OleDbCommand())
                {
                    using (OleDbDataAdapter odaExcel = new OleDbDataAdapter())
                    {
                        DataTable dt = new DataTable();
                        cmdExcel.Connection = connExcel;
 
                        //Get the name of First Sheet.
                        connExcel.Open();
                        DataTable dtExcelSchema;
                        dtExcelSchema = connExcel.GetOleDbSchemaTable(OleDbSchemaGuid.Tables, null);
                        string sheetName = dtExcelSchema.Rows[0]["TABLE_NAME"].ToString();
                        connExcel.Close();
 
                        //Read Data from First Sheet.
                        connExcel.Open();
                        cmdExcel.CommandText = "SELECT * From [" + sheetName + "]";
                        odaExcel.SelectCommand = cmdExcel;
                        odaExcel.Fill(dt);
                        connExcel.Close();
 
                        foreach (DataRow row in dt.Rows)
                        {
                            customers.Add(new CustomerModel
                            {
                                CustomerId = Convert.ToInt32(row["Id"]),
                                Name = row["Name"].ToString(),
                                Country = row["Country"].ToString()
                            });
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
 
        return View(customers);
    }
}
 
 

View

HTML Markup

Inside the View, the CustomerModel class is declared as IEnumerable which specifies that it will be available as a Collection.
The HTML Form has been created using the Html.BeginForm method which accepts the following parameters.
ActionName – Name of the Action. In this case the name is Index.
ControllerName – Name of the Controller. In this case the name is Home.
FormMethod – It specifies the Form Method i.e. GET or POST. In this case it will be set to POST.
HtmlAttributes – This array allows to specify the additional Form Attributes. Here we need to specify enctype = “multipart/form-data” which is necessary for uploading Files.
The View also consists of an HTML FileUpload element and a Submit Button.
 

Submitting the Form

For displaying the records, an HTML Table is used. A FOR EACH loop will be executed over the Model which will generate the HTML Table rows with the Excel file data.
@using Read_Excel_OLEDB_MVC.Models
@model IEnumerable<CustomerModel>
@{
    Layout = null;
}
 
<!DOCTYPE html>
 
<html>
<head>
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width" />
    <title>Index</title>
</head>
<body>
    @using (Html.BeginForm("Index", "Home", FormMethod.Post, new { enctype = "multipart/form-data" }))
    {
        <input type="file" name="postedFile" />
        <input type="submit" value="Import" />
    }
    @if (Model != null)
    {
        <hr />
        <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
            <tr>
                <th>Customer Id</th>
                <th>Name</th>
                <th>Country</th>
            </tr>
            @foreach (CustomerModel customer in Model)
            {
                <tr>
                    <td>@customer.CustomerId</td>
                    <td>@customer.Name</td>
                    <td>@customer.Country</td>
                </tr>
            }
        </table>
    }
</body>
</html>
 
 

Screenshots

The Excel File

ASP.Net MVC: Upload, Read and Display Excel file data using OLEDB
 

Grid displaying Excel data

ASP.Net MVC: Upload, Read and Display Excel file data using OLEDB
 
 

Downloads

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