Skip to content

Charts & Visualization Features

Create presentation-ready workbook visuals from your data. These tools build and format charts, add interactive filtering, apply visual rules, and capture or annotate workbook content.

View all feature categories

📉 Charts (33 operations)

Create and format charts and PivotCharts, with full control over series, axes, labels, and trendlines.

Creation: - Create from Range: Build a chart from a cell range - Create from Excel Table: Build a chart from an Excel Table - Create from PivotTable: Build a live PivotChart linked to the requested PivotTable, including OLAP/Data Model PivotTables. ExcelMcp verifies the PivotLayout link and fails without leaving a static chart if the requested chart type or layout cannot produce a PivotChart.

Series Management: - Add Series: Add a data series to a chart - Remove Series: Remove a data series - Update Series Data: Change the data range for a series - Set Series Chart Type: Build combo charts by assigning a type to one series

Configuration: - Set Data Source: Change the chart's source range - Set Chart Type: Change the chart type (bar, line, pie, etc.) - Get/Set Plot Options: Control row/column orientation, blank cells, and hidden-cell plotting - Show/Hide Legend: Toggle the legend - Set Style: Apply a built-in chart style

Formatting: - Set Chart Title: Set or clear the chart title - Set Axis Title: Set or clear an axis title - Set Axis Number Format: Apply a number format to an axis - Get Axis Number Format: Read the current axis number format

Data Labels: - Configure Data Labels: Show values, percentages, category names, etc. - Set Label Position: Position labels (Center, InsideEnd, OutsideEnd, etc.) - Apply to Series: Apply label config to all series or a specific one

Axis Scale: - Get Axis Scale: Read current min/max/unit settings - Set Min/Max Scale: Set axis minimum/maximum - Set Major/Minor Units: Set axis tick unit spacing

Gridlines: - Get Gridlines Config: Read current gridline visibility - Set Gridlines: Toggle major/minor gridline visibility

Series Formatting: - Set Marker Style: Set marker shape (Circle, Square, Diamond, Triangle, etc.) - Set Marker Size: Set marker size - Set Marker Colors: Set marker fill/line colors - Set Series Fill/Line: Set material fill, transparency, line color, and line weight

Area Formatting: - Set Area Format: Format chart-area or plot-area fill, transparency, and border

Trendlines: - Add Trendline: Add a trendline (Linear, Exponential, Logarithmic, Polynomial, Power, MovingAverage) - List Trendlines: List trendlines on a series - Delete Trendline: Remove a trendline - Configure Trendline: Set forecast forward/backward, display equation, display R²

Placement & Positioning: - Set Placement: Configure cell anchoring, printing, locking, and rounded corners - Fit to Range: Position and size a chart to match a range

Lifecycle: - List: List charts in a worksheet or workbook - Read: Get chart info - Move: Move a chart to a different worksheet or a new sheet - Delete: Remove a chart

🔪 Slicers (8 operations)

Add interactive slicers to filter PivotTables and Excel Tables visually.

PivotTable Slicers: - Create Slicer: Add slicer for PivotTable field with optional position - List Slicers: List all PivotTable slicers in workbook - Set Selection: Filter PivotTable by slicer selection (single or multi-select) - Delete Slicer: Remove PivotTable slicer

Table Slicers: - Create Table Slicer: Add slicer for Excel Table column - List Table Slicers: List all Table slicers in workbook - Set Table Selection: Filter Table by slicer selection - Delete Table Slicer: Remove Table slicer

Notes: - Use cases: Interactive data filtering without modifying PivotTable/Table structure, dashboard creation with visual filter controls, and multi-slicer filtering for complex data analysis.

🌈 Conditional Formatting (4 operations)

Apply rule-based formatting that highlights cells based on their values.

Operations: - Add Rule: Create a conditional formatting rule — cell value comparison (>, <, =, etc.), expression-based formula (custom DAX/Excel formula), or color scale/data bar/icon set - Clear Rules: Remove formatting from ranges - List Rules: Read existing conditional formatting rules for a range — returns rule type, operator, formulas, applies-to range, priority, and formatting (interior/font/borders) with colors as #RRGGBB hex - List Worksheet Rules: Read all conditional formatting rules across an entire worksheet, each with its applies-to range, in priority order

📸 Screenshot (2 operations)

Capture ranges or worksheets as images by photographing the live Excel window.

Operations: - Capture Range: Capture a specific range as an image - Capture Sheet: Capture the entire used area of a worksheet as an image — captures formatting, charts, and conditional formatting exactly as Excel displays them. Works on protected sheets and leaves the workbook and clipboard untouched, but requires an interactive desktop session. MCP returns the image directly as ImageContent; CLI returns JSON with base64-encoded image data.

🖼️ Drawing Objects & Sparklines (14 operations)

Create and manage worksheet visuals without replacing the workbook file.

  • List / Get / Update / Delete Objects: Manage geometry, text, colors, placement, accessibility text, and safe control bindings
  • Add Image / Shape / Text Box / Connector: Create and format worksheet drawing objects
  • Add Form Control: Add safe Forms controls such as buttons, check boxes, option buttons, lists, and drop-downs
  • List / Get / Add / Update / Delete Sparklines: Manage line, column, and win/loss sparkline groups

ActiveX/OLE controls and macro assignment are intentionally excluded because they cannot be automated safely and reliably across Excel security configurations.

Task guides