Write csv file with color code

Question

I am writing csv file from Datatable. Check my code below

      public static void SaveDataTableToCsvFile(string AbsolutePathAndFileName, DataTable TheDataTable, params string[] Options)
    {
        //variables
        string separator;
        if (Options.Length > 0)
        {
            separator = Options[0];
        }
        else
        {
            separator = ""; //default
        }
        string quote = "";

        FileInfo info = new FileInfo(AbsolutePathAndFileName);

        if (IsFileLocked(info))
        {
            MessageBox.Show("File is in use, please close the file");
            return;
        }
        //create CSV file
        StreamWriter sw = new StreamWriter(AbsolutePathAndFileName);

        //write header line
        int iColCount = TheDataTable.Columns.Count;
        for (int i = 0; i < iColCount; i++)
        {
            sw.Write(TheDataTable.Columns[i]);
            if (i < iColCount - 1)
            {
                sw.Write(separator);
            }
        }
        sw.Write(sw.NewLine);

        //write rows
        foreach (DataRow dr in TheDataTable.Rows)
        {
            for (int i = 0; i < iColCount; i++)
            {
                if (!Convert.IsDBNull(dr[i]))
                {
                    string data = dr[i].ToString();
                    data = data.Replace("\"", "\\\"").Replace(",", " ");
                    sw.Write(quote + data + quote);
                }
                if (i < iColCount - 1)
                {
                    sw.Write(separator);
                }
            }
            sw.Write(sw.NewLine);

        }
        sw.Close();
    }

Code works for me ,but I need to add color code in some cells of csv.

How can I do that ?

That will defeat the puspose of a CSV file. You can not do that using a csv file. — Adriaan Stander
– Adriaan Stander, Commented Aug 22, 2012 at 4:59

Community · Accepted Answer · 2021-10-07 05:46:31Z

25

CSV is a pure data format without any formatting. It's a plain text file after all. So no, there is no way of adding colour.

edited Oct 7, 2021 at 5:46

CommunityBot

11 silver badge

answered Aug 22, 2012 at 4:59

Joey

357k88 gold badges704 silver badges699 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

3 Comments

Joey Over a year ago

Why? If their question is »How can I do that« I think the answer »You cannot« is one.

Lajja Thaker Over a year ago

@Joey are you sure ? I can not do that ?

Joey Over a year ago

Yes, I am sure. Read the linked reference, which is sort of the de-facto CSV standard. Do you see anything about formatting in there? I don't.

rshetye · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-22 05:15:34Z

2

You might want to output an .xls (or equivalent) instead of a .csv using some external utility Or convert the csv to .xls in order to have color coding even possible

answered Aug 22, 2012 at 5:15

rshetye

6671 gold badge8 silver badges21 bronze badges

1 Comment

Sudhir Kaushik Over a year ago

That I am trying and is lot more complicated.

Merenzo · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-22 05:14:03Z

1

Joey is absolutely right.

But if your situation allows you to output an XLSX instead of a CSV, then EPPlus might be the solution for you.

e.g.

using (ExcelPackage ep = new ExcelPackage(AbsolutePathAndFileName))
{
    ExcelWorksheet worksheet = ep.Workbook.Worksheets.Add("Worksheet1");
    worksheet.Cells["A1"].LoadFromDataTable(TheDataTable, true); 
    worksheet.Cells["F4"].BackgroundColor.SetColor(Color.Red);
    ep.Save();
}

edited Aug 22, 2012 at 5:14

answered Aug 22, 2012 at 5:03

Merenzo

5,1564 gold badges34 silver badges49 bronze badges

1 Comment

MethodMan Over a year ago

so if you have 4 Datatables and need to add all of them to a single worksheet with 2 rows separating each of the 4 datatables would EPPlus still handle this I notice the .Save() I am use to using Response.Headers to export and allow the user to save or open the excel from the web does EPPlus support his ..?

IBam · Accepted Answer · 2019-11-26 11:34:59Z

0

A CSV (comma-separated values) file is a text file. There is no way to add color too the file without changing it to another file format (such as RTF).

edited Nov 26, 2019 at 11:34

IBam

12.1k1 gold badge27 silver badges36 bronze badges

answered Aug 22, 2012 at 5:01

Craig T

2,7725 gold badges25 silver badges34 bronze badges

1 Comment

Joey Over a year ago

RTF is a completely different format, though, representing rich text and not tabular data.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Write csv file with color code

4 Answers 4

3 Comments

1 Comment

1 Comment

1 Comment

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

4 Answers 4

3 Comments

1 Comment

1 Comment

1 Comment

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related