pyxll/pyxll-agent-skills
A curated collection of Agent Skills for working with PYXLL, to help AI agents write and understand code using the PyXLL Excel add-in.
99
90%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
100%
1.56xAverage score across 17 eval scenarios
Advisory
Suggest reviewing before use
backstage.mdskills/office-customui-xsd/resources/
Backstage (File Menu)
The Backstage is the full-screen view opened by clicking the "File" tab. You can add custom tabs and fast-command buttons to it.
Structure
backstage
├─ tab (0–255, CT_BackstageTab)
│ ├─ firstColumn (CT_BackstageGroups)
│ │ ├─ taskFormGroup (or)
│ │ ├─ group (CT_BackstageGroup)
│ │ └─ taskGroup
│ └─ secondColumn (CT_SimpleGroups)
│ ├─ group
│ └─ taskGroup
└─ button (0–255, CT_BackstageFastCommandButton)backstage element
<backstage onShow="OnBackstageShow" onHide="OnBackstageHide">
<tab id="myTab" label="My Tab" keytip="MT">
...
</tab>
<button id="myFastCmd"
label="Quick Export"
imageMso="FileExportToExcel"
onAction="OnQuickExport"
isDefinitive="true"/>
</backstage>| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
onShow | Callback when Backstage opens |
onHide | Callback when Backstage closes |
tab element (BackstageTab)
A full tab page in the Backstage.
<tab id="myBackstageTab"
label="My Settings"
keytip="MS"
insertAfterMso="TabInfo"
columnWidthPercent="40">
<firstColumn>
<group id="myGroup" label="Options">
...
</group>
</firstColumn>
<secondColumn>
<group id="myGroup2" label="Preview">
...
</group>
</secondColumn>
</tab>| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
columnWidthPercent | Percentage width of the first column (1–99) |
firstColumnMinWidth / firstColumnMaxWidth | Pixel constraints for first column |
secondColumnMinWidth / secondColumnMaxWidth | Pixel constraints for second column |
title / getTitle | Optional large title shown in the tab |
button (fast command)
A button in the left navigation pane of the Backstage (like "New", "Open", "Save As").
<button id="myFastCmd"
label="Export Data"
imageMso="DataExportExcel"
onAction="OnExportData"
isDefinitive="true"
insertAfterMso="FileSave"/>isDefinitive="true" closes the Backstage when the button is clicked.
group (BackstageGroup)
Groups in the Backstage have a different structure from ribbon groups.
<group id="myBsGroup"
label="Export Settings"
style="normal"
showLabel="true"
helperText="Configure export options below.">
<primaryItem>
<button id="exportBtn"
label="Export Now"
imageMso="DataExportExcel"
onAction="OnExport"
isDefinitive="true"/>
</primaryItem>
<topItems>
<editBox id="filename" label="File name:" getText="GetFilename" onChange="OnFilenameChanged"/>
<dropDown id="format" label="Format:" onAction="OnFormatChanged" getSelectedItemIndex="GetFormatIndex">
<item id="csv" label="CSV"/>
<item id="xlsx" label="Excel"/>
</dropDown>
</topItems>
<bottomItems>
<checkBox id="includeHeader" label="Include header row" getPressed="GetIncludeHeader" onAction="OnHeaderToggle"/>
</bottomItems>
</group>| Attribute | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
style / getStyle | "normal", "warning", "error" | Visual style of the group |
helperText / getHelperText | string | Descriptive text shown above controls |
showLabel / getShowLabel | boolean | Whether to show the group label |
Structure of group:
primaryItem(optional, 0–1): abuttonormenuas the primary actiontopItems(optional): controls shown above the primary item areabottomItems(optional): controls shown below the primary item area
Controls available in Backstage groups
The topItems and bottomItems (and groupBox, layoutContainer children) accept:
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
button | Action button with style (normal/borderless/large) and expand |
checkBox | Checkbox with expand, description, screentip |
editBox | Text input with alignLabel, expand |
dropDown | Dropdown with alignLabel, expand, optional item children |
radioGroup | Group of radio buttons (radioButton children) |
comboBox | Editable dropdown with item children |
hyperlink | Clickable link with target/getTarget, expand |
labelControl | Read-only text with noWrap, expand |
groupBox | Labelled box container for further controls |
layoutContainer | Layout helper with align, expand, layoutChildren |
imageControl | Displays an image with altText/getAltText |
expand attribute
Most Backstage controls support expand:
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
"horizontal" | Fill available horizontal space |
"vertical" | Fill available vertical space |
"both" | Fill both directions |
"neither" | Use natural size (default) |
alignLabel attribute
Controls label alignment on Backstage controls:
"topLeft", "top", "topRight", "left", "center", "right",
"bottomLeft", "bottom", "bottomRight"
taskGroup / taskFormGroup
taskGroup shows a list of tasks (like the "New" tab showing templates).
<taskGroup id="myTaskGroup" label="Templates" allowedTaskSizes="largeMediumSmall">
<category id="cat1" label="Built-in">
<task id="task1"
label="Blank Workbook"
imageMso="FileNew"
onAction="OnNewBlank"
description="Create a blank workbook"/>
</category>
</taskGroup>allowedTaskSizes values: "largeMediumSmall", "largeMedium", "large",
"mediumSmall", "medium", "small".
taskFormGroup is similar but each task contains Backstage group elements (a form layout).