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Getting Started with Windows Forms Spreadsheet
27 May 20265 minutes to read
This section briefly explains how to include the Syncfusion® WinForms Spreadsheet component in Windows Forms App using Visual Studio.
Prerequisites
Create a new Windows Forms App in Visual Studio
You can create a Windows Forms Application using Visual Studio via Microsoft Templates or the Syncfusion® Windows Forms.
Assemblies Deployment
To add a WinForms spreadsheet component to your application by installing it via NuGet packages(Recommended) or by manually adding the required assemblies to the project.
Install Syncfusion® Windows Forms Spreadsheet NuGet packages
To add Windows Forms Spreadsheet component in the application, open the NuGet package manager in Visual Studio (Tools → NuGet Package Manager → Manage NuGet Packages for Solution), search and install:
Add Syncfusion® WinForms Spreadsheet Assemblies
Below table describes, list of assemblies required to be added in project when the WinForms Spreadsheet control is used in your application.
| Assembly | Description |
|---|---|
| Syncfusion.Spreadsheet.Windows.dll | Contains the classes that handles all the UI Operations of Spreadsheet such as importing of sheets, applying formulas/styles etc. |
| Syncfusion.Shared.Base.dll | Contains the classes which holds the controls like TabBarPage, TabBarSplitterControl etc. |
| Syncfusion.Tools.Windows.dll | Contains the classes which holds the controls like Ribbon, ToolStripPanelItem,MaskedEditBox,ToolStripGallery,BackStageButton etc which are used in Spreadsheet. |
| Syncfusion.XlsIO.Base.dll | Contains the base classes which is responsible for read and write in Excel files, Worksheet Manipulations, Formula calculations etc. |
Below are the assemblies list that can be added when you want to enable certain features in Spreadsheet control.
| Optional Assemblies | Description |
|---|---|
| Syncfusion.SpreadsheetHelper.Windows.dll | Contains the classes which is responsible for importing charts and sparklines into Spreadsheet |
| Syncfusion.ExcelChartToImageConverter.WPF.dll | Contains the classes which is responsible for converting charts as image |
| Syncfusion.Chart.Base.dll | Contains the base classes which is responsible for importing charts like Line charts, Pie charts, Sparklines etc. |
| Syncfusion.Chart.Windows.dll | Contains the classes which is responsible for creating charts that holds axes, series, legends etc. |
| Syncfusion.ExcelToPDFConverter.Base.dll | Contains the base and fundamental classes which is responsible for converting excel to PDF. |
| Syncfusion.Pdf.Base.dll | Contains the base and fundamental classes for creating PDF. |
Add Windows Forms Spreadsheet component
WinForms Spreadsheet control can be added to an application either through the designer (XAML) or programmatically using code.
- Open the Visual Studio Tool box. Navigate to Syncfusion® Controls tab and find the Spreadsheet/SpreadsheetRibbon toolbox items.

- Drag
Spreadsheetand drop in the Designer area from the Toolbox.
....
partial class Form1
{
....
private void InitializeComponent()
{
Spreadsheet spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
}
....
}
....- Ribbon can be added to the application by dragging
SpreadsheetRibbonto the Designer area.
....
partial class Form1
{
....
private void InitializeComponent()
{
Spreadsheet spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
SpreadsheetRibbon spreadsheetRibbon = new SpreadsheetRibbon();
}
....
}
....- To make an interaction between Ribbon items and
Spreadsheet, bind the Spreadsheet as DataContext to theSpreadsheetRibbon.
....
partial class Form1
{
....
private void InitializeComponent()
{
Spreadsheet spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
SpreadsheetRibbon spreadsheetRibbon = new SpreadsheetRibbon();
spreadsheetRibbon.Spreadsheet = spreadsheet;
}
....
}
....Spreadsheet is available in the following namespace Syncfusion.Windows.Forms.Spreadsheet and it can be created programmatically by using below code.
For Spreadsheet
....
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
Spreadsheet spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
SpreadsheetRibbon ribbon = new SpreadsheetRibbon() { Spreadsheet = spreadsheet };
spreadsheet.Dock = DockStyle.Fill;
spreadsheet.Anchor = AnchorStyles.Left | AnchorStyles.Top;
this.Controls.Add(spreadsheet);
this.Controls.Add(ribbon);
}
....Run the application
Press Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or ⌘+F5 (macOS) to launch the application.The output will appear as follows:

To learn how to create, open, and save files in the WPF Spreadsheet Component, see Workbook Operations.
NOTE