.NET Core 2 Console Application on Mac

I would like to create a .NET Core 2 console application on Mac that uses FlexCel. Could someone confirm whether it is possible to do so? It would be just a simple utility application that effectively uses an Excel file as a lightweight database.


For what it's worth, I'm a long-time FlexCel user. Incredible product.

Hi,
First of all thanks for the nice words, I really appreciate them!

Doing a .NET Core app on mac should be no issue, and I know a couple of customers who are doing it, but they are probably not following this forum, so I am not sure someone will share their experience here, even if I would love if they do.

Just for historic reasons, there is a very outdated blog post here:
http://www.tmssoftware.com/site/blog.asp?post=328

But a lot has changed since then. Now .NET Core is not more in beta and it is actually in 2.0, and you can create the app in Visual Studio (for mac or windows) instead of the command line. We lso support graphics now via SkiaSharp. And also the setup will automatically register the nuget packages for you when you install FlexCel, so the only thing you need to do is to go to "Manage nuget packages", select "flexcel.tmssoftware.com" as package source, and add a reference to the FlexCel nuget package. That is it, after that you can code as in a normal .NET "classic" app.

Also make sure to update to the latest version, since support for .NET Core 2 (and .NET Standard 2) was added in 6.17, so you need 6.17 or later at least.

Regards,
   Adrian.

OK, it worked!


The key thing is to download the latest "Registered version for Nuget installation" from the "My Accounts" page. Do not install "Registered version for .NET Core", which is old and appears to be irrelevant. (I suggest that TMS remove it.) Then unzip the content and put the TMS.FlexCel.6.17.3.nupkg file in a folder that will serve as the Nuget source folder. Then in Visual Studio for Mac, bring up the Nuget "Add Packages" dialog and then under the top-left drop-down choose "Configure Sources..." and choose the folder where you put the nupkg file. Then choose the file from that source and you should be in familiar territory for using the API.

For those of you in this specific situation (.NET Core console app on Mac), I'm happy to answer questions about my experience setting it up. Thanks to Adrian for pointing me in the right direction.

Hi,
Indeed you are right: The "registered version for .net core" is old and there by mistake. Thanks for letting us know, we will remove it.

And glad to know you got it working :)