Getting Started with Windows Forms Spreadsheet
1 Jul 20265 minutes to read
This section briefly explains how to include the WinForms Spreadsheet Editor 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 (https://www.syncfusion.com/winforms-ui-controls/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
View Sample in GitHub.. Looking for the full Winforms Spreadsheet Editor component overview, features, pricing, and documentation? Visit the Winforms Spreadsheet Editor page.