In this article I will explain with an example, how to Import (Insert) Excel file data into SQL Server database using SqlBulkCopy in ASP.Net MVC.
The uploaded Excel file data will be read using OLEDB library and the read data will be inserted into SQL Server database using SqlBulkCopy.
SqlBulkCopy class as the name suggests does bulk insert from one source to another and hence all rows from the Excel sheet can be easily read and inserted using the SqlBulkCopy class.
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'" /> 
 
 

Database

I have made use of the following table Customers with the schema as follows.
ASP.Net MVC: Import (Insert) Excel file data into Database using SqlBulkCopy
 
Note: You can download the database table SQL by clicking the download link below.
          Download SQL file
 
 

Namespaces

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

Controller

The Controller consists of following Action methods.

Action method for handling GET operation

Inside this Action method, simply 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.
Now a connection is established with the database and the SqlBulkCopy object is initialized and name of the Table is specified using DestinationTableName property.
The columns are mapped and all the rows from the DataTable are inserted into the SQL Server table.
Note: The mapping of columns of the DataTable and the SQL Server table is optional and you need to do only in case where your DataTable and/or the SQL Server Table do not have same number of columns or the names of columns are different.
 
Finally, the View is returned.
public class HomeController : Controller
{
    // GET: Home
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        return View();
    }
 
    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult Index(HttpPostedFileBase postedFile)
    {
        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;
            }
 
            DataTable dt = new DataTable();
            constr = string.Format(constr, filePath);
 
            using (OleDbConnection connExcel = new OleDbConnection(constr))
            {
                using (OleDbCommand cmdExcel = new OleDbCommand())
                {
                    using (OleDbDataAdapter odaExcel = new OleDbDataAdapter())
                    {
                        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();
                    }
                }
            }
 
            constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["constr"].ConnectionString;
            using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(constr))
            {
                using (SqlBulkCopy sqlBulkCopy = new SqlBulkCopy(con))
                {
                    //Set the database table name.
                    sqlBulkCopy.DestinationTableName = "dbo.Customers";
 
                    //[OPTIONAL]: Map the Excel columns with that of the database table
                    sqlBulkCopy.ColumnMappings.Add("Customer Id", "CustomerId");
                    sqlBulkCopy.ColumnMappings.Add("Name", "Name");
                    sqlBulkCopy.ColumnMappings.Add("Country", "Country");
 
                    con.Open();
                    sqlBulkCopy.WriteToServer(dt);
                    con.Close();
                }
            }
        }
 
        return View();
    }
}
 
 

View

HTML Markup

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.
@{
     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" />
    }
</body>
</html>
 
 

Screenshots

The Excel File

ASP.Net MVC: Import (Insert) Excel file data into Database using SqlBulkCopy
 

Table containing the data from the Excel file

ASP.Net MVC: Import (Insert) Excel file data into Database using SqlBulkCopy
 
 

Downloads

Download Code