Columns

Updated on Jun 16, 2026

A column is a group of cells that are vertically stacked and appear on the same vertical line. The following sections explain how to export and import columns with RadSpreadStreamProcessing.

What Is a Column

A column is a group of cells that are vertically stacked and appear on the same vertical line. Columns are identified by a letter or a combination of letters. For example, the first column is called A, the second one is B, and the last column is XFD.

IColumnExporter and IColumnImporter Interfaces

In RadSpreadStreamProcessing, a column can be exported through the IColumnExporter interface. It defines several methods that allow you to change the appearance of a column.

To read a column and its properties, use the IColumnImporter interface.

Using IColumnExporter

You can create a concrete instance of IColumnExporter through the CreateColumnExporter() method of IWorksheetExporter. Example 1 demonstrates how to add a column to a worksheet.

Example 1: Create IColumnExporter

C#

using (IColumnExporter column = worksheet.CreateColumnExporter())
			{
			}

IColumnExporter inherits from IDisposable. Ensure the object is disposed when you are done with it. Otherwise, the content will not be written in the exported file. The best way to ensure this is handled properly is to wrap it in a using statement.

To customize the way a column appears, use one of the following methods:

Method	Description
SetWidthInPixels()	Sets the column width in pixels.
SetWidthInCharacters()	Sets the column width in characters count.
SetOutlineLevel()	Sets the column outline level, used when grouping columns. Columns with the same OutlineLevel are grouped together. Use different levels for nested grouping.
SetHidden()	Sets a boolean value indicating whether the column is hidden.

Example 2: Set Properties to IColumnExporter

C#

using (IColumnExporter column = worksheet.CreateColumnExporter())
{
	column.SetWidthInPixels(100);
}

* Due to the specifics of the library, RadSpreadStreamProcessing does not support auto fitting the width of the columns. You can find information on how to calculate the width needed for specific content in the Get Cell Content Size topic.

Skip Columns

The columns in a document are exported one by one from left to right starting from the one with index 0. To export a column with a bigger index, you need to export all the previous columns or skip them.

In some cases you may need to skip several columns and start filling the data in the next one. The IWorksheetExporter interface declares a method that allows you to implement such a scenario. Example 3 shows how to skip 5 columns.

Example 3: Skip Columns

C#

worksheet.SkipColumns(5);
using (IColumnExporter column = worksheet.CreateColumnExporter())
{
	column.SetHidden(true); // The sixth (F) column will be hidden.
}

Read a Column

Using IColumnImporter

You can get a concrete instance of IColumnImporter through the Columns collection of IWorksheetImporter. Example 4 demonstrates how to start reading a column from a worksheet.

Example 4: Create IColumnImporter

C#

foreach (IColumnImporter column in worksheetImporter.Columns)
			{
			}

The IColumnImporter interface exposes the following properties:

Property	Description
FromIndex	Gets the first index of the column range with the same properties.
ToIndex	Gets the last index of the column range with the same properties.
OutlineLevel	Gets the outline level (used when grouping columns).
IsCustomWidth	Gets a value indicating whether the width applied to the current column is a custom one.
WidthInPixels / WidthInCharacters	Gets the width of the column in pixels and in characters, respectively.
IsHidden	Gets a value determining whether the column is hidden.

See Also

• Rows
• Cells
• Worksheets