Format Conversion

XLSX Data Validation Dropdown

Batch-create dropdowns, dependent cascading dropdowns, and input prompts in Excel workbooks using data validation rules

file· File resultOpen tool

Quick start

Call this tool from your code in three languages.

cURL

# 1) Upload each file first → returns { filePath }
curl -X POST 'https://api.elysiatools.com/upload/xlsx-data-validation-dropdown' \
  -F 'file=@/path/to/workbookFile.ext'

# 2) Call the tool with the returned filePath values
curl -X POST 'https://api.elysiatools.com/en/api/tools/xlsx-data-validation-dropdown' \
  -F 'workbookFile=/public/samples/xlsx/data-entry-template.xlsx' \
  -F 'rulesJson=[
  {
    "type": "list",
    "sheetName": "Input",
    "target": "B2:B50",
    "values": [
      "Open",
      "Pending",
      "Closed"
    ],
    "promptTitle": "Status",
    "prompt": "Choose a workflow status"
  },
  {
    "type": "cascade",
    "sheetName": "Input",
    "parentTarget": "C2:C50",
    "childTarget": "D2:D50",
    "mapping": {
      "Hardware": [
        "Laptop",
        "Monitor",
        "Keyboard"
      ],
      "Software": [
        "CRM",
        "ERP",
        "Analytics"
      ]
    },
    "parentPromptTitle": "Category",
    "parentPrompt": "Choose a category first",
    "childPromptTitle": "Item",
    "childPrompt": "Then choose an item"
  }
]'

API reference

Send a POST request with your inputs as JSON. File parameters require a separate upload first.

Endpoint

HTTP

POST https://api.elysiatools.com/en/api/tools/xlsx-data-validation-dropdown

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
workbookFile	fileupload required	Yes	—
rulesJson	textarea	Yes	—

File-type parameters must be uploaded first via POST /upload/xlsx-data-validation-dropdown, then the returned filePath is passed to the corresponding file field.

Response format

File result

JSON

{
  "filePath": "/public/processing/randomid.ext",
  "fileName": "output.ext",
  "contentType": "application/octet-stream",
  "size": 1024,
  "metadata": {
    "key": "value"
  },
  "error": "Error message (optional)",
  "message": "Notification message (optional)"
}

MCP integration

Add this tool to your Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can list and call it.

Server configuration

Add this block to your MCP client configuration:

mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "elysiatools-xlsx-data-validation-dropdown": {
      "name": "xlsx-data-validation-dropdown",
      "description": "Batch-create dropdowns, dependent cascading dropdowns, and input prompts in Excel workbooks using data validation rules",
      "baseUrl": "https://api.elysiatools.com/mcp/sse?toolId=xlsx-data-validation-dropdown",
      "command": "",
      "args": [],
      "env": {},
      "isActive": true,
      "type": "sse"
    }
  }
}

List available tools

After connecting to the SSE endpoint, list the exposed tools:

tools/list

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/list"
}

Call this tool

Invoke the tool by its id, passing arguments built from its parameters:

tools/call

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 2,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "xlsx-data-validation-dropdown",
    "arguments": {
  "workbookFile": "/public/samples/xlsx/data-entry-template.xlsx",
  "rulesJson": "[\n  {\n    \"type\": \"list\",\n    \"sheetName\": \"Input\",\n    \"target\": \"B2:B50\",\n    \"values\": [\n      \"Open\",\n      \"Pending\",\n      \"Closed\"\n    ],\n    \"promptTitle\": \"Status\",\n    \"prompt\": \"Choose a workflow status\"\n  },\n  {\n    \"type\": \"cascade\",\n    \"sheetName\": \"Input\",\n    \"parentTarget\": \"C2:C50\",\n    \"childTarget\": \"D2:D50\",\n    \"mapping\": {\n      \"Hardware\": [\n        \"Laptop\",\n        \"Monitor\",\n        \"Keyboard\"\n      ],\n      \"Software\": [\n        \"CRM\",\n        \"ERP\",\n        \"Analytics\"\n      ]\n    },\n    \"parentPromptTitle\": \"Category\",\n    \"parentPrompt\": \"Choose a category first\",\n    \"childPromptTitle\": \"Item\",\n    \"childPrompt\": \"Then choose an item\"\n  }\n]"
}
  }
}

Chain multiple tools in one session with a comma-separated toolId list, e.g. /mcp/sse?toolId=png-to-webp,jpg-to-webp,gif-to-webp (max 20).

File parameters accept a public file URL only (https://…). Local paths, data: URIs, and Base64 strings are not supported.

Questions or issues? Contact [email protected]