Comparison: Tools for generating Excel-documents on the server

Question

Hi!

I have a requirement to generate Excel-documents, for Excel XP and forward. I also need to be able to export data from Excel-documents.

The requirements are: This needs to be done on the server. No automation of Excel. Sometimes rather large amount of data (~10 000 rows) The Excel-documents should be based on a predefined document/template, which may contain macros, formatted areas, graphs, etc. Be able to create pivot-tables. Calculate formulas after data has been imported into the document, then read data out of the document (i.e. much like Excel Services).

I have started looking at Aspose.Cells, and it looks pretty good. However, I know there are other tools, such as SpreadSheetGear.

There, I am hoping get some peoples (reasonably unbiased) opinions on the tools which are available. Any ideas?

Thanks! /Fredrik

Answer 1

SpreadSheetGear is good.

We couldn't buy anything, so we cheated and did the heavy lifting inside Excel, using macros and so on, where Excel pulled data from SQL and then generated all it needed to, using DAO. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. We used dynamic ranges on charts, name-based pivot tables and so on to keep it automated as well, but it wasn't fast and it wasn't easy to do.

So again, SpreadSheetGear is good :-).

Answer 2

Hi!

Here is a good overview of tools to read and write Excel documents without Excel: Reading and Writing Excel files with .NET

Below the list of the tools there is a link where author lists some impressions of the different tools.

Hope that helps!