In this article I will explain with an example, how to send GridView in email in ASP.Net using C# VB.Net.
 
 

HTML Markup

The following HTML Markup consists of:
GridView – For displaying data.
Button – For exporting GridView and sending in email.
The Button has been assigned with an OnClick event handler.
<asp:GridView ID="gvCustomers" HeaderStyle-BackColor="#3AC0F2"
    RowStyle-BackColor="#A1DCF2" AlternatingRowStyle-BackColor="White" AlternatingRowStyle-ForeColor="#000"
    runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="false">
    <Columns>
        <asp:BoundField DataField="Id" HeaderText="Id" ItemStyle-Width="80" />
        <asp:BoundField DataField="Name" HeaderText="Name" ItemStyle-Width="150" />
        <asp:BoundField DataField="Country" HeaderText="Country" ItemStyle-Width="150" />
    </Columns>
</asp:GridView>
<br />
<asp:Button ID="btnSendEmail" runat="server" Text="Send email" OnClick="SendEmail" />
 
 

Namespaces

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

Binding the GridView

Inside the Page_Load event handler, the GridView is populated with the records from dynamic DataTable.
Note: For more details on how to create DataTable dynamically and bind to GridView, please refer my article Dynamically create DataTable and bind to GridView in ASP.Net.
 
C#
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!this.IsPostBack)
    {
        DataTable dt = new DataTable();
        dt.Columns.AddRange(new DataColumn[3] {
                            new DataColumn("Id"),
                            new DataColumn("Name"),
                            new DataColumn("Country")
        });
        dt.Rows.Add(1, "John Hammond", "United States");
        dt.Rows.Add(2, "Mudassar Khan", "India");
        dt.Rows.Add(3, "Suzanne Mathews", "France");
        dt.Rows.Add(4, "Robert Schidner", "Russia");
        gvCustomers.DataSource = dt;
        gvCustomers.DataBind();
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub Page_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    If Not Me.IsPostBack Then
        Dim dt As New DataTable()
        dt.Columns.AddRange(New DataColumn(2) {
                            New DataColumn("Id"),
                            New DataColumn("Name"),
                            New DataColumn("Country")
        })
        dt.Rows.Add(1, "John Hammond", "United States")
        dt.Rows.Add(2, "Mudassar Khan", "India")
        dt.Rows.Add(3, "Suzanne Mathews", "France")
        dt.Rows.Add(4, "Robert Schidner", "Russia")
        gvCustomers.DataSource = dt
        gvCustomers.DataBind()
    End If
End Sub
 
 

Mail Server Settings in Web.Config file

The following Mail Server settings need to be saved in the Web.Config file.
<system.net>
    <mailSettings>
        <smtp deliveryMethod="Network" from="sender@gmail.com">
            <network 
                host="smtp.gmail.com"
                port="587"
                enableSsl="true"
                userName="sender@gmail.com"
                password="GMAILor2STEP-PASSWORD"
                defaultCredentials="true"/>
        </smtp>
    </mailSettings>
</system.net>
 
 

MailMessage class properties

Following are the required properties of the MailMessage class.
From – Sender’s email address.
To – Recipient(s) Email Address.
CC – Carbon Copies. (If any)
BCC – Blind Carbon Copies. (If any)
Subject – Subject of the Email.
Body – Body of the Email.
IsBodyHtml – Specify whether body contains text or HTML mark up.
Attachments – Attachments. (If any)
ReplyTo – ReplyTo Email address.
 
 

SmtpClient class methods

Following are the methods of the SMTP class.
Host – SMTP Server URL (Gmail: smtp.gmail.com)
Port – Port Number of the SMTP sever (Gmail: 587)
EnableSsl – Specify whether your host accepts SSL Connections (Gmail: True)
UseDefaultCredentials – Set to True in order to allow authentication based on the Credentials of the Account used to send emails
Credentials – Valid login credentials for the SMTP server (Gmail: email address and password)
 
 

Exporting GridView to HTML and sending in email

When SendEmail button is clicked, the StringWriter and HtmlTextWriter class objects are created and the GridView is exported to an HTML string using StringReader class.
Finally, the HTML string is embedded as part of email body and the email is sent with the exported GridView embedded in email body.
Note: For more details on how to send email in ASP.Net, please refer my article Send email using Gmail SMTP Mail Server in ASP.Net.
 
C#
protected void SendEmail(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    using (StringWriter sw = new StringWriter())
    {
        using (HtmlTextWriter hw = new HtmlTextWriter(sw))
        {
            gvCustomers.RenderControl(hw);
            StringReader sr = new StringReader(sw.ToString());
            using (MailMessage mm = new MailMessage("sender@gmail.com", "receiver@gmail.com"))
            {
                 mm.Subject = "GridView Email";
                 mm.Body = "GridView:<hr />" + sw.ToString(); ;
                 mm.IsBodyHtml = true;
                using (SmtpClient smtp = new SmtpClient())
                {
                    //Read SMTP section from Web.Config.
                    SmtpSection smtpSection = (SmtpSection)ConfigurationManager.GetSection("system.net/mailSettings/smtp");
 
                    //Set the SMTP settings.
                    smtp.Host = smtpSection.Network.Host;
                    smtp.Port = smtpSection.Network.Port;
                    smtp.EnableSsl = smtpSection.Network.EnableSsl;
                    smtp.UseDefaultCredentials = smtpSection.Network.DefaultCredentials;
                    smtp.Credentials = new NetworkCredential(smtpSection.Network.UserName, smtpSection.Network.Password);
                    smtp.Send(mm);
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
 
public override void VerifyRenderingInServerForm(Control control)
{
    /* Verifies that the control is rendered */
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub SendEmail(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    Using sw As StringWriter = New StringWriter()
        Using hw As HtmlTextWriter = New HtmlTextWriter(sw)
            gvCustomers.RenderControl(hw)
            Dim sr As StringReader = New StringReader(sw.ToString())
            Using mm As MailMessage = New MailMessage("sender@gmail.com", "receiver@gmail.com")
                mm.Subject = "GridView Email"
                mm.Body = "GridView:<hr />" & sw.ToString()
                mm.IsBodyHtml = True
                Using smtp As SmtpClient = New SmtpClient()
                    ' Read SMTP section from Web.Config.
                    Dim smtpSection As SmtpSection = CType(ConfigurationManager.GetSection("system.net/mailSettings/smtp"), SmtpSection)
 
                    'Set the SMTP settings.
                    smtp.Host = smtpSection.Network.Host
                    smtp.Port = smtpSection.Network.Port
                    smtp.EnableSsl = smtpSection.Network.EnableSsl
                    smtp.UseDefaultCredentials = smtpSection.Network.DefaultCredentials
                    smtp.Credentials = New NetworkCredential(smtpSection.Network.UserName, smtpSection.Network.Password)
                    smtp.Send(mm)
                End Using
            End Using
        End Using
    End Using
End Sub
 
Public Overrides Sub VerifyRenderingInServerForm(control As Control)
    'Verifies that the control is rendered
End Sub
 
 

Screenshots

The Form

Send GridView in email in ASP.Net using C# VB.Net
 

ASP.Net GridView embedded in email body in Gmail Mailbox

Send GridView in email in ASP.Net using C# VB.Net
 
 

Downloads

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