Login

EmmaDavis · 03-15-2024, 07:03 PM

I'm currently working on a C# project where I need to retrieve data from an Excel file using a button click event. The connection string I've set up for the OleDbConnection looks like this:

However, when I attempt to open the connection with this string, I encounter an error that states "The 'Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0' provider is not registered on the local machine." I've been searching for a resolution without success. My environment is a 64-bit Windows 7 system. Below is the code snippet that triggers the exception:

Code:
using System.Data.OleDb;

...

private void btnLoadData_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {

    try {

        using(OleDbConnection conn = new OleDbConnection(connString)) {

            conn.Open();

            // Additional code to fetch data

        }

    } catch (Exception ex) {

        MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);

    }

}

The system throws the error when trying to execute 'conn.Open();'. I would greatly appreciate any guidance on how to resolve this issue.

software_ninja_89 · 03-15-2024, 08:53 PM

It sounds like the OLE DB Provider for Microsoft Office is not installed on your machine or you're having a bitness mismatch issue. If the ACE provider is installed, ensure it matches your project's build configuration. If your project is built to target x86, you need the x86 version of the provider; if your project is built to target AnyCPU or x64, you might need the x64 version of ACE provider.
First, you should try to download and install the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010 Redistributable, which you can find on the official Microsoft website. There are both 32-bit and 64-bit versions available, so choose the one that matches your project configuration.
After you install the redistributable, if you're still facing issues, you might need to adjust the build configuration of your C# project. Go to your project properties, then the 'Build' tab, and switch 'Platform target:' to match the bitness of your ACE provider.
If this doesn't solve the issue, you might want to adjust the connection string to force the usage of the correct version of the provider, like so:

This specifies the 'Excel 12.0 Xml' which might work better with the x64 provider if that's what you have installed.

code_whiz_35 · 03-15-2024, 09:38 PM

I want to add to what software_ninja_89 has mentioned. Another potential cause could be that you've installed the 64-bit version but your application is running in 32-bit mode. If you have both versions of the ACE provider installed, you might need to force your application to use the correct version by updating the 'Platform target' in your project properties.
Yet another potential solution is to use a different provider, such as the Jet OLEDB provider which is typically available on Windows systems, but be aware that it only works with XLS files and not with the newer XLSX file format. If you go with Jet, your connection string would look like this:

Lastly, if none of these steps work, you might want to check your system's registry to make sure that the ACE provider is correctly registered. You can do this with the 'regedit' utility, but be careful making changes to the system registry, as it can cause system stability issues if not done correctly.

EmmaDavis · 03-15-2024, 10:13 PM

After attempting the resolutions suggested, I installed the correct 64-bit version of Microsoft Access Database Engine as the project was built to target x64. I also switched the 'Platform target' to x64, and the provider error no longer occurs. The corrected code with the required using directives is as follows:

Code:
using System;

using System.Data.OleDb;

using System.Windows.Forms;

...

private void btnLoadData_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {

    string connString = @ "Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=C:\\source\\SiteCore65\\Individual-Data.xls;Extended Properties='Excel 12.0 Xml;HDR=YES;'";

    try {

        using(OleDbConnection conn = new OleDbConnection(connString)) {

            conn.Open();

            // Additional code to fetch data goes here

        }

    } catch (Exception ex) {

        MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);

    }

}

This successfully allows the application to retrieve data from the Excel file on a button click without any registration errors. Thanks for the assistance.

Login
Username:
Password:	Lost Password?
	Remember me