c# - Do I need to have Excel installed to query spreadsheets using an OleDB Provider?

Question

I am working on some software that uses an OleDB to open a .xls file, query some data, and fill a dataset with the results. I am now looking at using this software on systems that do not have Excel. Will my software still be able to read the spreadsheets?

This xls file contains 1000s of configuration settings that my software uses. If this setup won't work on computers without Excel, I'm guessing my next best move is to convert the xls file to an XML file and read it in using XML Services.

Answer 1

You need either the full Office or the Office Data Connectivity Components installed on the client computers.