In this article I will explain with an example, how to insert data into database using Dapper library in Windows Forms (WinForms) Application using C# and VB.Net.
 
 

Installing Dapper package using Nuget

In order to install Dapper library using Nuget, please refer my article Install Dapper from Nuget in Visual Studio.
 
 

Database

I have made use of the following table Customers with the schema as follows.
Insert using Dapper in C# and VB.Net
 
Note: You can download the database table SQL by clicking the download link below.
          Download SQL file
 
 

Form Design

The following Form consists of:
Label – For labelling the controls.
TextBox – For capturing Name to be inserted.
ComboBox – For selecting Country name to be inserted.
Insert using Dapper in C# and VB.Net
 
 

Namespaces

You will need to import the following namespaces.
C#
using Dapper;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Configuration;
 
VB.Net
Imports Dapper
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Configuration
 
 

Inserting using Dapper in Windows Forms

Inside the Form Load event handler, the ComboBox items are added.
When Insert button is clicked, first the connection string is fetched from App.Config file.
Note: For more details on how to read connection string from App.Config file please refer my article .Net 4.5: Read (Get) Connection String from App.Config file using C# and VB.Net.
 
Then, using the ExecuteScalar method of Dapper library record is inserted into the SQL Server database.
Note: For more details on ExecuteScalar method, please refer my article Understanding Dapper ExecuteScalar in C# and VB.Net.
 
Finally, the TextBox and ComboBox value is set to empty and CustomerId of the inserted record is displayed in MessageBox.
C#
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    cbCountries.Items.Add("United States");
    cbCountries.Items.Add("India");
    cbCountries.Items.Add("France");
    cbCountries.Items.Add("Russia");
}
 
private void OnInsert(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    int customerId;
    string sql = "INSERT INTO Customers (Name, Country) VALUES (@Name, @Country)";
    sql += " SELECT SCOPE_IDENTITY()";
    string constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["constr"].ConnectionString;
    using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(constr))
    {
        string name = txtName.Text;
        string country = cbCountries.SelectedItem.ToString();
        customerId = Convert.ToInt32(con.ExecuteScalar(sql, new { name, country }));
    }
    txtName.Text = string.Empty;
    cbCountries.Text = string.Empty;
    MessageBox.Show("Inserted Customer ID: " + customerId);
}
 
VB.Net
Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    cbCountries.Items.Add("United States")
    cbCountries.Items.Add("India")
    cbCountries.Items.Add("France")
    cbCountries.Items.Add("Russia")
End Sub
 
Private Sub OnInsert(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnInsert.Click
    Dim customerId As Integer
    Dim sql As String = "INSERT INTO Customers (Name, Country) VALUES (@Name, @Country)"
    sql += " SELECT SCOPE_IDENTITY()"
    Dim constr As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("constr").ConnectionString
    Using con As SqlConnection = New SqlConnection(constr)
        Dim name As String = txtName.Text
        Dim country As String = cbCountries.SelectedItem.ToString()
        customerId = Convert.ToInt32(con.ExecuteScalar(sql, New With { name, country }))
    End Using
    txtName.Text = String.Empty
    cbCountries.Text = String.Empty
    MessageBox.Show("Inserted Customer ID: " & customerId)
End Sub
 
 

Screenshots

The Form

Insert using Dapper in C# and VB.Net
 

Record after Insert in database

Insert using Dapper in C# and VB.Net
 
 

Downloads

Download Code