In this article I will explain with an example, how to bulk import (insert) Excel file data into Database using Entity Framework in ASP.Net MVCRazor.
The uploaded Excel file data will be read using OLEDB library and the read data will be inserted into SQL Server database using Entity Framework.
Note: For beginners in ASP.Net MVC and Entity Framework, please refer my article ASP.Net MVC: Simple Entity Framework Tutorial with example. It covers all the information needed for connecting and configuring Entity Framework.
 
 
Database
I have made use of the following table Customers with the schema as follows. CustomerId is an Auto-Increment (Identity) column.
Entity Framework Excel: Bulk Import (Insert) data from Excel to Database using Entity Framework in ASP.Net MVC
 
Note: You can download the database table SQL by clicking the download link below.
          Download SQL file
 
 
Connection Strings
The Excel files of version 97-2003 and 2007 and above make use different OLEDB providers and hence two different connection strings have been saved in the Web.Config file.
The DataSource property has been assigned a Placeholder {0}, which will be replaced by actual path of the File.
<connectionStrings>
    <add name ="Excel03ConString" connectionString="Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source={0};Extended Properties='Excel 8.0;HDR=YES'"/>
    <add name ="Excel07ConString" connectionString="Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source={0};Extended Properties='Excel 8.0;HDR=YES'"/>
</connectionStrings>
 
 
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 two 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 Excel File is selected and the Import Button is clicked, and it gets the uploaded file in the HttpPostedFileBase parameter.
Note: In case the HttpPostedFileBase parameter is appearing NULL, then please refer the article, ASP.Net MVC: HttpPostedFileBase always returns NULL.
 
The uploaded Excel file is saved to a folder named Uploads and then based on its extension whether XLS (97-2003) or XLSX (2007 and above), appropriate connection string is read from the Web.Config file and Placeholder is replaced by the path of the Excel file.
Note: I am considering all Excel files with the first row as the Header Row containing the names of the columns, you can set HDR=’No’ if your excel file does not have a Header Row.
 
Using the fetched Sheet name, a SELECT statement is executed and all the records from the Excel sheet are fetched into a DataTable.
Now a loop is executed over the DataTable rows and one by one each record is saved into the database Table using Entity Framework.
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 conString = string.Empty;
            switch (extension)
            {
                case ".xls": //Excel 97-03.
                    conString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["Excel03ConString"].ConnectionString;
                    break;
                case ".xlsx": //Excel 07 and above.
                    conString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["Excel07ConString"].ConnectionString;
                    break;
            }
 
            DataTable dt = new DataTable();
            conString = string.Format(conString, filePath);
 
            using (OleDbConnection connExcel = new OleDbConnection(conString))
            {
                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();
                    }
                }
            }
 
            //Insert records to database table.
            CustomersEntities entities = new CustomersEntities();
            foreach (DataRow row in dt.Rows)
            {
                entities.Customers.Add(new Customer
                {
                    Name = row["Name"].ToString(),
                    Country = row["Country"].ToString()
                });
            }
            entities.SaveChanges();
        }
 
        return View();
    }
}
 
 
View
The View consists of an HTML FileUpload element and a Submit Button enclosed in a Form element.
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.
@{
    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
Entity Framework Excel: Bulk Import (Insert) data from Excel to Database using Entity Framework in ASP.Net MVC
 
Table containing the data from the Excel file
Entity Framework Excel: Bulk Import (Insert) data from Excel to Database using Entity Framework in ASP.Net MVC
 
 
Downloads
Download Code