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Tabular Data Tasks with the Excel Agent (Beta)
In tabular-data tasks, the Excel Agent processes a CSV file from an upstream task and stores tabular results as a CSV file. It can also store individual values, such as a total or count, in single-value fields.
Required Editions
| License Required |
|---|
This feature is a workspace that’s external to your Salesforce org and requires an Agentforce Operations license. To purchase an Agentforce Operations license, contact your Salesforce account executive. |
Tabular-data tasks process rows in a CSV file from an upstream task. Common operations include filtering rows or adding calculated columns.
Generating the Excel File
Unlike formula-based tasks, tabular-data tasks always generate an Excel file based on the task's Description.
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Documents | Leave empty. |
| Description | Contains instructions that the Excel Agent uses to generate [task name] automation.xlsx. The instructions identify Share information document and single-value fields used as inputs and describe the column structure of the input CSV. They also identify the Request information document and single-value fields that store outputs and define the row-level operations that the agent uses to produce them. |
| Share information | Includes the input document field and all scalar fields that the Description references. The input document field is always a CSV file. |
| Request information | Includes the task’s output fields. Include a document field to store the task’s CSV output. You can also include scalar outputs such as totals or counts as number or currency fields. |
Creating a Plan
A tabular-data task assigned to the Excel Agent requires a plan. A plan is the agent's interpretation of how to complete the task. The Test tab is the recommended way to generate a plan because it tests the task in isolation, without running the entire blueprint. For a tabular-data task, running the test also creates a calculation engine workbook named [task name] automation.xlsx and adds it to the task's Documents field. See Get AI Agent Tasks Ready for Run Time in Agentforce Operations.
Viewing the Generated Excel File
After the Excel Agent creates the plan, you can download a copy of the calculation engine workbook from the task's Documents field. Any changes you make to the downloaded copy don't affect the file associated with the task.
The workbook contains three types of tabs.
| Tab | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Summary tab | Summarizes the task, including the calculation steps and links to the input and output tabs. Named by using a PascalCase version of the task name. |
| Input tab | Shows the structure of the input CSV file, and has a column for each column that the file contains. This tab contains no values. Named by using a PascalCase version of the input document field name. |
| Output tab | Shows the structure of the output CSV file, and has a column for each column that the file contains. This tab contains no values, but does contain formulas for calculated fields. Named by using a PascalCase version of the output document field name. Each selected Request information output document field gets its own output tab. |
The summary worksheet contains several sections.
| Worksheet Section | Contents |
|---|---|
| INPUTS | The name of the task's Share information document field. Links to the input tab. Also, optionally, the names of scalar input fields. Scalar fields have no included values. |
| INTERMEDIATE | The names and values associated with constant values and intermediate calculations that the agent uses in the output formulas. If the task has no intermediate values, the worksheet doesn’t include this section. |
| OUTPUTS | The names of the task's Request information fields. Document field results link to their associated output tab. Also, optionally, the names of scalar output fields. The Result cell for each scalar output contains the formula that the Excel Agent generated. |
| Calculation Steps | The agent's plain-language description of the row-level operations it applied. |
Reviewing Agent Output
The Excel Agent produces a calculation audit workbook each time the task runs. The file is named [Documents file name]_executed.xlsx. The calculation audit workbook has the same tab structure as the calculation engine workbook, but contains values. On the summary tab, scalar input fields show their actual values. The input tab contains the CSV data from the Share information document field.
If you run the task from the Test tab, the [Documents file name]_executed.xlsx file appears in the AI AGENT ACTIVITY panel. Click the [Documents file name]_executed.xlsx file to download it.
If you run the task from a workflow, three files appear in the workflow's Documents tab for the task. The output CSV and calculation audit workbook are added by the Excel Agent. Click the calculation audit workbook name to download a copy. The third file is the calculation engine workbook, which is unchanged.
Downloaded files open in Protected View, which prevents calculated values from appearing in the Excel file. To see the calculated results, enable editing when you open the file.
Updating an Excel Agent Task
For many changes, you can update the calculation engine workbook directly rather than changing the task Description and regenerating the workbook. Changes that work this way include updating intermediate values or formulas and adding or removing fields on the summary tab. You can also add columns on the output tab.
To update the calculation engine workbook, download it from the task's Documents field and make your changes. Then remove the existing file from Documents and upload the updated file. Update the Share information and Request information fields to match any input or output changes. Then rerun the test to generate a new plan.
When updating the calculation engine workbook, don't change the file format from .xlsx. Don't rename rows in the INPUTS or OUTPUTS sections of the summary tab without also updating the corresponding Share information and Request information fields. Don't rename columns in the input or output tabs that other cells reference by name.
