Can't get Microsoft.Office.Interop reference to work
c#, office-interop, winforms
Solution
You need to add the library assembly reference to your project. They are referred to as "Primary Interop Assemblies".
(Assuming Visual Studio 2010)
Procedure
- open the solution explorer window
- expand your project folder accordion.
- right click on the references element
- select "add reference" from the dropdown
- select the .NET tab and look for the object library called `Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel`.
- click ok
The object library should now appear in your references.
Problem
I have a C# winforms app and I am simply trying to open an Excel sheet. When I try to add a reference to Microsoft.Office.Interop, the "Office" part is red and says "Can't resolve symbol 'Office'". When I attempt to build, the error is: ``` The type or namespace name 'Office' does not exist in the namespace 'Microsoft' (are you missing an assembly reference?) ``` I have Office 2012 installed, and I think I have the Primary Interop Assemblies installed... but I'm not positive. I know that this should be so easy, but I've been looking around for an answer to this for almost an hour and just can't figure it out. Thanks in advance!