ASP.Net 2.0: Export GridView to Excel

The code to do the Excel Export is very straightforward. You can also export to different application type by changing the content-disposition and ContentType.

string attachment = "attachment; filename=Contacts.xls";

Response.ClearContent();

Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", attachment);

Response.ContentType = "application/ms-excel";

StringWriter sw = new StringWriter();

HtmlTextWriter htw = new HtmlTextWriter(sw);

GridView1.RenderControl(htw);

Response.Write(sw.ToString());

Response.End();

If you run the code as above, it will result in an HttpException as follows:

Control 'GridView1' of type 'GridView' must be placed inside a form tag with runat=server."

To avoid this error, add the following code:

public override void VerifyRenderingInServerForm(Control control)

{

}