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Add Copy spreadsheet with SAX sample (#336)
* Add Copy spreadsheet with SAX sample --------- Co-authored-by: Alfred Hellstern <alfredh@microsoft.com>
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‎docs/spreadsheet/how-to-copy-a-worksheet-with-sax.md‎

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---
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api_name:
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- Microsoft.Office.DocumentFormat.OpenXML.Packaging
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api_type:
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- schema
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ms.assetid: 2ad4855c-1c83-4dab-b93f-2bae13fac644
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title: 'How to: Copy a Worksheet Using SAX (Simple API for XML)'
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ms.suite: office
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ms.author: o365devx
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author: o365devx
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ms.topic: conceptual
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ms.date: 04/01/2025
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ms.localizationpriority: high
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---
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# Copy a Worksheet Using SAX (Simple API for XML)
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This topic shows how to use the the Open XML SDK for Office to programmatically copy a large worksheet
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using SAX (Simple API for XML). For more information about the basic structure of a `SpreadsheetML`
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document, see [Structure of a SpreadsheetML document](structure-of-a-spreadsheetml-document.md).
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------------------------------------
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## Why Use the SAX Approach?
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The Open XML SDK provides two ways to parse Office Open XML files: the Document Object Model (DOM) and
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the Simple API for XML (SAX). The DOM approach is designed to make it easy to query and parse Open XML
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files by using strongly-typed classes. However, the DOM approach requires loading entire Open XML parts into
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memory, which can lead to slower processing and `Out of Memory` exceptions when working with very large parts.
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The SAX approach reads in the XML in an Open XML part one element at a time without reading in the entire part
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into memory giving noncached, forward-only access to XML data, which makes it a better choice when reading
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very large parts, such as a <xref:DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Packaging.WorksheetPart> with hundreds of thousands of rows.
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## Using the DOM Approach
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Using the DOM approach, we can take advantage of the Open XML SDK's strongly typed classes. The first step
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is to access the package's `WorksheetPart` and make sure that it is not null.
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### [C#](#tab/cs-1)
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[!code-csharp[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/cs/Program.cs#snippet1)]
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### [Visual Basic](#tab/vb-1)
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[!code-vb[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/vb/Program.vb#snippet1)]
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***
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Once it is determined that the `WorksheetPart` to be copied is not null, add a new `WorksheetPart` to copy it to.
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Then clone the `WorksheetPart`'s <xref:DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Spreadsheet.Worksheet> and assign the cloned
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`Worksheet` to the new `WorksheetPart`'s Worksheet property.
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### [C#](#tab/cs-2)
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[!code-csharp[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/cs/Program.cs#snippet2)]
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### [Visual Basic](#tab/vb-2)
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[!code-vb[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/vb/Program.vb#snippet2)]
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***
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At this point, the new `WorksheetPart` has been added, but a new <xref:DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Spreadsheet.Sheet>
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element must be added to the `WorkbookPart`'s <xref:DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Spreadsheet.Sheets>'s
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child elements for it to display. To do this, first find the new `WorksheetPart`'s Id and
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create a new sheet Id by incrementing the `Sheets` count by one then append a new `Sheet`
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child to the `Sheets` element. With this, the copied Worksheet is added to the file.
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### [C#](#tab/cs-3)
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[!code-csharp[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/cs/Program.cs#snippet3)]
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### [Visual Basic](#tab/vb-3)
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[!code-vb[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/vb/Program.vb#snippet3)]
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***
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## Using the SAX Approach
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The SAX approach works on parts, so using the SAX approach, the first step is the same.
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Access the package's <xref:DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Packaging.WorksheetPart> and make sure
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that it is not null.
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### [C#](#tab/cs-4)
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[!code-csharp[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/cs/Program.cs#snippet4)]
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### [Visual Basic](#tab/vb-4)
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[!code-vb[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/vb/Program.vb#snippet4)]
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***
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With SAX, we don't have access to the <xref:DocumentFormat.OpenXml.OpenXmlElement.Clone*>
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method. So instead, start by adding a new `WorksheetPart` to the `WorkbookPart`.
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### [C#](#tab/cs-5)
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[!code-csharp[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/cs/Program.cs#snippet5)]
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### [Visual Basic](#tab/vb-5)
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[!code-vb[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/vb/Program.vb#snippet5)]
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***
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Then create an instance of the <xref:DocumentFormat.OpenXml.OpenXmlPartReader> with the
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original worksheet part and an instance of the <xref:DocumentFormat.OpenXml.OpenXmlPartWriter>
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with the newly created worksheet part.
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### [C#](#tab/cs-6)
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[!code-csharp[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/cs/Program.cs#snippet6)]
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### [Visual Basic](#tab/vb-6)
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[!code-vb[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/vb/Program.vb#snippet6)]
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***
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Then read the elements one by one with the <xref:DocumentFormat.OpenXml.OpenXmlPartReader.Read*>
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method. If the element is a <xref:DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Spreadsheet.CellValue> the inner text
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needs to be explicitly added using the <xref:DocumentFormat.OpenXml.OpenXmlPartReader.GetText*>
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method to read the text, because the <xref:DocumentFormat.OpenXml.OpenXmlPartWriter.WriteStartElement*>
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does not write the inner text of an element. For other elements we only need to use the `WriteStartElement`
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method, because we don't need the other element's inner text.
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### [C#](#tab/cs-7)
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[!code-csharp[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/cs/Program.cs#snippet7)]
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### [Visual Basic](#tab/vb-7)
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[!code-vb[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/vb/Program.vb#snippet7)]
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***
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At this point, the worksheet part has been copied to the newly added part, but as with the DOM
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approach, we still need to add a `Sheet` to the `Workbook`'s `Sheets` element. Because
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the SAX approach gives noncached, **forward-only** access to XML data, it is only possible to
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prepend element children, which in this case would add the new worksheet to the beginning instead
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of the end, changing the order of the worksheets. So the DOM approach is
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necessary here, because we want to append not prepend the new `Sheet` and since the `WorkbookPart` is
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not usually a large part, the performance gains would be minimal.
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### [C#](#tab/cs-8)
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[!code-csharp[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/cs/Program.cs#snippet8)]
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### [Visual Basic](#tab/vb-8)
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[!code-vb[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/vb/Program.vb#snippet8)]
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***
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## Sample Code
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Below is the sample code for both the DOM and SAX approaches to copying the data from one sheet
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to a new one and adding it to the Spreadsheet document. While the DOM approach is simpler
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and in many cases the preferred choice, with very large documents the SAX approach is better
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given that it is faster and can prevent `Out of Memory` exceptions. To see the difference,
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create a spreadsheet document with many (10,000+) rows and check the results of the
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<xref:System.Diagnostics.Stopwatch> to check the difference in execution time. Increase the
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number of rows to 100,000+ to see even more significant performance gains.
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### DOM Approach
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### [C#](#tab/cs-0)
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[!code-csharp[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/cs/Program.cs#snippet0)]
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### [Visual Basic](#tab/vb-0)
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[!code-vb[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/vb/Program.vb#snippet0)]
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***
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### SAX Approach
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### [C#](#tab/cs-99)
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[!code-csharp[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/cs/Program.cs#snippet99)]
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### [Visual Basic](#tab/vb-99)
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[!code-vb[](../../samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/vb/Program.vb#snippet99)]
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***

‎samples/samples.sln‎

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EndProject
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Project("{F184B08F-C81C-45F6-A57F-5ABD9991F28F}") = "insert_a_picture_vb", "word\insert_a_picture\vb\insert_a_picture_vb.vbproj", "{6170C4E1-A109-435A-BF59-026C85B3BD9C}"
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Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "copy_worksheet_with_sax_cs", "spreadsheet\copy_worksheet_with_sax\cs\copy_worksheet_with_sax_cs.csproj", "{0AA6B9DD-2A2C-0E96-1052-6F4AC44B3F5D}"
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EndProject
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Project("{F184B08F-C81C-45F6-A57F-5ABD9991F28F}") = "copy_worksheet_with_sax_vb", "spreadsheet\copy_worksheet_with_sax\vb\copy_worksheet_with_sax_vb.vbproj", "{2DD90EFB-7F2A-497B-A0F4-EE5F62A49BA4}"
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Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "replace_text_with_sax_cs", "word\replace_text_with_sax\cs\replace_text_with_sax_cs.csproj", "{4C514047-64B5-1383-4564-B827B846A6A7}"
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EndProject
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Project("{F184B08F-C81C-45F6-A57F-5ABD9991F28F}") = "replace_text_with_sax_vb", "word\replace_text_with_sax\vb\replace_text_with_sax_vb.vbproj", "{6EB91F44-EC13-5354-0450-9A2687C3B169}"
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{6170C4E1-A109-435A-BF59-026C85B3BD9C}.Debug|Any CPU.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
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{0AA6B9DD-2A2C-0E96-1052-6F4AC44B3F5D}.Debug|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
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{2DD90EFB-7F2A-497B-A0F4-EE5F62A49BA4}.Debug|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
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{2DD90EFB-7F2A-497B-A0F4-EE5F62A49BA4}.Debug|Any CPU.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
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{2DD90EFB-7F2A-497B-A0F4-EE5F62A49BA4}.Release|Any CPU.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
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{4C514047-64B5-1383-4564-B827B846A6A7}.Debug|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
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{4C514047-64B5-1383-4564-B827B846A6A7}.Debug|Any CPU.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
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{6170C4E1-A109-435A-BF59-026C85B3BD9C} = {D207D3D7-FD4D-4FD4-A7D0-79A82086FB6F}
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{0AA6B9DD-2A2C-0E96-1052-6F4AC44B3F5D} = {7ACDC26B-C774-4004-8553-87E862D1E71F}
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{2DD90EFB-7F2A-497B-A0F4-EE5F62A49BA4} = {7ACDC26B-C774-4004-8553-87E862D1E71F}
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{6EB91F44-EC13-5354-0450-9A2687C3B169} = {D207D3D7-FD4D-4FD4-A7D0-79A82086FB6F}
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EndGlobalSection

‎samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/cs/Program.cs‎

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using DocumentFormat.OpenXml;
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using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Packaging;
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using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Spreadsheet;
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using System.Diagnostics;
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CopySheetDOM(args[0]);
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CopySheetSAX(args[1]);
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// <Snippet0>
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void CopySheetDOM(string path)
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{
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Console.WriteLine("Starting DOM method");
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Stopwatch sw = new();
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sw.Start();
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// <Snippet1>
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using (SpreadsheetDocument spreadsheetDocument = SpreadsheetDocument.Open(path, true))
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{
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// Get the first sheet
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WorksheetPart? worksheetPart = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart?.WorksheetParts?.FirstOrDefault();
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if (worksheetPart is not null)
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// </Snippet1>
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{
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// <Snippet2>
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// Add a new WorksheetPart
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WorksheetPart newWorksheetPart = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart!.AddNewPart<WorksheetPart>();
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// Make a copy of the original worksheet
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Worksheet newWorksheet = (Worksheet)worksheetPart.Worksheet.Clone();
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// Add the new worksheet to the new worksheet part
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newWorksheetPart.Worksheet = newWorksheet;
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// </Snippet2>
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Sheets? sheets = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart.Workbook.GetFirstChild<Sheets>();
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if (sheets is null)
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{
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spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart.Workbook.AddChild(new Sheets());
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}
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// <Snippet3>
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// Find the new WorksheetPart's Id and create a new sheet id
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string id = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart.GetIdOfPart(newWorksheetPart);
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uint newSheetId = (uint)(sheets!.ChildElements.Count + 1);
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// Append a new Sheet with the WorksheetPart's Id and sheet id to the Sheets element
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sheets.AppendChild(new Sheet() { Name = "My New Sheet", SheetId = newSheetId, Id = id });
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// </Snippet3>
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}
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}
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sw.Stop();
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Console.WriteLine($"DOM method took {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds} seconds");
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}
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// </Snippet0>
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// <Snippet99>
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void CopySheetSAX(string path)
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{
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Console.WriteLine("Starting SAX method");
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Stopwatch sw = new();
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sw.Start();
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// <Snippet4>
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using (SpreadsheetDocument spreadsheetDocument = SpreadsheetDocument.Open(path, true))
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{
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// Get the first sheet
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WorksheetPart? worksheetPart = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart?.WorksheetParts?.FirstOrDefault();
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if (worksheetPart is not null)
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// </Snippet4>
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{
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// <Snippet5>
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WorksheetPart newWorksheetPart = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart!.AddNewPart<WorksheetPart>();
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// </Snippet5>
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// <Snippet6>
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using (OpenXmlReader reader = OpenXmlPartReader.Create(worksheetPart))
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using (OpenXmlWriter writer = OpenXmlPartWriter.Create(newWorksheetPart))
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// </Snippet6>
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{
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// <Snippet7>
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// Write the XML declaration with the version "1.0".
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writer.WriteStartDocument();
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// Read the elements from the original worksheet part
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while (reader.Read())
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{
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// If the ElementType is CellValue it's necessary to explicitly add the inner text of the element
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// or the CellValue element will be empty
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if (reader.ElementType == typeof(CellValue))
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{
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if (reader.IsStartElement)
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{
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writer.WriteStartElement(reader);
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writer.WriteString(reader.GetText());
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}
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else if (reader.IsEndElement)
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{
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writer.WriteEndElement();
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}
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}
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// For other elements write the start and end elements
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else
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{
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if (reader.IsStartElement)
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{
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writer.WriteStartElement(reader);
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}
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else if (reader.IsEndElement)
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{
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writer.WriteEndElement();
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}
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}
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}
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// </Snippet7>
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}
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// <Snippet8>
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Sheets? sheets = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart.Workbook.GetFirstChild<Sheets>();
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if (sheets is null)
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{
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spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart.Workbook.AddChild(new Sheets());
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}
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string id = spreadsheetDocument.WorkbookPart.GetIdOfPart(newWorksheetPart);
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uint newSheetId = (uint)(sheets!.ChildElements.Count + 1);
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sheets.AppendChild(new Sheet() { Name = "My New Sheet", SheetId = newSheetId, Id = id });
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// </Snippet8>
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sw.Stop();
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Console.WriteLine($"SAX method took {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds} seconds");
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}
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}
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}
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// </Snippet99>

‎samples/spreadsheet/copy_worksheet_with_sax/cs/copy_worksheet_with_sax_cs.csproj‎

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<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
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<PropertyGroup>
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<OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
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<TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
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<ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
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<Nullable>enable</Nullable>
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</PropertyGroup>
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</Project>

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