Microsoft Excel in chat
Sign in with your own Microsoft account, then ask Centrus about the workbooks in your OneDrive, or ask it to create or update one. A new workbook is saved at the top of that OneDrive.
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What it does
Microsoft Excel connects Centrus chat to the OneDrive of the Microsoft account you sign in with. Once it is connected, you can ask which workbooks are there, what a sheet contains, and what a range of cells says. Centrus reads that from Excel while you wait. It can also create a workbook, add a sheet, write and append rows, update cells, and format a range when you have asked for the formatting. A new workbook is a real .xlsx file at the top of your OneDrive, and the answer should include a link to open it.
Connect and manage external services
Connect your Gmail account to send and read emails through Centrus.
- Send emails from your Gmail address
- Search and read your emails
- Create drafts and manage threads
- Secure OAuth2 connection
Connect Google Docs to create and format professional documents through Centrus.
- Ask “Create a document for the weekly report”
- Generate formatted documents with headings and styling
- Produce professional reports, proposals, and notes
- Secure OAuth2 connection
Connect Google Sheets to create and manage spreadsheets through Centrus.
- Ask “Create a spreadsheet for tracking tasks”
- Generate professional spreadsheets with data and formatting
- Produce data tables, reports, and tracking sheets
- Secure OAuth2 connection
Connect Microsoft Word to create and edit documents through Centrus.
- Ask “Put this in MS Doc” or “Create a Word document”
- Generate structured documents with headings and lists
- Files are saved to your OneDrive as real .docx
- Secure OAuth2 connection
Connect Microsoft Excel to create and manage workbooks through Centrus.
- Ask “Create an Excel workbook for tracking tasks”
- Generate professional workbooks with data and formatting
- Produce data tables, reports, and tracking sheets
- Secure OAuth2 connection
Connect your Microsoft Outlook account for email and calendar access through Centrus.
- Send and read Outlook emails
- Schedule and manage calendar events
- Check free/busy times and availability
- Secure OAuth2 connection
- 1Integrations, in the menu on the left.
- 2The Microsoft Excel card. It reads Not Connected until you sign in.
- 3Connect, which opens Microsoft so you can sign in with your own account.
- 4How to Use, with example questions for workbooks, data and formatting.
A spreadsheet you want as a download inside the chat is a different path. That file is built in the chat, which is covered in Files Centrus makes for you. Asking for a workbook in your OneDrive, or naming Microsoft Excel, uses this connection. Anyone in the organisation can connect. There is no shared organisation sign-in and no Enable step: Sarah Price's OneDrive is not available in John Martin's chat, and the other way around. Signing in here does not sign an agent in. An agent holds its own Excel connection, and it can hold more than one account, which is described in Microsoft Excel in Agent Builder. The wider picture of how connections differ is in the Integrations overview.
Before you start
- A Microsoft account you can sign in to. Excel in chat is per person. Use the work or school account whose OneDrive should hold the workbooks. Centrus only sees the account you pick on Microsoft's page.
- Permission, from Microsoft, for that account. Centrus asks to read and write all files that account can open, not only Excel workbooks, to read your profile so the card can show the address, and to keep that access until you remove it. Microsoft is the place that grants or refuses that. The same sign-in is what Centrus uses if you later ask to save a file from the chat into a OneDrive folder.
- A few minutes at the screen. The sign-in link Centrus creates expires after 10 minutes. If you leave the Microsoft page and come back later, start again from Connect.
Your own Microsoft account
A work or school account you can sign in to. Each person uses their own.
Files on that account
Centrus asks to read and write all files you can open, not only Excel workbooks.
Ten minutes to finish
The sign-in link expires after 10 minutes. Start again from Connect if it does.
You do not paste a password, a client secret or an API key into Centrus. Connect sends you to Microsoft, you pick the account, and you accept the permissions. Centrus then stores the sign-in for your user only, with the address Microsoft returns (your mail address, or your user principal name if mail is empty).
Chat and Agent Builder are separate. Connecting on this card does not connect an agent, and connecting an agent does not connect chat. If you build an agent that writes workbooks, it needs its own Excel connection. That connection is covered in the Agent Builder article. The card itself does not say the two are separate.
Connect Microsoft Excel
- 1Open Integrations from the menu on the left and find the Microsoft Excel card.
- 2Click Connect. Centrus asks Microsoft for a sign-in address and opens it in the same window.
- 3On Microsoft's page, pick the account. The request is set so Microsoft shows the account picker rather than skipping it.
- 4Accept the permissions. You come back to Integrations. If Microsoft accepted the sign-in, the card reads Connected, with a green line Connected as: and the address.
Connect Microsoft Excel to create and manage workbooks through Centrus.
- Ask “Create an Excel workbook for tracking tasks”
- Generate professional workbooks with data and formatting
- Produce data tables, reports, and tracking sheets
- Secure OAuth2 connection
John Martin
john.martin@meridianfm.co.uk
Centrus is asking to:
- Read and write all files you can open3
- Sign you in and read your profile
- Keep access until you remove it
- 1Connect on the card. It does not open a Centrus form.
- 2Microsoft's account picker. John Martin is signing in as john.martin@meridianfm.co.uk.
- 3The file permission. It covers files you can open, so accept only for an account whose OneDrive you are happy for Centrus to change.
- 4Accept, which completes the sign-in. Cancel brings you back without connecting.
Centrus does not open a workbook before saving. It exchanges the code Microsoft returns for a token, reads your address from Microsoft, and saves the connection against your user. The card then shows that address. There is no separate success notice: the badge changing to Connected is the confirmation. The return address can include excel_connected=true, and the page does not explain that either.
Connect Microsoft Word to create and edit documents through Centrus.
✓ Connected as: john.martin@meridianfm.co.uk
- Ask “Put this in MS Doc” or “Create a Word document”
- Files are saved to your OneDrive as real .docx
- Secure OAuth2 connection
Connect Microsoft Excel to create and manage workbooks through Centrus.
- Ask “Create an Excel workbook for tracking tasks”
- Generate professional workbooks with data and formatting
- Produce data tables, reports, and tracking sheets
- Secure OAuth2 connection
- 1The return address includes excel_error=true. The page does not explain it.
- 2The card stays Not Connected, which is the only sign that the sign-in did not stick.
If the sign-in does not complete, you land back on Integrations and the card stays Not Connected. The page does not show a message for these cases, so check the address bar if you are unsure why nothing changed:
- excel_error=missing_params: Microsoft sent you back without a code, which is what happens if you cancel.
- excel_error=invalid_state or excel_error=missing_context: the return could not be tied to your Centrus user. Start again from Connect.
- excel_error=true: the sign-in link had expired (it lasts 10 minutes), the check on it failed, or Microsoft refused the token. Click Connect and accept again.
- Connect itself does nothing visible if Centrus cannot fetch the Microsoft address. Wait a moment and click it again. There is no notice for that failure.
Sign in with your own account
Excel does not have an organisation connection for someone else to enable. The card has two states for you. Not Connected means this Centrus user has no Excel sign-in, and the buttons are Connect and How to Use. Connected means your sign-in is saved, the green line names the account, and the buttons are How to Use and Disconnect.
Connect Microsoft Excel to create and manage workbooks through Centrus.
- Ask “Create an Excel workbook for tracking tasks”
- Generate professional workbooks with data and formatting
- Produce data tables, reports, and tracking sheets
- Secure OAuth2 connection
Connect Microsoft Excel to create and manage workbooks through Centrus.
✓ Connected as: john.martin@meridianfm.co.uk
1- Ask “Create an Excel workbook for tracking tasks”
- Generate professional workbooks with data and formatting
- Produce data tables, reports, and tracking sheets
- Secure OAuth2 connection
- 1Connected as: followed by the address Microsoft returned for this sign-in.
The same card is on a phone, in a single column. Scroll to Microsoft Excel and tap Connect. You still complete the sign-in on Microsoft's page. Each person does this once, on their own Centrus user, and Excel is then available in every chat of theirs, whichever tag they pick.
Centrus
Connect and manage external services
Connect Microsoft Word to create and edit documents through Centrus.
- Ask “Put this in MS Doc” or “Create a Word document”
- Files are saved to your OneDrive as real .docx
- Secure OAuth2 connection
Connect Microsoft Excel to create and manage workbooks through Centrus.
- Ask “Create an Excel workbook for tracking tasks”
- Generate professional workbooks with data and formatting
- Produce data tables, reports, and tracking sheets
- Secure OAuth2 connection
Configure your organisation’s BigChange REST connection. Other users can then Enable it for chat.
- List and look up jobs, sites and contacts
- 1Connect. You still finish on Microsoft's page.
The address on the card is the Microsoft account the workbooks belong to. It can disappear after the saved sign-in is refreshed, while the badge still says Connected. If the green line has gone, disconnect and sign in again before you rely on which account is in use. That refresh is described under troubleshooting.
Ask your first questions
Open Chat, start a chat and ask the way you would ask a colleague. Excel is available in every chat once the card says Connected for you. How to Use on the card lists the kinds of question the connection is meant for. The examples there are short prompts. The questions below use a workbook you would actually keep.
How to use Microsoft Excel with CentrusCreate Workbooks
Say “Create an Excel workbook for tracking tasks” or “Generate a data table for project X”
Manipulate Data
Ask to “add rows”, “update values”, or “read data from range A1:C10”
Format Cells
“Format the header row with bold text and green background”
Professional Tables
AI applies proper structure with headers and organised columns automatically
- 1Example questions under Create Workbooks. The window's own wording, including project X.
- “What workbooks do I have?”
- “Read the Visits sheet in Riverside visit log.”
- “What visits are on that sheet for this week?”
- “Create a workbook called Riverside visit log, with a sheet named Visits.”
John Martin
last message sent: less than a minute ago
What visits are on the Visits sheet in Riverside visit log this week?
I read Visits in Riverside visit log. These three fall in the week of 05/10/2026 to 09/10/2026:
| When | Site | Engineer | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09/10/2026 09:00 | Riverside House | Dylan Hughes | Boiler room |
| 08/10/2026 14:30 | Riverside House | Priya Shah | Access control |
| 07/10/2026 11:00 | 12 High Street | Liam Carter | Leak under the sink |
While Centrus works, the panel above the answer names the step, such as Finding your Excel workbooks, Opening the spreadsheet, Reading the spreadsheet, Reading rows from Excel or Creating a workbook in Excel. When the answer is ready, the panel folds to Worked with the number of steps. Open it if you want to see what was looked up before the answer.
A question about a named workbook usually starts with a list, so Centrus can find the file, and then a read. Carry on in the same chat, with “Add a row for Tom Reed at Harbour View Apartments tomorrow at 10:00” or “What did Dylan write about the boiler room?”, and it can use the workbook you were just discussing. If the answer includes a link, it should be words such as Open workbook, not the raw address on its own.
What you can ask
Centrus has 11 Excel tools in chat, 4 that read and 7 that change a workbook, and it picks from what you ask. You never choose a tool yourself. Every one is listed in the reference. They all use the same sign-in. You do not connect OneDrive separately for this.
Workbooks
“What workbooks do I have?”
“Create a workbook called Riverside visit log.”
Reading a sheet
“Read the Visits sheet.”
“What is in A1:D20?”
Adding rows
“Add Friday’s visit at Riverside House.”
“Append these three lines.”
Format when you ask
“Make the header row bold with a green fill.”
“Do not format it unless I ask.”
- Workbooks. Ask what workbooks you have, or ask for one by name. A list searches your OneDrive for the text .xlsx. The default is 50 files. Centrus does not sort that list and does not fetch a second page, so a name that is missing from the first page can be asked for again with a smaller, more specific question. Creating a workbook needs a title. The first sheet is named Sheet1 unless you name one. Further sheets are added by the names you give. The file is saved at the top of your OneDrive, with .xlsx added if you left it off. Characters that cannot sit in a file name are turned into spaces.
- One workbook. Once a list has found the file, Centrus can open it for the sheet names, the order of the sheets, and the OneDrive link. Opening it does not return the cells. Ask for a sheet or a range when you want the contents.
- A range. Ask for cells in A1 notation, such as A1:D20, and name the sheet. You get a grid of values. Empty rows and columns at the end of that range are dropped. A range that is still over 8 MB after that trim is refused, with the size and the row count, and nothing from that read is returned.
- Rows as a list. Ask for the sheet as records when you want one line per row, with the headings as the names. The heading row defaults to row 1. Blank rows are left out. Dates come back as YYYY-MM-DD. Other cells come back as the text Excel displays. Each row includes its real sheet row number, so a later update can name that row.
- Adding and editing. Ask to change a range, or to add rows at the end of a sheet. An update replaces the cells you name. Appending reads how far the sheet is used and writes the new rows on the next lines, starting at column A. A batch can apply several updates, and formatting, one after another. Anything in that batch that is not an update or formatting is skipped, with no error for the skipped part.
- A list you have already fetched. If this chat has already listed records from another system, such as jobs, you can ask for the whole set in a workbook. Centrus writes every row, 200 at a time, rather than only the preview in the answer. Dates in that workbook default to DD/MM/YYYY. The header row is made bold. You can ask for one sheet per value in a column, up to 40 sheets. The answer should give the workbook and the row count, not paste every row back into the chat. If several lists are waiting, it should ask which one you mean. If there is no list in this chat, nothing is written.
- Formatting. Ask in ordinary words: bold, a green fill, a font size, wrap, column widths, or a number format such as a pound amount or a date. Colours can be a CSS name, such as green or navy, or a hex value. Centrus is told to format only when you asked for it. Freezing panes, charts, conditional formatting, merged cells and borders are not available from chat. For a frozen header, select the row under the headers in Excel and use View, Freeze panes, Freeze top row.
Centrus only sees the account on your card. A workbook in someone else's OneDrive, or in a library you have not opened with this account, is not this connection. It also cannot delete a workbook, share it, or change who can open it. Those stay in OneDrive and in Excel.
How to Use says that tables are given headers and organised columns automatically. The instruction Centrus follows is narrower: it should put headers on the first row when it creates a workbook, and it should call formatting only when you asked for a look. If you want the header bold or coloured, say so. A chart on a sheet is an Agent Builder action, described in Microsoft Excel in Agent Builder, not one of these chat tools.
John Martin
last message sent: less than a minute ago
Which rows on the Visits sheet are for Riverside House?
I read the sheet. These three rows are Riverside House. I have left the other sites out of the table.
| Row | When | Engineer | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 09/10/2026 | Dylan Hughes | Boiler room |
| 3 | 08/10/2026 | Priya Shah | Access control |
| 6 | 02/10/2026 | Dylan Hughes | Plant room |
12 High Street and Harbour View Apartments are also on the sheet.
Making changes
Seven of the 11 tools change something in your OneDrive: creating a workbook, updating cells, appending rows, a batch of updates, adding a sheet, formatting cells, and writing a list already fetched in the chat. Creating, updating, appending and a batch all show as a step such as Creating a workbook in Excel, Updating the spreadsheet or Adding a sheet to the spreadsheet. Formatting shows as Formatting the spreadsheet.
Centrus is not told to ask again before it creates a workbook, updates cells, adds rows, adds a sheet, or writes a fetched list. The question you asked is the instruction. There is no approval button. Formatting is the exception: it is told to format only when you asked for it. If the result matters, name the workbook, the sheet and the cells, and open the file afterwards.
A new workbook is written to the top of your OneDrive under the title you gave, plus .xlsx. If a file of that name is already there, this create replaces it. The call does not refuse because the name is taken. Check the name before you ask, or include the date in the title, such as Riverside visit log 09/10/2026. The link in the answer opens that file in Excel on the web.
John Martin
last message sent: less than a minute ago
Yes, create it with those three visits.
Created Riverside visit log.xlsx, sheet Visits, with headers Date, Site, Engineer and Note, and the three rows. Open the workbook from the link. A file of the same name at the top of OneDrive would have been replaced.
Some of these are awkward to undo from chat:
- Creating cannot be undone from chat, and there is no delete tool. Remove or rename the file in OneDrive. Ask for a new title if you might already have that name.
- Updating cells replaces what was in the range. Centrus is not told to read the old values out first. If you might want them, ask it to read the range before the update, and keep that answer.
- Appending writes after the used range, from column A. A sheet with formatting below the last line of text can make the new rows land further down than you expect. Scroll the sheet before you assume they are missing.
- Adding a sheet uses the name you give. Excel refuses a duplicate name, and refuses names with : \ / ? * [ ] in them. A failure leaves the workbook as it was, apart from any earlier step in the same answer that already succeeded.
- Formatting changes the look of the range, not the values, except where a number format changes how a date or an amount is displayed. It cannot freeze the header, add a border, merge cells, or add a chart.
- Writing a fetched list creates a workbook unless you name one that already exists, then fills it. The header is bold even when you did not ask for other formatting. Grouping into more than 40 sheets is refused and nothing from that grouping is written.
There is no tool that updates every workbook in one step. A request such as “add a Status column to all of my visit logs” is done one workbook at a time, and a long run is a long run of single steps. For a sheet you cannot afford to replace, ask Centrus to read it first and to create a new workbook rather than update the original. A change only happened if a tool step succeeded on this turn. If Worked has no Excel step, the file was not written, whatever the sentence sounds like.
John Martin
last message sent: 1 minute ago
Put every open job at Riverside House into an Excel workbook called Riverside open jobs.
I have written 48 rows to Riverside open jobs.xlsx, sheet Jobs, with the header in bold. The rows are in the workbook, not pasted here.
While that full list is written, the step can read Finding your Excel workbooks, which is the same wording as a list of your files. Judge it by the answer: a workbook name and a row count means the write ran. A list of file names, with no new workbook, means it only looked. A downloadable spreadsheet in the chat, with a file card under the answer, is not this write. That card is covered in the files article.
Who can use it
Excel has no screen for switching individual tools off. The Integrations overview describes that screen for BigChange REST and Simpro. It does not appear for Excel, and teams have no Excel tool list either. If your card says Connected, every Excel tool is available in your chats. A colleague's card is their own sign-in, so they cannot use yours, and you cannot use theirs.
Nothing in Settings holds a write back. When you ask for a workbook or a cell change, Centrus is told to do it, not to repeat the details and wait. The connected integrations note for this sign-in does not add a confirm-first rule, unlike mail and some other systems. If an answer has already said the workbook was created or the cells were updated, and Worked shows the step, the change has been made. Say the workbook, the sheet and the cells in the question if more than one file would fit.
John Martin
last message sent: less than a minute ago
Add a row to the Visits sheet for Tom Reed at Harbour View Apartments on 10/10/2026 at 10:00, note: plant room door.
Done. Tom Reed's visit is on the Visits sheet, row 12.
| Sheet | Row | Engineer | Site | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visits | 12 | Tom Reed | Harbour View Apartments | 10/10/2026 10:00 |
- 1The sheet and the row, after the write. There is no earlier turn that asks you to confirm.
The extra detail on this card is How to Use, not a permissions grid. Open it any time. It lists creating workbooks, reading and updating values, appending rows, formatting cells, creating sheets, and listing workbooks, plus a connection status for the Microsoft account and for workbook access. That list is shorter than the 11 tools: it does not mention reading a sheet as records, a batch, or writing a list already fetched in the chat. The connection status reads Connected and Ready once your sign-in is saved, and Not connected and Pending connection before that.
How to use Microsoft Excel with CentrusSecure & Private
Workbooks are created in your own OneDrive. You can revoke access anytime from your Microsoft Account settings.
Workbook Capabilities
✓ Create Workbooks
✓ Format Cells
✓ Read/Update Values
✓ Create Sheets/Tabs
✓ Append Rows
✓ List User Workbooks
Connection Status
- 1The capability list on How to Use. It is not the full set of 11 tools.
- 2Connection Status, with the account connected and workbook access ready.
- 3The OneDrive note. Revoking access in Microsoft is separate from Disconnect on the card.
Limits
- New workbooks go to the top of your OneDrive. There is no folder field on the chat create. A file of the same name is replaced. .xlsx is added when the title does not already end with it.
- Listing workbooks returns 50 unless a number is asked for. Only that page comes back. The search is for the text .xlsx in your OneDrive, and the results are not sorted in Centrus.
- Reading a range drops empty rows and columns at the end. Above 8 MB after that trim, the read fails and tells you the size and the row count. Ask for fewer columns or a shorter range.
- Reading rows uses heading row 1 unless you name another. A heading row outside the used area fails and names the rows that do have data. Dates are YYYY-MM-DD on this read. A cell is text as Excel displays it, not the underlying number, except those dates.
- A cell can hold at most 32,767 characters. A longer value fails at Microsoft, often as an internal error rather than a clear limit.
- Appending follows the used range, which includes cells that only have formatting. New rows can start lower than the last line of text.
- A fetched list is written 200 rows at a time. Dates default to DD/MM/YYYY. One sheet per distinct value stops at 40 sheets. The header is bold. The answer reports the row count, not the rows.
- Formatting runs only when you asked. It cannot freeze panes, chart, merge, add borders, or apply conditional formatting. A colour has to be a CSS name or a hex value.
- A batch runs updates and formatting in order. Other operations in the same batch are ignored.
- The sign-in link lasts 10 minutes. The stored token is refreshed after it has expired, not in the minutes before. That refresh can drop the address from the card even though the badge stays Connected.
- Saving a chat file into a folder uses this sign-in when Excel is connected (the Word sign-in is the fallback). The name has to match the download card, and the file has to be 100 MB or under. Name the folder if you do not want the file at the top of OneDrive.
- One account. The connected address is the only OneDrive. Chat does not offer a picker for a second Microsoft account. Several accounts on one agent are covered in the Agent Builder article.
- A file card in the chat is the downloadable spreadsheet, not a workbook created here. See Files Centrus makes for you.
John Martin
last message sent: less than a minute ago
What visits are on the Visits sheet in Riverside visit log this week?
A workbook read does not count pages the way a long list in a job system does. The Working line names the step, Reading rows from Excel, and then folds into Worked when the answer starts. If it is taking too long, use the stop control and ask for a smaller range, or for one sheet by name.
Disconnect
Disconnect on the card deletes your Excel connection straight away. It does not ask you to confirm, and it does not show a notice. The card goes back to Not Connected, with Connect again. Workbooks already created stay in OneDrive. Only the link from this Centrus user is removed.
Connect Microsoft Excel to create and manage workbooks through Centrus.
✓ Connected as: john.martin@meridianfm.co.uk
- Ask “Create an Excel workbook for tracking tasks”
- Generate professional workbooks with data and formatting
- Produce data tables, reports, and tracking sheets
- Secure OAuth2 connection
Connect Microsoft Excel to create and manage workbooks through Centrus.
- Ask “Create an Excel workbook for tracking tasks”
- Generate professional workbooks with data and formatting
- Produce data tables, reports, and tracking sheets
- Secure OAuth2 connection
- 1Disconnect, which removes your connection without asking you to confirm.
- 2Connect, to sign in again. The card does not keep the previous address.
Disconnect does not visit Microsoft to withdraw the permission. The grant can remain on the Microsoft account until you remove Centrus there. How to Use says you can revoke access from your Microsoft account settings, and that is the step that does it. Because the permission covers files you can open, removing it there matters more than the card alone.
Other people are not affected. Sarah still has her own sign-in if she connected, and an agent that has its own Excel connection keeps that too. To stop your chat from seeing the OneDrive, Disconnect is enough. To stop Microsoft from honouring the grant, remove it in the Microsoft account as well.
Troubleshooting
- Centrus answers as though Excel is not connected. Check the card says Connected for you, not only for a colleague. If it says Not Connected, click Connect. If it already says Connected, the tools are on. There is no place in Settings that switches them off one by one.
- You returned from Microsoft and the card is still Not Connected. Look at the address bar for excel_error. Cancel is missing_params. An expired or rejected sign-in is excel_error=true. Click Connect and finish within 10 minutes.
- Microsoft Excel not connected. The connection row is gone. Connect again from the card.
- Token refresh failed. The saved sign-in cannot be renewed. Click Disconnect, then Connect, and accept the permissions again, including continued access.
- The badge says Connected and the green line has gone. The sign-in was refreshed and the address was not kept. Disconnect and connect again so the card shows the account you mean.
- Failed to create workbook. Microsoft refused the file. A common cause is the name. Try a simpler title. If a file of that name already sits at the top of OneDrive, the create may already have replaced it: check OneDrive before you try again.
- Above the 8 MB per-read limit. The range was too large after empty edges were dropped. The message includes the size and the row count. Ask for a smaller range or fewer columns.
- Header row 5 is outside the used range. The heading is not on the row you named. The message includes the rows that do have data. Ask again with that row, usually row 1.
- Failed to get values, Failed to read rows, or Failed to update values, often with a Microsoft message after the colon. Check the workbook still exists, the sheet name matches, and the range is A1 notation such as A1:D20. A sheet name and a range are separate: do not put the sheet name inside the range.
- There was an internal error while processing the request. A cell may be over 32,767 characters, or the sheet was busy. Shorten the cell or try the same range again.
- New rows are not under the last line. The append followed the used range, including formatting. Look further down the sheet.
- The step says Finding your Excel workbooks but you asked for a file of many rows. Read the answer. A row count and a workbook name means the write finished. File names alone means it only listed.
- The answer is a file card, not an OneDrive link. That spreadsheet was built in the chat. Open it from the card, or see Files Centrus makes for you. Ask for a workbook in OneDrive if you wanted it there.
- You wanted a chart, a frozen header, or borders. Chat cannot do those. Freeze the header in Excel. Charts are on the agent: see Microsoft Excel in Agent Builder.
John Martin
last message sent: less than a minute ago
What workbooks do I have?
I could not reach your Excel files. Centrus returned Microsoft Excel not connected, which means this user has no saved sign-in. On Integrations, click Connect on Microsoft Excel and sign in again.
Tools and endpoints reference
There are 11 Excel tools in chat: 4 read and 7 change a workbook in your OneDrive. The names below are short names for the steps you see while Centrus works. Three different writes share the step Updating the spreadsheet (updating cells, appending rows, and a batch). Writing a list already fetched in the chat can show as Finding your Excel workbooks, the same step as a list of files. Every call goes to Microsoft Graph at https:/. Where a path contains {id}, Centrus uses the workbook id from an earlier list or from the create. {name} is the sheet name and {range} is A1 notation.
| Tool | What it does | Reads or changes | Endpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create a workbook | Creates an .xlsx at the top of your OneDrive. Replaces a file of the same name. The first sheet is Sheet1 unless you name one. Extra sheets are added by name. The step is Creating a workbook in Excel. | Changes | PUT / |
| Open a workbook | Returns the file name, the sheet names and positions, and the OneDrive link. Does not return cell values. The step is Opening the spreadsheet. | Reads | GET / |
| List workbooks | Searches your OneDrive for the text .xlsx. The default is 50. No second page and no sort. The step is Finding your Excel workbooks. | Reads | GET / |
| Tool | What it does | Reads or changes | Endpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read a range | Returns the used cells inside an A1 range. Drops empty rows and columns at the end. Refuses a read still over 8 MB. The step is Reading the spreadsheet. | Reads | GET / |
| Read rows | Returns one record per non-blank data row, using the header row (default row 1). Dates are YYYY-MM-DD. Includes the real sheet row number. The step is Reading rows from Excel. | Reads | GET / |
| Tool | What it does | Reads or changes | Endpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Update cells | Replaces values in an A1 range. A single row is accepted. The step is Updating the spreadsheet. Centrus is not told to ask first. | Changes | PATCH / |
| Append rows | Writes rows after the used range, from column A. The step is Updating the spreadsheet. | Changes | PATCH / |
| Batch update | Runs updates and formatting one after another. Other operations in the batch are skipped. The step is Updating the spreadsheet. | Changes | PATCH / |
| Write a fetched list | Writes every row of a list already fetched in this chat, 200 at a time. Creates a workbook unless you name one. Bolds the header. Dates default to DD/MM/YYYY. At most 40 sheets when you group. The step can read Finding your Excel workbooks. | Changes | PUT / |
| Tool | What it does | Reads or changes | Endpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add a sheet | Adds a worksheet with the name you give. The step is Adding a sheet to the spreadsheet. | Changes | POST / |
| Format cells | Sets fill, font, alignment, wrap, column width or a number format on a range. Only when you asked. Cannot freeze, chart, merge, border or conditionally format. The step is Formatting the spreadsheet. | Changes | PATCH / |