C# Best way to read a XLS (XLSX) file and populate a datagrid

Question

What is the best (free or paid for) to read Excel files (XLS and XLSX) using C# and populate a datagrid, I would also like to have any changes made in the datagrid be written back to the file.

I should also add that it needs to be high performing as the datagrid can contain a significant number of rows (10,000+).

This would be used for a commercial application so it would need to be distributable.

This is a Windows Forms application.

Answer 1

I recommend databinding the datagrid to a dataset/datatable populated via the ADO.NET OleDb provider.

You'll find an example at Read from Excel using OleDb in a Windows Service?

I also found How To Use ADO with Excel Data from Visual Basic or VBA and How To Use ADOX with Excel Data from Visual Basic or VBA to be useful in knowing how to create a table (sheet) and access sheets and ranges.

It works very well for xls files. I haven't tried using it for xlsx.