Excel File Parsing Implementation

Unity3D lacks native Excel file support, requiring third-party libraries to data extraction. This guide demonstrates two approaches using ExcelDataReader and NPOI libraries with code examples.

1. ExcelDataReader Implementation

using System.IO;
using ExcelDataReader;
using UnityEngine;

public class DataParser : MonoBehaviour
{
    [SerializeField] private string excelFilePath;

    private void Start()
    {
        using (var fileStream = new FileStream(excelFilePath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
        using (var reader = ExcelReaderFactory.CreateOpenXmlReader(fileStream))
        {
            while (reader.Read())
            {
                for (int i = 0; i < reader.FieldCount; i++)
                {
                    Debug.Log($"Column {i}: {reader.GetValue(i)}");
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

2. NPOI Implemantation

using System.IO;
using NPOI.HSSF.UserModel;
using NPOI.XSSF.UserModel;
using UnityEngine;

public class NpoiParser : MonoBehaviour
{
    [SerializeField] private string spreadsheetPath;

    private void Start()
    {
        using (var stream = new FileStream(spreadsheetPath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
        using (var workbook = spreadsheetPath.EndsWith(".xls") 
            ? new HSSFWorkbook(stream) 
            : new XSSFWorkbook(stream))
        {
            var sheet = workbook.GetSheetAt(0);
            for (int rowIndex = 0; rowIndex <= sheet.LastRowNum; rowIndex++)
            {
                var row = sheet.GetRow(rowIndex);
                if (row == null) continue;
                
                for (int cellIndex = 0; cellIndex < row.LastCellNum; cellIndex++)
                {
                    var cell = row.GetCell(cellIndex);
                    Debug.Log($"({rowIndex},{cellIndex}): {cell?.ToString()}");
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Complete Data Visualization Example

using System.IO;
using ExcelDataReader;
using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.UI;

public class CharacterDisplay : MonoBehaviour
{
    [SerializeField] private string dataFileLocation;
    [SerializeField] private GameObject characterPrefab;

    private void Start()
    {
        using (var fileStream = new FileStream(dataFileLocation, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
        using (var excelReader = ExcelReaderFactory.CreateOpenXmlReader(fileStream))
        {
            while (excelReader.Read())
            {
                var character = Instantiate(characterPrefab, Vector3.zero, Quaternion.identity);
                character.transform.SetParent(transform);
                
                character.transform.Find("Name").GetComponent<Text>().text = excelReader.GetString(0);
                character.transform.Find("Level").GetComponent<Text>().text = $"Level: {excelReader.GetInt32(1)}";
                character.transform.Find("Health").GetComponent<Text>().text = $"HP: {excelReader.GetInt32(2)}";
                character.transform.Find("Attack").GetComponent<Text>().text = $"Attack: {excelReader.GetInt32(3)}";
                character.transform.Find("Defense").GetComponent<Text>().text = $"Defense: {excelReader.GetInt32(4)}";
            }
        }
    }
}