Excel Row and Column Operations

Excel Row and Column Operations

Manage Excel row and column operations with AI-powered automation. Insert, delete, resize, hide/unhide Excel rows and columns for perfect spreadsheet layout management.

Available Tools

  • row_column_operations - Excel row/column operations (insert, delete, resize, hide/unhide) with AI Excel
  • row_column_operations_batch - Perform multiple Excel row/column operations in batch using Excel MCP

Single Operations

Insert Rows

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "reports/layout-test.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Data",
    "operation": "insert_rows",
    "rows": "5",
    "count": 2
  }
}

Delete Columns

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "reports/cleanup.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Sheet1",
    "operation": "delete_columns",
    "columns": "C:D"
  }
}

Set Row Height

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "reports/formatted.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Report",
    "operation": "set_row_height",
    "rows": "1",
    "height": 30
  }
}

Set Column Width

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "reports/formatted.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Report",
    "operation": "set_column_width",
    "columns": "A:F",
    "width": 15
  }
}

Batch Operations

Comprehensive Layout Setup

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations_batch",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "reports/professional-layout.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Summary Report",
    "operations": [
      {
        "operation": "set_row_height",
        "rows": "3",
        "height": 30
      },
      {
        "operation": "set_row_height",
        "rows": "4:6",
        "height": 20
      },
      {
        "operation": "set_column_width",
        "columns": "C",
        "width": 20
      },
      {
        "operation": "set_column_width",
        "columns": "D:G",
        "width": 15
      },
      {
        "operation": "auto_fit_rows",
        "rows": "7:10"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Insert and Delete Operations

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations_batch",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "reports/restructure.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Sheet1",
    "operations": [
      {
        "operation": "insert_rows",
        "rows": "5",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "operation": "insert_columns",
        "columns": "D",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "operation": "delete_rows",
        "rows": "8:9"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Hide and Unhide Operations

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations_batch",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "reports/visibility.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Sheet1",
    "operations": [
      {
        "operation": "hide_rows",
        "rows": "15:16"
      },
      {
        "operation": "hide_columns",
        "columns": "H:I"
      },
      {
        "operation": "unhide_rows",
        "rows": "15"
      },
      {
        "operation": "unhide_columns",
        "columns": "H"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Auto-Fit Operations

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations_batch",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "reports/auto-sized.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Data",
    "operations": [
      {
        "operation": "auto_fit_columns",
        "columns": "A:F"
      },
      {
        "operation": "auto_fit_rows",
        "rows": "1:20"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Operation Types Reference

Insert Operations

  • insert_rows - Insert new rows at specified position
  • insert_columns - Insert new columns at specified position

Delete Operations

  • delete_rows - Delete specified rows
  • delete_columns - Delete specified columns

Resize Operations

  • set_row_height - Set specific row height in points
  • set_column_width - Set specific column width in characters
  • auto_fit_rows - Auto-fit rows to content height
  • auto_fit_columns - Auto-fit columns to content width

Visibility Operations

  • hide_rows - Hide specified rows
  • unhide_rows - Show hidden rows
  • hide_columns - Hide specified columns
  • unhide_columns - Show hidden columns

Range Specifications

Row Ranges

  • "1" - Single row (row 1)
  • "1:3" - Range of rows (rows 1 to 3)
  • "5:10" - Multiple consecutive rows

Column Ranges

  • "A" - Single column (column A)
  • "A:C" - Range of columns (columns A to C)
  • "D:F" - Multiple consecutive columns

Advanced Examples

Report Header Setup

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations_batch",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "reports/header-setup.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Report",
    "operations": [
      {
        "operation": "set_row_height",
        "rows": "1:2",
        "height": 35
      },
      {
        "operation": "set_column_width",
        "columns": "A",
        "width": 25
      },
      {
        "operation": "set_column_width",
        "columns": "B:E",
        "width": 12
      },
      {
        "operation": "set_column_width",
        "columns": "F",
        "width": 18
      }
    ]
  }
}

Data Table Layout

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations_batch",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "reports/data-table.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Data",
    "operations": [
      {
        "operation": "insert_rows",
        "rows": "1",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "operation": "set_row_height",
        "rows": "1",
        "height": 25
      },
      {
        "operation": "auto_fit_columns",
        "columns": "A:J"
      },
      {
        "operation": "set_row_height",
        "rows": "2:100",
        "height": 18
      }
    ]
  }
}

Presentation Layout

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations_batch",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "reports/presentation.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Summary",
    "operations": [
      {
        "operation": "hide_columns",
        "columns": "B:C"
      },
      {
        "operation": "hide_rows",
        "rows": "10:15"
      },
      {
        "operation": "set_column_width",
        "columns": "A",
        "width": 30
      },
      {
        "operation": "set_column_width",
        "columns": "D:G",
        "width": 15
      }
    ]
  }
}

Measurement Guidelines

Row Heights (Points)

  • 15 - Default row height
  • 20 - Slightly taller for readability
  • 25 - Good for headers
  • 30 - Large headers
  • 40 - Extra large for titles

Column Widths (Characters)

  • 8 - Narrow columns (dates, codes)
  • 12 - Standard data columns
  • 15 - Medium text columns
  • 20 - Wide text columns
  • 25 - Extra wide for descriptions
  • 30 - Very wide for long text

Best Practices

  1. Header Sizing: Make headers taller and wider for emphasis
  2. Data Consistency: Use consistent row heights for data rows
  3. Auto-Fit: Use auto-fit for dynamic content sizing
  4. Hide Unused: Hide empty rows/columns for cleaner appearance
  5. Logical Grouping: Group related resize operations in batches

Common Patterns

Report Setup Pattern

  1. Insert title rows at top
  2. Set header row height
  3. Auto-fit data columns
  4. Set standard data row height
  5. Hide unused areas

Data Import Pattern

  1. Insert rows for new data
  2. Auto-fit columns to content
  3. Standardize row heights
  4. Hide calculation columns

Presentation Pattern

  1. Hide detail rows/columns
  2. Enlarge summary areas
  3. Set presentation-friendly dimensions
  4. Show only relevant data

Error Handling

Invalid Row Range

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "test.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Sheet1", 
    "operation": "set_row_height",
    "rows": "0",
    "height": 20
  }
}

Result: Error - row numbers start from 1

Invalid Column Range

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "test.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Sheet1",
    "operation": "set_column_width", 
    "columns": "ZZ",
    "width": 10
  }
}

Result: May succeed but beyond typical usage

Missing Required Parameters

{
  "tool": "row_column_operations",
  "parameters": {
    "filepath": "test.xlsx",
    "sheet_name": "Sheet1",
    "operation": "set_row_height",
    "rows": "1"
  }
}

Result: Error - height parameter required

Excel Cell Formatting Excel Cell Operations