iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI · error · ArgumentException

Invalid sparkline type: '{spkTypeStr}'. Valid values: line,

Error message

Invalid sparkline type: '{spkTypeStr}'. Valid values: line, column, stacked (alias: winloss/win-loss).

What it means

Thrown when the sparkline `type=` property (defaulting to `line`) does not map to one of the three OOXML sparkline types. The switch accepts line, column, and stacked (with winloss/win-loss as aliases for stacked). Any other token — e.g. `bar`, `pie`, `area` — hits the default arm and throws. This explicit rejection (vs. silently mapping to line) was added so an invalid type doesn't produce a wrong-shaped sparkline.

Source

Thrown at src/officecli/Handlers/Excel/ExcelHandler.Add.Drawings.cs:1007

        // semantically dead <xne:sqref> anchor with no warning; validate the
        // final sqref like every other cell-ref input.
        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(spkCell)
            || !Regex.IsMatch(spkCell, @"^\$?[A-Za-z]{1,3}\$?\d+(:\$?[A-Za-z]{1,3}\$?\d+)?$"))
            throw new ArgumentException(
                $"Invalid sparkline 'location': '{spkCell}'. Expected a cell reference like F1 (or a range like F1:F5).");
        ParseCellReference(spkCell.Replace("$", "").Split(':')[0]);

        // Determine sparkline type
        // bt-2: reject invalid types (e.g. "bar") instead of silently mapping
        // to Line. Sparkline OOXML has exactly three types: line/column/stacked
        // (winloss is an alias for stacked).
        var spkTypeStr = properties.GetValueOrDefault("type", "line").ToLowerInvariant();
        var spkType = spkTypeStr switch
        {
            "line" => X14.SparklineTypeValues.Line,
            "column" => X14.SparklineTypeValues.Column,
            "stacked" or "winloss" or "win-loss" => X14.SparklineTypeValues.Stacked,
            _ => throw new ArgumentException(
                $"Invalid sparkline type: '{spkTypeStr}'. Valid values: line, column, stacked (alias: winloss/win-loss).")
        };

        // Build the SparklineGroup
        var spkGroup = new X14.SparklineGroup();
        // Only set Type attribute for non-line (line is default in OOXML)
        if (spkType != X14.SparklineTypeValues.Line)
            spkGroup.Type = spkType;

        // Series color
        var spkColor = properties.GetValueOrDefault("color", "4472C4");
        spkGroup.SeriesColor = new X14.SeriesColor { Rgb = ParseHelpers.NormalizeArgbColor(spkColor) };

        // Negative color
        if (properties.TryGetValue("negativecolor", out var negColor))
            spkGroup.NegativeColor = new X14.NegativeColor { Rgb = ParseHelpers.NormalizeArgbColor(negColor) };

        // Boolean flags

View on GitHub (pinned to 1ced45e900)

Solutions

1. Use line, column, or stacked (winloss / win-loss alias stacked).
2. Omit type to get the default line sparkline.

Example fix

// before
add ./book.xlsx /Sheet1 sparkline --prop location=F1 --prop dataRange=A1:E1 --prop type=bar
// after
add ./book.xlsx /Sheet1 sparkline --prop location=F1 --prop dataRange=A1:E1 --prop type=column

var validSparkType = new[]{"line","column","stacked","winloss","win-loss"};
if (!validSparkType.Contains((sparkType ?? "line").ToLowerInvariant()))
    throw new InvalidOperationException($"Invalid sparkline type '{sparkType}'");

static readonly HashSet<string> SparkTypeTokens = new(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
    {"line","column","stacked","winloss","win-loss"};
static bool IsValidSparklineType(string? v) => v is null || SparkTypeTokens.Contains(v);

try { handler.AddSparkline(...); }
catch (ArgumentException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("Invalid sparkline type"))
{ /* default to line or reprompt with the 3 types */ }

When it happens

Trigger: Passing `--prop type=bar` (Excel charts have bars; sparklines do not), `--prop type=win_loss` (underscore form not accepted — use win-loss), or `--prop type=area`. Default is line when type is omitted, so this only fires when an explicit bad type is given.

Common situations: Confusing sparkline types with chart types; using underscore-separated form (`win_loss`) instead of hyphenated (`win-loss`); locale-specific terms.

Related errors

• Unknown displayEmptyCellsAs value '{deca}'. Valid: gap, span
• Invalid valign value: '{shpValign}'. Valid: top, center, bot
• Unknown underline value '{shpUnder}'. Valid: single, double,
• Unknown align value '{shpAlign}'. Valid: left, center, right
• Sheet not found: {spkSheetName}

AI-assisted analysis of iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI@1ced45e900 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5eaf9e2e1738f4f3. Report an issue: GitHub.