How to change format of a column of excel sheet in c#?

The Problem (Q-score 6, ranked #282nd of 303 in the Excel VBA archive)

The scenario as originally posted in 2013

I am creating an excel sheet dynamically and inserting values in to the same.But value in some cells are getting inserted in the wrong format.
Following is my excel sheet
value in the selected cell should have been 0002-9343 but it is inserted as Feb-43.This due to some wrong format for that column(column-D) in the excel sheet.
I need to change the whole column-D (all cells comming under heading D “data2”) to ‘Text Format’ before entering the data.
Following is the code for creating the excel sheet and inserting data

excel = new Application();
            excel.Visible = false;
            wb = (_Workbook)(excel.Workbooks.Add(System.Reflection.Missing.Value));
            sheet = wb.Sheets.Add();
            sheet.Name = "TestSheet1";
            sheet.Cells[1, "A"].Value2 = "Id";
            sheet.Cells[1, "B"].Value2 = "Name";
            sheet.Cells[1, "C"].Value2 = "Data1";
            sheet.Cells[1, "D"].Value2 = "Data2";
            sheet.Cells[1, "E"].Value2 = "Data3";

            for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
            {
                    id = i;
                    result = object;
                    data = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(result);

        name  = (data != null) ? data.name : string.Empty;
                    data1 = (data != null) ? data.data1 : string.Empty;
                    data2 = (data != null) ? data.data2 : string.Empty;
                    data3 = (data != null) ? data.data3 : string.Empty;

                    sheet.Cells[i + 2, "A"].Value2 = name;  
                    sheet.Cells[i + 2, "B"].Value2 = data1; 
                    sheet.Cells[i + 2, "C"].Value2 = data2; 
                    sheet.Cells[i + 2, "D"].Value2 = data3;
            }
            string ExcelPath = Some_path;
            wb.SaveAsExcelPath,XlFileFormat.xlWorkbookNormal, null, null, false, false, XlSaveAsAccessMode.xlShared, false, false, null, null, null);
            wb.Close(true);
            excel.Quit();

Now ,before the loop I need to change the format of cells under Column-D to Text Format.
How to do the same from code in c#?

Why community consensus is tight on this one

Across 303 Excel VBA entries in the archive, the accepted answer here holds niche answer (below median) status — meaning voters are unusually aligned on the right fix.

The Verified Solution — niche answer (below median) (+5)

3-line Excel VBA pattern (copy-ready)

Now ,before the loop I need to change the format of cells under Column-D to Text Format. How to do the same from code in c#?

To change the format of the entire column use this

// 4 is for Col D
sheet.Cells[1, 4].EntireColumn.NumberFormat = "@";

Remember to format Col D before you attempt writing to it. Using .EntireColumn will ensure that you will not have to change the format of the Excel Cells individually 🙂

When to Use It — classic (2013–2016)

Ranked #282nd in its category — specialized fit

This pattern sits in the 99% tail relative to the top answer. Reach for it when your scenario closely matches the question title; otherwise browse the Excel VBA archive for a higher-consensus alternative.

What changed between 2013 and 2026

The answer is 13 years old. The Excel VBA object model has been stable across Office 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 365, and 2024/2026 LTSC, so the pattern still compiles. Changes that might affect you: 64-bit API declarations (use PtrSafe), blocked macros in downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), and the shift toward Office Scripts for web-first workflows.