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Excel Task Pane Guide

The Konsolidat task pane is an Office.js add-in that provides pipeline orchestration directly from Excel — login, monitor sync status, and trigger data refreshes without leaving your workbook.

Overview

The task pane appears as a sidebar panel in Excel, connected to your Frappe/Konsol server. It lets you:

  • Log in with Frappe credentials
  • View the latest pipeline run status (Queued, Extracting, Transforming, Success, Failed)
  • Trigger a new pipeline run (Airbyte sync + dbt build)
  • Monitor progress with auto-polling

Installation

Sideloading for Development

  1. Locate excel-addin/manifest.xml in the Konsolidat repository
  2. In Excel: Insert → My Add-ins → Upload My Add-in
  3. Select the manifest file
  4. The "Konsolidat" button appears on the Home tab

Manifest Details

Property Value
Add-in ID a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890
Version 1.1.0.0
Type TaskPaneApp
Source URL http://localhost:8069/assets/konsol/excel-addin/index.html
Permission ReadWriteDocument

The task pane assets are served from Frappe's static assets directory.

Production Deployment

For production, update manifest.xml: 1. Change the source URL to your production Frappe server 2. Add your production domain to AppDomains 3. Deploy via Microsoft 365 Admin Center or SharePoint App Catalog

Using the Task Pane

Login

  1. Click "Konsolidat" on the Home ribbon tab
  2. Enter your Frappe email and password
  3. Click Login

The task pane uses Frappe's session authentication (same credentials as Frappe Desk).

View Pipeline Status

After login, the status card shows the latest Pipeline Run: - Status: Queued, Extracting, Transforming, Success, or Failed - Created: Timestamp of the run - Rows Synced: Number of records from Airbyte - dbt Result: Build outcome (pass/fail)

Trigger a Pipeline Run

Click Trigger Pipeline to start a new run. This: 1. Creates a Pipeline Run record in Frappe 2. Triggers Airbyte sync (D365 → ClickHouse) 3. Runs dbt build after sync completes 4. Updates the status card

The task pane auto-polls every 5 seconds while the pipeline is running (status = Queued, Extracting, or Transforming).

Logout

Click the Logout button to end your Frappe session.

Architecture

sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant TaskPane as Task Pane (Office.js)
    participant Frappe as Frappe / Konsol

    User->>TaskPane: Click "Konsolidat"
    TaskPane->>Frappe: GET /api/method/frappe.auth.get_logged_user
    alt Not logged in
        TaskPane->>User: Show login form
        User->>TaskPane: Enter credentials
        TaskPane->>Frappe: POST /api/method/login
    end
    TaskPane->>Frappe: GET /api/resource/Pipeline Run?limit=1&order_by=creation desc
    Frappe-->>TaskPane: Latest run status
    User->>TaskPane: Click "Trigger Pipeline"
    TaskPane->>Frappe: POST /api/method/konsol.pipeline...trigger_pipeline
    loop While status in [Queued, Extracting, Transforming]
        TaskPane->>Frappe: GET /api/resource/Pipeline Run (poll every 5s)
    end
    Frappe-->>TaskPane: Final status (Success/Failed)

API Endpoints Used

Method Endpoint Purpose
POST /api/method/login Authenticate
GET /api/method/frappe.auth.get_logged_user Check session
POST /api/method/logout End session
GET /api/resource/Pipeline Run Fetch latest run status
POST /api/method/konsol.pipeline.doctype.pipeline_run.pipeline_run.trigger_pipeline Start new run

Troubleshooting

Symptom Cause Fix
Task pane is blank Frappe not running at manifest URL Start Frappe on http://localhost:8069
Login fails Wrong credentials or CORS issue Check credentials; verify browser console for errors
"Trigger Pipeline" no response Pipeline Run doctype missing Run bench migrate
Status stuck on "Queued" Background workers not running Ensure bench start includes the worker process
Task pane not appearing in ribbon Manifest not loaded Re-sideload the manifest via Insert → My Add-ins

Relationship to VBA Module

The task pane and VBA module serve different purposes:

Feature VBA Module Task Pane
Query financial data Yes (=EPM() formulas) No
Refresh values Yes (Ctrl+Shift+R) No
Trigger pipeline No Yes
Monitor sync status No Yes
Login required Yes (EPM_Login) Yes (task pane login)
Session Separate (XMLHTTP cookies) Separate (browser cookies)

Use both together: the task pane to trigger and monitor data refreshes, the VBA module to query the results.

Next Steps