iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI · error · ArgumentException

Invalid comboTypes token '{t}'. Expected bar/column/line/are

Error message

Invalid comboTypes token '{t}'. Expected bar/column/line/area/scatter, optionally with a stacked/percentstacked suffix (e.g. 'column,line' or 'columnstacked,line').

What it means

The comboTypes setter splits a comma-separated list of chart type tokens, strips optional 'stacked' or 'percentstacked' suffixes, and validates each base token against {bar, column, col, line, area, scatter}. Validation runs BEFORE any mutation to keep the rebuild atomic — unknown tokens used to silently fall through to the default LineChart arm, coercing garbage into line charts. Only the mini-language property that previously accepted typos.

Source

Thrown at src/officecli/Core/Chart/ChartHelper.Advanced.cs:517

    /// </summary>
    internal static void RebuildComboChart(C.Chart chart, string comboTypes)
    {
        var plotArea = chart.GetFirstChild<C.PlotArea>();
        if (plotArea == null) return;

        var typeList = comboTypes.Split(',').Select(t => t.Trim().ToLowerInvariant()).ToArray();

        // Validate every token BEFORE any mutation: unknown tokens used to fall
        // through to the default LineChart arm, silently coercing garbage
        // (combotypes=asdf,qwer) into line,line — the only mini-language prop
        // that accepted typos. Also keeps the rebuild atomic on bad input.
        foreach (var t in typeList)
        {
            var baseToken = t.EndsWith("percentstacked", StringComparison.Ordinal) ? t[..^14]
                : t.EndsWith("stacked", StringComparison.Ordinal) ? t[..^7]
                : t;
            if (baseToken is not ("bar" or "column" or "col" or "line" or "area" or "scatter"))
                throw new ArgumentException(
                    $"Invalid comboTypes token '{t}'. Expected bar/column/line/area/scatter, " +
                    "optionally with a stacked/percentstacked suffix (e.g. 'column,line' or 'columnstacked,line').");
        }

        // Read all existing series data
        var allSer = plotArea.Descendants<OpenXmlCompositeElement>()
            .Where(e => e.LocalName == "ser").ToList();

        if (allSer.Count == 0) return;

        // Read series data
        var seriesInfo = new List<(OpenXmlCompositeElement original, string targetType)>();
        for (int i = 0; i < allSer.Count; i++)
        {
            var targetType = i < typeList.Length ? typeList[i] : typeList[^1];
            seriesInfo.Add((allSer[i], targetType));
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 1ced45e900)

Solutions

Use only bar, column (or col), line, area, or scatter as combo types: 'column,line'.
Append 'stacked' or 'percentstacked' suffix for variants: 'columnstacked,line'.
Do not use pie, doughnut, radar, stock, or bubble in comboTypes — they are not supported in combo charts.

Example fix

// before
combotypes: "column,pie"
// after
combotypes: "column,line"
// stacked variant
combotypes: "columnstacked,line"

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

static readonly HashSet<string> ValidComboBaseTokens = new()
{ "bar", "column", "col", "line", "area", "scatter" };

static bool AreComboTypesValid(string comboTypes)
{
    foreach (var t in comboTypes.Split(',').Select(x => x.Trim().ToLowerInvariant()))
    {
        var baseToken = t.EndsWith("percentstacked", StringComparison.Ordinal) ? t[..^14]
            : t.EndsWith("stacked", StringComparison.Ordinal) ? t[..^7]
            : t;
        if (!ValidComboBaseTokens.Contains(baseToken)) return false;
    }
    return true;
}

Try / catch

try { ChartHelperAdvanced.ApplyComboTypes(plotArea, comboTypes); }
catch (ArgumentException ex) when (ex.Message.StartsWith("Invalid comboTypes token"))
{
    Console.Error.WriteLine($"{ex.Message}\nValid: bar, column, line, area, scatter (with optional stacked/percentstacked suffix).");
}

Prevention

Combo types only support bar, column, line, area, scatter — not pie, doughnut, or radar.
Spell-check type tokens before passing them.
Validate each token against the allowed set programmatically.

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a comboTypes value containing an unrecognized type token: 'column,asdf', 'pie,line', 'xyzstacked,bar'. The token (after suffix stripping) must be one of bar/column/col/line/area/scatter.

Common situations: Typing a chart type that is valid as a standalone chart but not as a combo member (e.g. 'pie' or 'doughnut' — combos only support bar/column/line/area/scatter). Misspelling 'column' as 'colunm' or 'colum'. Using 'colstacked' (valid) but with an unknown base like 'col2stacked'.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI@1ced45e900 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5162a92e58957ec9. Report an issue: GitHub.