VB6 Project: Automating Excel Data with ADODB RecordSet

Introduction

Excel Automation from within VB6

Microsoft Excel remains one of the most widely used tools for data processing. In legacy applications, Visual Basic 6 (VB6) is still relied upon to automate Excel tasks efficiently. In this project, we demonstrate how to use ADODB Recordsets to read structured Excel data (Table/ListObject) with features like table header detection, field type guessing, and safe cleanup.

Project Setup

1. Open VB6 and create a new Standard EXE project.

2. Add references to:

• Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects 2.8 Library
• Microsoft Excel Object Library

3. Add a form (Form1) where we’ll load Excel data into a Recordset.

 

Key Features

• Table Header Detection: Automatically recognizes Excel table headers.
• Field Type Guessing: Infers whether fields are string, integer, double, or date.
• Safe Cleanup: Ensures Excel closes properly without leaving background processes.

Sample Code

Here’s the main VB6 code snippet that demonstrates Excel automation with ADODB:

Private Sub LoadExcelTable()
    Dim xlApp As Object
    Dim xlWb As Object
    Dim xlWs As Object
    Dim rs As ADODB.Recordset
    Dim conn As ADODB.Connection
    Dim sConn As String
    
    ' Initialize Excel
    Set xlApp = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
    Set xlWb = xlApp.Workbooks.Open("C:\Data\Payroll.xlsx")
    Set xlWs = xlWb.Sheets("1Q")
    
    ' Build Connection String
    sConn = "Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;" & _
            "Data Source=" & xlWb.FullName & ";" & _
            "Extended Properties=""Excel 12.0 Xml;HDR=YES"";"
    
    ' Open ADODB Connection
    Set conn = New ADODB.Connection
    conn.Open sConn
    
    ' Load Recordset from a named table (ListObject)
    Set rs = New ADODB.Recordset
    rs.Open "SELECT * FROM [Docs$]", conn, adOpenStatic, adLockReadOnly
    
    ' Example: Read field names
    Dim i As Integer
    For i = 0 To rs.Fields.Count - 1
        Debug.Print rs.Fields(i).Name & " (" & rs.Fields(i).Type & ")"
    Next
    
    ' Cleanup
    rs.Close
    conn.Close
    xlWb.Close False
    xlApp.Quit
    
    Set rs = Nothing
    Set conn = Nothing
    Set xlWs = Nothing
    Set xlWb = Nothing
    Set xlApp = Nothing
End Sub

GitHub Repository

We have uploaded the complete project files and documentation to GitHub for you to test and improve.

📂 View VB6 Excel Project on GitHub

Conclusion

This VB6 Excel Automation project shows how legacy systems can still achieve powerful data handling. By using ADODB Recordsets with Excel, you can build flexible solutions for reporting, data transformation, and integration with databases.

👉 Explore the full project on GitHub and adapt it for your own workflow.

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