This simple program demostrate how to create well formatted MS Word documents using VB.Net, XML and XSLT. Using XSLT to create Word document requires the knowledge of RTF key words. RTF specification is available in MSDN site.
1. Open Visual Studio .NET and select File --> New --> Project.
2. Select Visual Basic project as the Project Type and Windows Application as the Template. For the project name, specify 'VBXSLT'; for the path specify the location where you want the project to be created. Click OK to create the new project.
3. Add an XML file named "Employee.xml" in \Debug\Bin directory (other wise you have to specify the path in the program). The structure of the file will be like,
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<Employee>
<Record>
<EmpID>E1</EmpID>
<EmpName>Sudipta</EmpName>
<EmpAge>29</EmpAge>
<EmpSex>M</EmpSex>
<EmpAddress>Kolkata</EmpAddress>
<Department>
<DeptID>D1</DeptID>
<EmpID>E1</EmpID>
<DeptName>Sales</DeptName>
</Department>
</Record>
<Record>
<EmpID>E2</EmpID>
<EmpName>Chiranjib</EmpName>
<EmpAge>26</EmpAge>
<EmpSex>M</EmpSex>
<EmpAddress>Kolkata</EmpAddress>
<Department>
<DeptID>D1</DeptID>
<EmpID>E2</EmpID>
<DeptName>Sales</DeptName>
</Department>
</Record>
<Record>
<EmpID>E3</EmpID>
<EmpName>Nilanjan</EmpName>
<EmpAge>29</EmpAge>
<EmpSex>M</EmpSex>
<EmpAddress>Kolkata</EmpAddress>
<Department>
<DeptID>D2</DeptID>
<EmpID>E3</EmpID>
<DeptName>Finance</DeptName>
</Department>
</Record>
<Record>
<EmpID>E4</EmpID>
<EmpName>Chayan</EmpName>
<EmpAge>30</EmpAge>
<EmpSex>M</EmpSex>
<EmpAddress>Kolkata</EmpAddress>
<Department>
<DeptID>D3</DeptID>
<EmpID>E4</EmpID>
<DeptName>Human Resource</DeptName>
</Department>
</Record>
<Record>
<EmpID>E5</EmpID>
<EmpName>Biplab</EmpName>
<EmpAge>31</EmpAge>
<EmpSex>M</EmpSex>
<EmpAddress>Kolkata</EmpAddress>
<Department>
<DeptID>D4</DeptID>
<EmpID>E5</EmpID>
<DeptName>Administration</DeptName>
</Department>
</Record>
</Employee>
4. Add an XSLT file named "Employee.xslt" in \Debug\Bin directory (other wise you have to specify the path in the program). The structure of the file will be like,
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt" xmlns:dt="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:datatypes" xmlns:user="urn:my-scripts">
<xsl:output method="text" />
<xsl:template match="Employee">
<xsl:text>{\rtf1\fs22</xsl:text>
<!--Print the Header Row-->
<xsl:text>\trowd\cellx2500\cellx3000\cellx3800\cellx6800\cellx9144\intbl\keepn\ql\b Name\cell Age\cell Sex\cell Address\cell Department\cell</xsl:text>
<xsl:text>\b0\ql0\intbl\row</xsl:text>
<!--Print Employee Records-->
<xsl:apply-templates select="Record" />
<xsl:text>}</xsl:text>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="Record">
<xsl:text>\trowd\cellx2500\cellx3000\cellx3800\cellx6800\cellx9144\intbl\keepn\ql </xsl:text>
<xsl:value-of select="EmpName" />
<xsl:text>\cell </xsl:text>
<xsl:value-of select="EmpAge" />
<xsl:text>\cell </xsl:text>
<xsl:if test="EmpSex='M'">
<xsl:text>Male</xsl:text>
<xsl:text>\cell </xsl:text>
</xsl:if>
<xsl:if test="EmpSex='F'">
<xsl:text>Female</xsl:text>
<xsl:text>\cell </xsl:text>
</xsl:if>
<xsl:value-of select="EmpAddress" />
<xsl:text>\cell </xsl:text>
<!--Print Employee Department-->
<xsl:apply-templates select="Department" />
<xsl:text>\cell</xsl:text>
<xsl:text>\intbl\row</xsl:text>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="Department">
<xsl:value-of select="DeptName" />
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
5. In Form1.vb, add the following references
Imports
System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.Xml
Imports System.Xml.Xsl
Imports System.Xml.XPath
Imports System.IO 6. In Form1.cs, add a button and write the following code Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim ds As DataSet
Dim xmlDoc As XmlDataDocument
Dim xslTran As XslCompiledTransform
Dim root As XmlElement
Dim nav As XPathNavigator
Dim writer As XmlTextWriter
Try
'Create the DataSet from the XML file
ds = New DataSet()
ds.ReadXml("Employee.xml")
'Create the XML from the DataSet
xmlDoc = New XmlDataDocument(ds)
'Load the XSLT for Transformation
xslTran = New XslCompiledTransform()
xslTran.Load("Employee.xslt")
'Determine the Root object in the XML
root = xmlDoc.DocumentElement
'Create the XPath Navigator to navigate throuth the XML
nav = root.CreateNavigator()
'First delete the RTF, if already exist
If File.Exists("Employee.rtf") Then
File.Delete("Employee.rtf")
End If
'Create the RTF by Transforming the XML and XSLT
writer = New XmlTextWriter("Employee.rtf", System.Text.Encoding.Default)
xslTran.Transform(nav, writer)
'Close the Writer after Transformation
writer.Close()
'Release all objects
writer = Nothing
nav = Nothing
root = Nothing
xmlDoc = Nothing
ds = Nothing
MessageBox.Show("Document created successfully.....")
Catch ex As Exception
writer = Nothing
nav = Nothing
root = Nothing
xmlDoc = Nothing
ds = Nothing
MessageBox.Show(ex.StackTrace)
End Try
End Sub
7. Compile and run the program.
NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS CONVERTED FROM C# TO VB.NET USING A CONVERSION TOOL. ORIGINAL ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND ON C# CORNER (http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/).