reading excel file using WCF Service

Question

I am trying to read excel file which is located in my local server directory using WCF service. I tried implementing using Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel as well as OfficeOpenXML references but both of them cannot be imported in WCF service. I just have to read certain cells in the excel sheet. How to implement this in WCF service. Any help will be highly appreciated.

Sharon Thompson · Answer

There are some known issues with server-side Office client automation so the best practice is to avoid using Excel Interop with .NET applications on server-side. One of the alternatives in to use use the Open XML SDK combined with Word Automation Services . You can find some additional resources about this approach here . Another alternative would be to use some library that supports server side for example you can try out this .NET library for excel files processing . It does not require automation services and has no dependency with Office. Also here is an article about how to read Excel files in C# with it .