Microsoft Excel action pack

Microsoft Excel extension actions enable Glean to interact directly with Excel workbooks.

This allows users to read spreadsheet data, update ranges, manage worksheets, and perform common workbook operations without switching between applications.

Excel actions are a key component of the broader Microsoft 365 action suite.

When building a workflow agent, the Excel action pack is available within the Plan and Execute step and for building agents with auto mode, Excel action pack is available for all the steps. This allows the agent to dynamically determine when to list files, comments, get sessions, range to fulfill a complex user request.

Supported tools

The Excel action pack is enabled as a unified bundle.

The following tools are included:

Workbook and session management

• List files: Retrieves available Excel files so users can identify the workbook they want to work with.
• Get session: Opens or retrieves the active workbook session needed for supported Excel operations.
• Close session: Closes an Excel workbook session after the requested work is complete.

Worksheet management

• List worksheets: Shows the worksheets available within a workbook.
• Add worksheet: Creates a new worksheet in an existing Excel workbook.
• Update worksheet: Updates worksheet properties such as the worksheet name.

Range and cell operations

• Get range: Retrieves the contents of a specified range in a worksheet.
• Update range: Writes new values into a specified worksheet range.
• Clear range: Removes values from a specified range without deleting the worksheet.
• Insert range: Inserts new cells into a worksheet range while preserving surrounding data.
• Merge cells: Merges a specified group of cells into a single cell.

Comments

• List comments: Retrieves comments associated with the workbook or worksheet context for review.

Example use cases

Integrating Excel actions into Glean workflows provides several high-value automation opportunities:

• Spreadsheet-based reporting: An agent can retrieve a workbook range, summarize the latest values, and update a reporting sheet with refreshed metrics.
• Finance and operations updates: A workflow can write new planning inputs into a specific worksheet range without requiring a user to manually edit the spreadsheet.
• Workbook organization: An agent can create a new worksheet for a project or reporting cycle and rename existing worksheets to keep files organized.
• Data cleanup and review: A user can clear outdated values, insert new rows or columns, merge header cells, and review comments while staying in Glean.

Setup and configuration

Prerequisites

Before configuring Microsoft Excel actions, ensure you have the following:

• Administrative access to the Glean admin console.
• Microsoft 365 actions and extension actions must already be set up in your Glean environment.
• Access to the Microsoft Entra ID portal to grant admin consent or configure a custom OAuth app.
• If using a custom OAuth app, it must be set to multitenant. Single-tenant apps are not supported.

Administrator steps

1. Enable the pack: Navigate to Admin console → Platform → Actions and add Microsoft Excel extension actions from the template library.
2. Configure authentication: Microsoft 365 actions use user OAuth.
   • Managed app: Use the Glean-managed application for simplified setup.
   • Custom OAuth App: If using a custom app, it must be registered as a multi-tenant application.
3. Complete the one-time admin connection: After creating the pack, a Glean admin must complete a one-time connection before other users can reliably use the action pack in your environment.
4. Make the pack available to users: Use Edit settings under the Enable actions section to make the action pack visible for all users or specific users within supported Glean experiences.

important

If you use Microsoft Excel extension actions, a Glean admin must complete a one-time connection after the pack is created before other users can reliably use the action pack in your environment.

For detailed setup steps, see Microsoft 365 actions and extension actions setup.

FAQ

Action availability can vary by surface. While Excel actions are supported in Glean and supported agent experiences, they may not appear in some workflow building surfaces.

This occurs when your Microsoft Entra ID tenant requires explicit admin approval for the permissions requested by the Excel action pack. An admin must grant consent in the Entra ID portal.

Yes. Admins can enable a subset of Excel tools based on what they want to make available.

Yes. Because Microsoft Excel actions use User OAuth, each user must authenticate with their own Microsoft account to use the action pack.

Single-tenant apps are not supported for Microsoft Excel extension actions. If you use a custom OAuth app, it must be registered as a multi-tenant application.