Steps to generate an Excel file from a GridView

 

Assuming you have a databound GridView called GridView1 whose contents you want to export to an Excel file named “ExcelFile.xls” upon clicking a button with ID “ButtonExport”, there are two basic steps what you need to do.

Step 1: Add the code to the event handler for ButtonExport click event as follows:

protected void ButtonExport_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
   Response.Clear();
   Response.Buffer = true;
   Response.AddHeader("content-disposition",
                      "attachment;filename=ExcelFile.xls");

   Response.Charset = "";
   Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.ms-excel";

   StringWriter sw = new StringWriter();
   HtmlTextWriter hw = new HtmlTextWriter(sw);

   GridView1.AllowPaging = false;
   GridView1.DataBind();
   GridView1.RenderControl(hw);

   Response.Output.Write(sw.ToString());
   Response.Flush();
   Response.End();
} //end ButtonExport_Click

Step 2: Add the VerifyRenderingInServerForm method

You will need to add this method in order for the code in Step 1 to work.

public override void VerifyRenderingInServerForm(Control control)
{
       return;
}