How to reference Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel dll?

calendar_today Asked Mar 8, 2013
thumb_up 35 upvotes
history Updated April 14, 2026

Direct Answer

In your project, right-click on "References" and select "Add Reference". VS 2012 / 2013: Select "Extensions" on the left and look for Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel. Note that you…. This is an advisory response with reference links, ranked #14th of 303 by community upvote score, from 2013.


The Problem (Q-score 25, ranked #14th of 303 in the Excel VBA archive)

The scenario as originally posted in 2013

I had developed a system that deals with excel sheets in 2006 using MS VS 2005. Now, I can not use the same reference with MS VS 2012.

var app = new Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.Application();
Workbooks wbs = app.Workbooks;

Why community consensus is tight on this one

Across 303 Excel VBA entries in the archive, the accepted answer here holds elite answer (top 10 %%) status — meaning voters are unusually aligned on the right fix.


The Verified Solution — elite answer (top 10 %%) (+35)

Advisory answer — community consensus with reference links

Note: the verified answer below is a reference / advisory response rather than a copy-ready snippet.

In your project, right-click on “References” and select “Add Reference”.

VS 2012 / 2013:

Select “Extensions” on the left and look for Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.

Note that you can just type “excel” into the search box in the upper-right corner.

VS2012/2013 References

VS 2008 / 2010:

Look under the .NET tab.

VS 2010 References


When to Use It — classic (2013–2016)

Ranked #14th in its category — specialized fit

This pattern sits in the 90% 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.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is this answer the top decile of Excel VBA Q&A?
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Answer score +35 vs the Excel VBA archive median ~11; this entry is elite. The score plus 25 supporting upvotes on the question itself (+25) means the asker and 34 subsequent voters all validated the approach.

This answer links out — what are the reference links worth following?
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Read the first external link for the canonical reference, then search this archive for a top-10 entry in the same category — advisory answers are best paired with a ranked code snippet to close the loop.

Published around 2013 — what’s changed since?
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Published 2013, which is 13 year(s) before today’s Office 2026 build. The Excel VBA object model has had no breaking changes in that window. Three things to re-test: (1) blocked macros on downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), (2) 64-bit API declarations (PtrSafe, LongPtr), (3) any shift toward Office Scripts for web scenarios.

Which Excel VBA pattern ranks just above this one at #13?
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The pattern one rank above is “Fastest way to interface between live (unsaved) Excel data and C# objects”. If your use case overlaps, compare both before committing.

Data source: Community-verified Q&A snapshot. Q-score 25, Answer-score 35, original post 2013, ranked #14th of 303 in the Excel VBA archive. Last regenerated April 14, 2026.

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