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Slicers

Slicer Types:

Two distinct slicer types exist: - PivotTable Slicers: Filter PivotTables (can control multiple PivotTables) - Table Slicers: Filter Excel Tables (single table only)

Actions:

Action Description Required Parameters
create-slicer Create PivotTable slicer pivotTableName, fieldName
list-slicers List all PivotTable slicers (none)
set-slicer-selection Set PivotTable slicer filter slicerName, selectedItems
delete-slicer Delete PivotTable slicer slicerName
create-table-slicer Create Table slicer tableName, columnName
list-table-slicers List all Table slicers (none)
set-table-slicer-selection Set Table slicer filter slicerName, selectedItems
delete-table-slicer Delete Table slicer slicerName

CRITICAL: Required Parameters - The "Required Parameters" column above is strict. Missing any required parameter will cause an error. Pay special attention to pivotTableName for PivotTable slicers and slicerName for selection/deletion operations.

Naming Convention:

  • If slicerName not provided, auto-generates {FieldName}Slicer or {ColumnName}Slicer
  • Slicer names must be unique within workbook
  • Use list-slicers or list-table-slicers to check existing names

Selection Behavior:

  • selectedItems is a list of strings: ["Value1", "Value2"]
  • Empty list [] clears all filters (shows all items)
  • Values must match exactly (case-sensitive)
  • Invalid values are silently ignored

CLI: JSON Array Quoting (important for --selected-items):

The --selected-items parameter requires a JSON array. Use proper shell escaping:

## PowerShell: use single quotes around the JSON, double quotes inside
--selected-items '["West","East"]'

## Or escape inner quotes with backtick
--selected-items "[`"West`",`"East`"]"

## Clear filter (show all items)
--selected-items '[]'

Positioning:

  • destinationSheet specifies which worksheet hosts the slicer
  • position is a cell address for top-left corner (e.g., 'E1', 'G5')
  • The slicer's top-left corner aligns to the specified cell
  • Default position if not specified: Excel chooses

Common Mistakes:

  • Creating slicer for field not in PivotTable → Error
  • Creating table slicer for column not in table → Error
  • Setting selection with wrong case → Values ignored (filter shows nothing)
  • Deleting slicer that doesn't exist → Error

Best Practices:

  1. Call list-slicers before creating to avoid name conflicts
  2. Use list-slicers to get exact slicer names for selection/deletion
  3. Multi-PivotTable filtering: Create one slicer, connect to multiple PivotTables in Excel UI

CLI Usage:

## Create PivotTable slicer
excelcli slicer create-slicer --session <id> --pivot-table-name "SalesPivot" --field-name "Region" --destination-sheet "Dashboard"

## Set slicer filter
excelcli slicer set-slicer-selection --session <id> --slicer-name "RegionSlicer" --selected-items "[`"West`",`"East`"]"

## Clear slicer filter (show all)
excelcli slicer set-slicer-selection --session <id> --slicer-name "RegionSlicer" --selected-items "[]"

## Create Table slicer
excelcli slicer create-table-slicer --session <id> --table-name "SalesTable" --column-name "Category"

## List all slicers
excelcli slicer list-slicers --session <id>
excelcli slicer list-table-slicers --session <id>