[sql] Export SQL query data to Excel

I have a query that returns a very large data set. I cannot copy and paste it into Excel which I usually do. I have been doing some research on how to export directly to an Excel sheet. I am running SQL SERVER 2008 on a server running Microsoft Server 2003. I am trying to use the Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0 data provider and Excel 2007. I've pieced together a small piece of code that looks like this from what I've seen in examples.

INSERT INTO OPENDATASOURCE('Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0',
'Data Source=C:\Working\Book1.xlsx;Extended Properties=EXCEL 12.0;HDR=YES')
SELECT productid, price FROM dbo.product

However this is not working, I am getting an error message saying

"Incorrect syntax near the keyword 'SELECT'".

Does anyone have any ideas about how to do this or possibly a better approach?

I had a similar problem but with a twist - the solutions listed above worked when the resultset was from one query but in my situation, I had multiple individual select queries for which I needed results to be exported to Excel. Below is just an example to illustrate although I could do a name in clause...

select a,b from Table_A where name = 'x'
select a,b from Table_A where name = 'y'
select a,b from Table_A where name = 'z'

The wizard was letting me export the result from one query to excel but not all results from different queries in this case.

When I researched, I found that we could disable the results to grid and enable results to Text. So, press Ctrl + T, then execute all the statements. This should show the results as a text file in the output window. You can manipulate the text into a tab delimited format for you to import into Excel.

You could also press Ctrl + Shift + F to export the results to a file - it exports as a .rpt file that can be opened using a text editor and manipulated for excel import.

Hope this helps any others having a similar issue.

If you're just needing to export to excel, you can use the export data wizard. Right click the database, Tasks->Export data.

For anyone coming here looking for how to do this in C#, I have tried the following method and had success in dotnet core 2.0.3 and entity framework core 2.0.3

First create your model class.

public class User
{  
    public string Name { get; set; }  
    public int Address { get; set; }  
    public int ZIP { get; set; }  
    public string Gender { get; set; }  
} 

Then install EPPlus Nuget package. (I used version 4.0.5, probably will work for other versions as well.)

Install-Package EPPlus -Version 4.0.5

The create ExcelExportHelper class, which will contain the logic to convert dataset to Excel rows. This class do not have dependencies with your model class or dataset.

public class ExcelExportHelper
    {
        public static string ExcelContentType
        {
            get
            { return "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet"; }
        }

        public static DataTable ListToDataTable<T>(List<T> data)
        {
            PropertyDescriptorCollection properties = TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(typeof(T));
            DataTable dataTable = new DataTable();

            for (int i = 0; i < properties.Count; i++)
            {
                PropertyDescriptor property = properties[i];
                dataTable.Columns.Add(property.Name, Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(property.PropertyType) ?? property.PropertyType);
            }

            object[] values = new object[properties.Count];
            foreach (T item in data)
            {
                for (int i = 0; i < values.Length; i++)
                {
                    values[i] = properties[i].GetValue(item);
                }

                dataTable.Rows.Add(values);
            }
            return dataTable;
        }

        public static byte[] ExportExcel(DataTable dataTable, string heading = "", bool showSrNo = false, params string[] columnsToTake)
        {

            byte[] result = null;
            using (ExcelPackage package = new ExcelPackage())
            {
                ExcelWorksheet workSheet = package.Workbook.Worksheets.Add(String.Format("{0} Data", heading));
                int startRowFrom = String.IsNullOrEmpty(heading) ? 1 : 3;

                if (showSrNo)
                {
                    DataColumn dataColumn = dataTable.Columns.Add("#", typeof(int));
                    dataColumn.SetOrdinal(0);
                    int index = 1;
                    foreach (DataRow item in dataTable.Rows)
                    {
                        item[0] = index;
                        index++;
                    }
                }


                // add the content into the Excel file  
                workSheet.Cells["A" + startRowFrom].LoadFromDataTable(dataTable, true);

                // autofit width of cells with small content  
                int columnIndex = 1;
                foreach (DataColumn column in dataTable.Columns)
                {
                    int maxLength;
                    ExcelRange columnCells = workSheet.Cells[workSheet.Dimension.Start.Row, columnIndex, workSheet.Dimension.End.Row, columnIndex];
                    try
                    {
                        maxLength = columnCells.Max(cell => cell.Value.ToString().Count());
                    }
                    catch (Exception) //nishanc
                    {
                        maxLength = columnCells.Max(cell => (cell.Value +"").ToString().Length);
                    }

                    //workSheet.Column(columnIndex).AutoFit();
                    if (maxLength < 150)
                    {
                        //workSheet.Column(columnIndex).AutoFit();
                    }


                    columnIndex++;
                }

                // format header - bold, yellow on black  
                using (ExcelRange r = workSheet.Cells[startRowFrom, 1, startRowFrom, dataTable.Columns.Count])
                {
                    r.Style.Font.Color.SetColor(System.Drawing.Color.White);
                    r.Style.Font.Bold = true;
                    r.Style.Fill.PatternType = OfficeOpenXml.Style.ExcelFillStyle.Solid;
                    r.Style.Fill.BackgroundColor.SetColor(Color.Brown);
                }

                // format cells - add borders  
                using (ExcelRange r = workSheet.Cells[startRowFrom + 1, 1, startRowFrom + dataTable.Rows.Count, dataTable.Columns.Count])
                {
                    r.Style.Border.Top.Style = ExcelBorderStyle.Thin;
                    r.Style.Border.Bottom.Style = ExcelBorderStyle.Thin;
                    r.Style.Border.Left.Style = ExcelBorderStyle.Thin;
                    r.Style.Border.Right.Style = ExcelBorderStyle.Thin;

                    r.Style.Border.Top.Color.SetColor(System.Drawing.Color.Black);
                    r.Style.Border.Bottom.Color.SetColor(System.Drawing.Color.Black);
                    r.Style.Border.Left.Color.SetColor(System.Drawing.Color.Black);
                    r.Style.Border.Right.Color.SetColor(System.Drawing.Color.Black);
                }

                // removed ignored columns  
                for (int i = dataTable.Columns.Count - 1; i >= 0; i--)
                {
                    if (i == 0 && showSrNo)
                    {
                        continue;
                    }
                    if (!columnsToTake.Contains(dataTable.Columns[i].ColumnName))
                    {
                        workSheet.DeleteColumn(i + 1);
                    }
                }

                if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(heading))
                {
                    workSheet.Cells["A1"].Value = heading;
                   // workSheet.Cells["A1"].Style.Font.Size = 20;

                    workSheet.InsertColumn(1, 1);
                    workSheet.InsertRow(1, 1);
                    workSheet.Column(1).Width = 10;
                }

                result = package.GetAsByteArray();
            }

            return result;
        }

        public static byte[] ExportExcel<T>(List<T> data, string Heading = "", bool showSlno = false, params string[] ColumnsToTake)
        {
            return ExportExcel(ListToDataTable<T>(data), Heading, showSlno, ColumnsToTake);
        }
    }

Now add this method where you want to generate the excel file, probably for a method in the controller. You can pass parameters for your stored procedure as well. Note that the return type of the method is FileContentResult. Whatever query you execute, important thing is you must have the results in a List.

[HttpPost]
public async Task<FileContentResult> Create([Bind("Id,StartDate,EndDate")] GetReport getReport)
{
    DateTime startDate = getReport.StartDate;
    DateTime endDate = getReport.EndDate;

    // call the stored procedure and store dataset in a List.
    List<User> users = _context.Reports.FromSql("exec dbo.SP_GetEmpReport @start={0}, @end={1}", startDate, endDate).ToList();
    //set custome column names
    string[] columns = { "Name", "Address", "ZIP", "Gender"};
    byte[] filecontent = ExcelExportHelper.ExportExcel(users, "Users", true, columns);
    // set file name.
    return File(filecontent, ExcelExportHelper.ExcelContentType, "Report.xlsx"); 
}

More details can be found here

I see that you’re trying to export SQL data to Excel to avoid copy-pasting your very large data set into Excel.

You might be interested in learning how to export SQL data to Excel and update the export automatically (with any SQL database: MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL).

To export data from SQL to Excel, you need to follow 2 steps:

• Step 1: Connect Excel to your SQL database? (Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL...)
• Step 2: Import your SQL data into Excel

The result will be the list of tables you want to query data from your SQL database into Excel:

?

Step1: Connect Excel to an external data source: your SQL database

1. Install An ODBC
2. Install A Driver
3. Avoid A Common Error
4. Create a DSN

Step 2: Import your SQL data into Excel

1. Click Where You Want Your Pivot Table
2. Click Insert
3. Click Pivot Table
4. Click Use an external data source, then Choose Connection
5. Click on the System DSN tab
6. Select the DSN created in ODBC Manager
7. Fill the requested username and password
8. Avoid a Common Error
9. Access The Microsoft Query Dialog Box
10. Click on the arrow to see the list of tables in your database
11. Select the table you want to query data from your SQL database into Excel
12. Click on Return Data when you’re done with your selection

To update the export automatically, there are 2 additional steps:

1. Create a Pivot Table with an external SQL data source
2. Automate Your SQL Data Update In Excel With The GETPIVOTDATA Function

I’ve created a step-by-step tutorial about this whole process, from connecting Excel to SQL, up to having the whole thing automatically updated. You might find the detailed explanations and screenshots useful.