Problem in excel report generation - vb.net

Question

I am working on an Excel report and I would like the top rows to be empty to allow for an image to be inserted. However, I do not want the image size to change the width of the columns and would rather the data below do that.
This is what I have so far:
If ComDset.Tables(0).Rows.Count > 0 Then
Try
With Excel
.SheetsInNewWorkbook = 1
.Workbooks.Add()
.Worksheets(1).Select()
Dim i As Integer = 1
For col = 0 To ComDset.Tables(0).Columns.Count - 1
.cells(1, i).value = ComDset.Tables(0).Columns(col).ColumnName
.cells(1, i).EntireRow.Font.Bold = True
i += 1
Next
i = 2
Dim k As Integer = 1
For col = 0 To ComDset.Tables(0).Columns.Count - 1
i = 2
For row = 0 To ComDset.Tables(0).Rows.Count - 1
.Cells(i, k).Value = ComDset.Tables(0).Rows(row).ItemArray(col)
i += 1
Next
k += 1
Next
filename = "ShiftReport" & Format(MdbDate, "dd-MM-yyyy") & ".xls"
.ActiveCell.Worksheet.SaveAs(filename)
End With
System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.ReleaseComObject(Excel)
Excel = Nothing
Catch ex As Exception
MsgBox(ex.Message)
End Try
' The excel is created and opened for insert value. We most close this excel using this system
Dim pro() As Process = System.Diagnostics.Process.GetProcessesByName("EXCEL")
For Each i As Process In pro
i.Kill()
Next
End If

Answer 1

I would recommend trying to "merge" the cells in the top 2 rows. You could take A1 through say K2 and merge them and the image would fit just fine in there...
Range("A1:K2").Select
Selection.Merge

Answer 2

One way to create your report with the image included is to create a template workbook (.xlt file) in which you have already set up your required formatting and image(s). Then in your code, create the new report workbook from the template like this:
.Workbooks.Add("path\to\report_template.xlt")
To make your image fixed in size and independent of column widths, right-click on it, choose "Format Picture...", open the Properties tab and within Object Positioning select "Don't move or size with cells".
Alternatively, use code to add the picture to a blank workbook as follows:
ActiveSheet.Pictures.Insert( "path\to\image.jpg" ).Select
With Selection
.Placement = xlFreeFloating
.PrintObject = True
End With
You could control the first row to be used to output your data by initialising a row variable to an appropriate value.
You can also fit the column sizes to match your data by using the AutoFit method.
Your code might then look like this:
Try
With Excel
.SheetsInNewWorkbook = 1
.Workbooks.Add("path\to\report_template.xlt")
.Worksheets(1).Select()
Dim outputRow As Integer = 8
For col = 0 To ComDset.Tables(0).Columns.Count - 1
.Cells(outputRow, col+1).value = ComDset.Tables(0).Columns(col).ColumnName
.Cells(outputRow, col+1).EntireRow.Font.Bold = True
Next
outputRow += 1
For y = 0 To ComDset.Tables(0).Rows.Count - 1
For x = 0 To ComDset.Tables(0).Columns.Count - 1
.Cells(outputRow + y, x).Value = ComDset.Tables(0).Rows(y).ItemArray(x)
Next
Next
.Cells(outputRow, 1).CurrentRegion.Columns.AutoFit
filename = "ShiftReport" & Format(MdbDate, "dd-MM-yyyy") & ".xls"
.ActiveCell.Worksheet.SaveAs(filename)
End With
System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.ReleaseComObject(Excel)
Excel = Nothing
Catch ex As Exception
MsgBox(ex.Message)
End Try
Choose a suitable initial value for the outputRow variable to give enough space for your image.

Answer 3

An alternate to consider, if the image is only needed for printed reports, is to put it into the page header.
Worksheets(1).PageSetup.LeftHeaderPicture.Filename = "C:\header.JPG"
The image will be embedded in the file. It will only be visible in 'Print preview' mode and when printing the report.