Finally! Run scripts in Excel Online with Power Automate

Finally! Run scripts in Excel Online with Power Automate

There’s a handy new action just added to the Excel Online (Business) connector that unlocks the potential for automated scripting.

Excel Online (Business)’s new action lets me run an Office Script against a workbook. If you’re using this connector already, you’ve probably been patiently (???) waiting for this addition. Just like a movie script that’s designed to instruct what you see on the big screen, Office Scripts guide each step required to create a specific outcome. That’s super-handy when you have any set of processes that you need to repeat!

Photo by Lukas from Pexels

I needed a way to grab my client’s sales data (which is regularly downloaded from an accounting program into an Excel spreadsheet) and create a visual, graphic representation so key managers can better understand recent business trends.

This spreadsheet, complicated by regions and multiple divisions while excellent for documentation, does not always provide a clear view of the big picture. Worse, some of the data is derived from formulas. Normally, you cannot grab that information easily (nor can you use formulas in Power Automate data sources). The chart gives managers a visual that they can then act upon.

Because creating the graph from this complicated spreadsheet is a task that needs repeating monthly, quarterly, annually and sometimes on the fly, a script really speeds up that process.

For the source, the connector has me select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:

  • me
  • SharePoint Site URL
  • users/someone’s UPN
  • groups/group ID
  • sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name: (colons required)

Next choose a Document Library (supported by Microsoft Graph) from the drop-down, an Excel file from File Browse, the script I want to run from the drop-down and the script’s specific parameters.

I’d love to hear how you plan to use particular tool. If you and your team are using the Excel Online (Business) connector already, be aware the action you’ve been waiting for has arrived!

If you need help with this or any other connector, feel free to reach out to Reenhanced! We know more about Power Automate connectors than anybody else. Reenhanced can also build you a custom connector. Fill out our Contact Form with details about what you’re working on, and we’ll be happy to help you.

Kimberly Kratz
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Kimberly is a Virtual Assistant but real person who works on the team at Reenhanced. She’s also a professional writer and editor. When she’s not painting a portrait or dreaming up her next steampunk quest, she works as a Reference Librarian in the city.
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