Handling Commas
For handling commas inside of values when using string.Format(...), the following has worked for me:
var newLine = string.Format("\"{0}\",\"{1}\",\"{2}\"",
first,
second,
third
);
csv.AppendLine(newLine);
So to combine it with Johan's answer, it'd look like this:
//before your loop
var csv = new StringBuilder();
//in your loop
var first = reader[0].ToString();
var second = image.ToString();
//Suggestion made by KyleMit
var newLine = string.Format("\"{0}\",\"{1}\"", first, second);
csv.AppendLine(newLine);
//after your loop
File.WriteAllText(filePath, csv.ToString());
Returning CSV File
If you simply wanted to return the file instead of writing it to a location, this is an example of how I accomplished it:
From a Stored Procedure
public FileContentResults DownloadCSV()
{
// I have a stored procedure that queries the information I need
SqlConnection thisConnection = new SqlConnection("Data Source=sv12sql;User ID=UI_Readonly;Password=SuperSecure;Initial Catalog=DB_Name;Integrated Security=false");
SqlCommand queryCommand = new SqlCommand("spc_GetInfoINeed", thisConnection);
queryCommand.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
StringBuilder sbRtn = new StringBuilder();
// If you want headers for your file
var header = string.Format("\"{0}\",\"{1}\",\"{2}\"",
"Name",
"Address",
"Phone Number"
);
sbRtn.AppendLine(header);
// Open Database Connection
thisConnection.Open();
using (SqlDataReader rdr = queryCommand.ExecuteReader())
{
while (rdr.Read())
{
// rdr["COLUMN NAME"].ToString();
var queryResults = string.Format("\"{0}\",\"{1}\",\"{2}\"",
rdr["Name"].ToString(),
rdr["Address"}.ToString(),
rdr["Phone Number"].ToString()
);
sbRtn.AppendLine(queryResults);
}
}
thisConnection.Close();
return File(new System.Text.UTF8Encoding().GetBytes(sbRtn.ToString()), "text/csv", "FileName.csv");
}
From a List
/* To help illustrate */
public static List<Person> list = new List<Person>();
/* To help illustrate */
public class Person
{
public string name;
public string address;
public string phoneNumber;
}
/* The important part */
public FileContentResults DownloadCSV()
{
StringBuilder sbRtn = new StringBuilder();
// If you want headers for your file
var header = string.Format("\"{0}\",\"{1}\",\"{2}\"",
"Name",
"Address",
"Phone Number"
);
sbRtn.AppendLine(header);
foreach (var item in list)
{
var listResults = string.Format("\"{0}\",\"{1}\",\"{2}\"",
item.name,
item.address,
item.phoneNumber
);
sbRtn.AppendLine(listResults);
}
}
return File(new System.Text.UTF8Encoding().GetBytes(sbRtn.ToString()), "text/csv", "FileName.csv");
}
Hopefully this is helpful.
