Excel advanced

package

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The Excel advanced package contains actions that enable you to automate many of the
repetitive tasks when working with Microsoft Excel worksheet.

You can automate tasks related to the workbook, worksheet, rows, columns, and cell
operations. You can use these actions when Microsoft Excel is installed on the device that
you want to use to automate the Microsoft Excel-related tasks.

Actions in the Excel advanced package support Microsoft Office 2016 through Microsoft
Office 2019 and .xls, .xlsx, .xlsb, and .xlsm formats. You can also use some of the actions
with the .csv format.

Choosing the Excel package in Automation 360

Automation 360 includes packages to support three types of Microsoft Excel usage. For
optimal results, use the package that corresponds to the type of Excel that is available on the
device you are running bots on.

• No Excel installed: If you do not have Microsoft Excel installed on the device on which
you are running bots to automate Excel-related processes, use the Excel basic package.
• Desktop Excel installed: If you have a desktop version of Microsoft Excel installed on
your computer, use the Excel advanced package in your bots.
• Online Office 365 Excel only: If you are using Microsoft Excel 365 on a web browser,
use the Office 365 Excel package for automating tasks related to Excel.

Before you start

Perform the following actions within the Excel advanced package as part of using the set of
available actions:

1. Open the Microsoft Excel worksheet that you want to use to automate the Microsoft
Excel-related tasks. Use the Open action to open the worksheet. See Using the Open
action for Excel.
Note: For files containing large data sets, use actions from the Database package to
automate create, read, and update operations. See Using Connect action for database.
2. Use the different actions available in the Excel advanced package to automate the
Microsoft Excel-related tasks.
3. After you have automated all the Microsoft Excel-related tasks, close the worksheet using
the Close action.

Actions in the Excel advanced package

The actions in the Excel advanced package enable you to perform the following operations:

1. Cell operations
Perform operations such as extracting data from cells, deleting values from a cell, moving a
cursor to a specific cell, and finding and replacing content.

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Delete cells

Deletes the Active cell or a Specific cell from the current worksheet or a CSV file.
After deleting the cell, you can:
• Shift cells left: Deletes the specified cell and shifts the cell one position to the left.
• Shift cells up: Deletes the specified cell and shifts the cell one position up.
• Entire row: Deletes the entire row that contains the cell you have specified to delete.
• Entire column: Deletes the entire column that contains the cell you have specified to
delete.

Find next empty cell

Finds the next empty cell in the current worksheet.

Procedure:
1. Specify the name of the session in which you want to perform the action in the Session
name field.
2. Select the row or column option from the Traverse by section to specify whether you
want to find the empty cell in a row or column.
3. Select the active cell or specific cell option from the Start from section to specify the
point from where you want to start the search.
4. Select the string variable you want to use to store the address of the empty cell from
the Assign the output to variable list.

Find

Finds a particular string in a Microsoft Excel worksheet or a CSV file.

Procedure:
1. Specify the name of the session in which you want to perform the action in the Session
name field.
2. Select an option from the From list to specify a starting point of the cell range.
3. Select an option from the Till list to specify an end point of the cell range.
4. Specify the string you want to search in the Find field.
5. Select the search options.
6. Select the list variable of string data type that you want to use to store the output from
the Assign cell addresses variable list.
7. In the Assign value to variable list, select a string variable.

Get cell address

Retrieves the location of the active cell and stores it to a string variable. This action supports
.xlsx and .xlxm files.

Procedure:
1. Double-click or drag the Get cell address action from the Excel advanced node in
the Actions palette.
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2. Select whether to retrieve the cell address from the Active cell or Based on header:
Option Steps
Active cell If you select this option, the bot will retrieve the cell address of the
currently active cell. Skip to Step 5.
Based on If you select this option, the bot will retrieve the cell address of the cell
header specified by the column title name and cell position. Complete the
following fields:
a. Enter the column title: If you selected the Sheet contains
header option when you opened this sheet using the Open action, enter
the column name. For example, First Name.
If you did not select that option, enter the default column name. For
example, A.
Note: This field is not case-sensitive.
b. Enter cell position from column title: Enter the number of cells
between the header cell and the cell from which you want to retrieve the
address. Enter up to three digits.
For example, if the header cell is located at B1 and you specify 2 as the
cell position, the action will return B3.
3. Select whether to retrieve the cell address from the Active cell or a Specific cell.
• If you have selected the Active cell option, the bot will retrieve the cell address of
the currently active cell. Skip to Step 5.
• If you have selected the Specific cell option, the bot will retrieve the cell address
of the cell specified by the column title name and cell position. Complete the
following fields:
o Enter the column title: Enter the column name. For example, Name.
Note: This field is not case-sensitive.
o Enter cell position from column title: Enter the number of cells between the
header cell and the cell from which you want to retrieve the address. Enter up
to three digits.
For example, if the header cell is located at B1 and you specify 2 as the cell
position, the action will return B3.
o In the Save active or user specified cell address in local variable field,
create or insert an existing string variable.
o Enter the name of the session used to open the workbook with
the Open action.
o Click Save.

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Get cell color

Gets the color of the background or text in a cell. This action retrieves the color of a cell as
RGB values. For example, if the background or text in a cell is of red color, the value
retrieved is 255,0,0.

Procedure:
1. Specify the name of the session in which you want to perform the action in the Session
name field.
2. Select the Background color option to get the background color of the cell or the Text
color option to get the color of the text.
3. Select the Active cell option to get the color from the current active cell or the Specific
cell option to get the color from the address of the cell you have specified.
4. Select a variable from the Assign the output to variable list to assign the address of the
empty cell to the variable you have selected from the list.
5. Select the string variable you want to use to store the address of the empty cell from
the Assign the output to variable list.

Get multiple cells

Retrieves the values from the cells in a Microsoft Excel worksheet and stores them in a table
variable.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the Multiple cells option to retrieve values from a range of cells or select All
cells to retrieve values from all the cells.

Get number of rows

Gets the number of rows that contain data.

Procedure:
1. Specify the name of the session in which you want to perform the action in the Session
name field.
2. Select the Index option to specify the number of the worksheet or the Name option to
specify the name of the worksheet from which you want to get the number or rows.
3. Select the Non-empty rows option to get the number of rows that are not empty or
the Total rows with data option to get the number of rows that contain data.
4. Select the number variable you want to use to store the output from the Assign to
variable list.

Get single cell

Retrieves the values from a single cell in a Microsoft Excel worksheet or a CSV file and
stores them in a string variable.

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Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the Active cell option to retrieve the value from the active cell or select Specific
cell to retrieve the value from a specific cell in a Microsoft Excel worksheet.

Go to cell

Moves the cursor to a specific cell in a Microsoft Excel worksheet or a CSV file.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the option to specify the cell to which the cursor should be moved or select an
option from the Active cell list.

Go to next empty cell

Finds the next empty cell in the current worksheet. You can specify whether to find the
empty cell toward the left, right, up, or down.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the Active cell or Specified cell option to specify the cell from which to start
searching for the empty cell. If you have selected the Specified cell option, specify the
address of the cell in the field.
3. Select the left, right, up, or down option to specify the direction in which to search for
the next empty cell.

Read cell formula

Gets the formula available in the Active cell or Specified cell and assigns the output to a
string variable. This action returns a blank value if the specified cell does not contain a
formula.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the Active cell or Specified cell option to specify the cell from which to read the
formula. If you have selected the Specified cell option, specify the address of the cell in
the field.
3. Select a string variable to store the name of the formula from the Assign the output to
variable list.

Replace

Finds a piece of text from the source string and replaces it with the text you specify. A
regular expression is a sequence of characters that define a search pattern.

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Procedure:
1. Specify the string from which you want to find and replace a part of the string in
the Source string field.
2. Specify the string that you want to replace in the Find string field.
3. Select the Match case option, if you want to match the case of the text while finding the
string or the Do not match case, if you do not want to match the case of the text.
4. Select the A regular expression option, if the text you have specified in the Find
string is a regular expression or the Not a regular expression, if the text is not a regular
expression.
5. Enter a value in the Start from field to specify the number of occurrences from which
you want to start replacing the find text.
6. Enter a value in the Count field to specify the number of times the find text must be
replaced.
7. Enter the text you want to replace with in the Replace with field.
8. Select the string variable that you want to use to store the output from the Assign the
output to variable list.

Set cell

Sets a value in the Active cell or Specific cell in a Microsoft Excel worksheet or a CSV file.
You can also use this action to set a formula.
Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the Active cell or Specified cell option to specify the cell in which to set the value.
If you have selected the Specified cell option, specify the address of the cell in the field.
3. Enter the value to set in the Cell value field.

Set cell formula

Sets a formula in the active cell or a specific cell in a Microsoft Excel worksheet or a CSV
file.
Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the Set formula for active cell or Set formula for specified cell option to specify
the cell in which to set the formula. If you have selected the Set formula for specified
cell option, specify the address of the cell in the field.
3. Enter the formula to set in the Enter formula for specific cell field.

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2. Row and column operations
Perform operations such as inserting new rows and columns and hiding and unhiding rows
and columns.

Get column name

Retrieves the column name that contains the specific cell and stores it to a string variable.
This action supports .xlsx and .xlxm files.

Procedure:
1. Select the Active cell or Specific cell option to specify the cell location.
2. Enter the name of the session used to open the workbook with the Open action.
3. Select a string variable from the Save the column name to variable list.

Get row number

Retrieves the row number that contains the specific cell and stores it to a string variable. This
action supports .xlsx and .xlxm files.

Procedure:
1. Select the Active cell or Specific cell option to specify the cell location.
2. Enter the name of the session used to open the workbook with the Open action.
3. Select a string variable from the Save the row number to variable list.

Hide row(s)/column(s) in selection

Hides rows or columns in the current worksheet.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the appropriate option to specify whether to hide one or more rows and columns.

Insert/Delete Row(s)/Column(s)

Creates or removes row(s) or column(s) from the current worksheet or CSV file.

Procedure:
1. Specify the name of the session in which you want to perform the action in the Session
name field.
2. Select the Row operations if you want to insert or delete rows from the worksheet.
3. Select the Column operations if you want to insert or delete columns from the
worksheet.

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Read column

Extracts data from a column and stores it in a list variable of string data type.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the From active cell or From specific cell option to specify the starting point. You
can also select the Read full column option to extract data for the entire column.
3. Select a list variable of string data type that you want to use to store the extracted values.

Read row

Extracts data from a row and stores it in a list variable of string data type.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the From active cell or From specific cell option to specify the starting point. You
can also select the Read full row option to extract data for the entire row.
3. Select a list variable of string data type that you want to use to store the extracted values.

Remove blank rows

Removes blank rows from the current worksheet. You can specify the range from which you
want to delete the blank rows.

Select cell(s)/row(s)/column(s)

Selects cells, rows, or columns.

Procedure:
1. Specify the name of the session in which you want to perform the action in the Session
name field.
2. Select an option from the Select list to specify whether you want to select a cell, row, or
column

Unhides row(s)/column(s) in selection

Unhides the hidden rows or columns in the current worksheet.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the appropriate option to specify whether you want to unhide a row or column and
which row or column to unhide.

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3. Table operations
Perform operations such as sorting and filtering data in a table, inserting and deleting
columns, and getting the table range.

Delete table column

Deletes a column in a table.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify the Table name from which you want to delete a column.
3. Select the Name or Position to specify the name or position of the column to delete.

Filter table

Filters data from a column in a table.

Procedure:
1. Specify the name of the session in which you want to perform the action in the Session
name field.
2. Specify the name of the table from which you want to filter data in the Table name field.
3. Select the Column name to specify the name of the column or the Column position to
specify the position of the column that contains the data you want to filter.
4. Select the Number option if the column you have specified contains number data.
5. Select the Text option if the column you have specified contains textual data.

Get table range

Gets the range of a table available in a worksheet and stores the output in a string variable.
Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify the Table name for which you want to get the range.
3. Select the options to specify whether you want to include a header and pivot table in the
range and a variable to store the output.

Insert table column

Inserts a column in a table.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify the Table name in which you want to insert a column.
3. Specify the name of the column in the Column name field and the position where you
want to insert the column in the Column position field.

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Sort table

Sorts the data in a column of a table. This action enables you to sort numeric and text data.
Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify the Table name for which you want to sort the data.
3. Select the Column name or Column position to specify the name or position of the
column.
4. Select an appropriate option from the Number or Text list to specify the sort order.

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4. Worksheet operations
Perform operations such as creating and deleting a worksheet, appending data, and hiding and
unhiding a worksheet.

Access password protected worksheet

Accesses a password-protected worksheet in the current workbook.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Enter the password to access the worksheet.

Append worksheet

Appends a worksheet from another workbook to the current workbook.

Procedure:
1. Specify the name of the session in which you want to perform the action in the Session
name field.
2. Select an option to specify the location of the worksheet from which you want to append
the worksheet.
3. Select the Password is required option if the Microsoft Excel worksheet requires a
password to open it.
4. Optional: In the User password or Owner password field, enter a password to restrict
access to the encrypted PDF file.
5. Select the Enter worksheet name or Enter worksheet index option to specify the name
or number of the worksheet that you want to append.

Create worksheet

Creates a worksheet in the current workbook.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify either an index number in the Sheet by Index field or a name in the Sheet by
Name field for the worksheet.

Delete worksheet

Deletes a worksheet from the current workbook.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify either an index number in the Sheet by Index field or a name in the Sheet by
Name field for the worksheet.

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Get current worksheet name

Gets the name of the current worksheet and assigns it to a string variable.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select a string variable that you want to use to store the name of the worksheet from
the Assign the output to variable list.

Get worksheet as data table

Gets data from a worksheet and saves it in a table variable.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify either an index number in the Sheet by Index field or a name in the Sheet by
Name field for the worksheet.

Get worksheet names

Gets the names of all the worksheets and assigns them to a list variable of string data type.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select a string variable that you want to use to store the name of the worksheet from
the Assign the output to variable list.

Hide worksheet

Hides a worksheet from the current workbook.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify the name of the worksheet to hide in the Enter worksheet name to hide field.

Password protect worksheet

Protects a worksheet with a password. You can also specify the operations to restrict on the
worksheet.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify the password you want to use to protect the worksheet and select the check boxes
for the operation that you want to restrict on the worksheet.

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Rename worksheet

Renames a worksheet in the current workbook.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify either an index number in the Sheet by Index field or a name in the Sheet by
Name field for the worksheet.

Retrieve sheets count

Gets the number of sheets available in the current workbook and stores it in a number
variable.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the appropriate option to specify whether to include the hidden worksheet or not
and assign the count to a variable.

Run macro

Runs a macro in a worksheet.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify the name of the macro you want to run and its arguments.

Switch to sheet

Activates a particular sheet in a Microsoft Excel file.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify whether to activate the Sheet by Index (numerical value) or Sheet by Name.

Unhide all worksheets

Unhides all worksheets in the current workbook. Enter the name of the session used to open
the current workbook with the Open action.

Unhide worksheet

Unhides a specific worksheet in the current workbook.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.

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2. Specify whether to activate the Sheet by Index (numerical value) or Sheet by Name.

Write data table to worksheet

Writes data available in a data table variable in a worksheet.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify the data table variable that contains the data you want to write in a worksheet.
3. Specify whether you want to write data in the currently Active worksheet or Specific
worksheet.
4. Specify the address of the cell that you want to use as the starting point of the data in
the Specify the first cell field.

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5. Workbook operations
Perform operations such as opening a workbook, appending data, protecting and unprotecting
a workbook, and converting a Microsoft Excel workbook to a PDF file.

Append workbook
Adds all the worksheets from the specified workbook to the end of the currently open
workbook.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify the workbook from which you want to append the worksheets in the Append
from workbook field.
3. If the workbook is protected, select the Password is required check box and enter the
password in the To open field.

Close

Closes the current workbook and provides an option to Save changes when closing the file.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.

Convert excel to PDF

Converts the entire workbook, specific worksheets in a workbook, or a CSV file to a PDF
file.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify whether you want to convert the Entire excel file, Active sheet, or Specific
sheet to a PDF file.
3. Enter a name for the PDF file in the Select PDF file name field.
4. Specify the location where you want to save the file in the Select PDF storage
location field.

Create workbook

Creates a Microsoft Excel workbook or a CSV file.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Specify the location where you want to save the workbook in the File path field.
3. Specify the name of the worksheet and passwords to open and edit the workbook.

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Open

Opens a Microsoft Excel worksheet or a CSV file. This action enables you to specify whether
to open the worksheet in read-only mode or read-write mode, a password to open the
worksheet, and so on.

Procedure:
1. Specify a name for the session in the Session name field.
2. Select from where you want to open the Microsoft Excel worksheet.
3. Select the Specific sheet name option and specify the name of the sheet to activate when
the Microsoft Excel worksheet opens.
4. Select Read-only mode or Edit mode to open the Microsoft Excel worksheet in read-
only or edit mode respectively.
5. Select the Password is required check box if a password is required to open or edit the
Microsoft Excel worksheet.
6. Optional: In the User password or Owner password field, enter a password to restrict
access to the encrypted PDF file.
7. Select the Sheet contains a header check box if the Microsoft Excel worksheet contains
a header row.
8. Select the Load Add-ins check box if you want to load the add-ins available in the
Microsoft Excel worksheet.

Protect workbook

Protects the workbook and its structure using a password. Protecting a workbook prevents
other users from opening the workbook without the password and protecting the structure of a
workbook prevents other users from adding, moving, deleting, hiding, and renaming
worksheets within that workbook.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the Protect workbook and Protect workbook structure check boxes and provide
a password in the respective fields.

Set session variable

Assigns the session name to a variable.

Use this action in a parent bot, and then insert the variable containing the session name in
Excel-related actions in the child bot to associate the actions with the file opened in that
session. When you run the bot, it passes the session variable to the child bot, which enables
the child bot to process the data in the file opened in the parent bot.

Note: The parent and child bots must use actions from the same Excel package version to
pass the session variable.

Example of sharing an Excel session between bots

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Save workbook

Saves the current workbook. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook
with the Open action.

Unprotect workbook

Unprotects a workbook and its structure. Unprotecting a workbook removes the restriction
applied on opening the workbook and unprotecting the structure of a workbook removes the
restriction applied on modifying the structure of the workbook. Unprotecting allows other
users to open the workbook, add, move, delete, hide, and rename worksheets within the
workbook.

Procedure:
1. Enter the name of the session used to open the current workbook with the Open action.
2. Select the Unprotect workbook and Unprotect workbook structure check boxes and
provide a password to unprotect the workbook structure.

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