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ExcelPipe CLI Reference | DataMystic

ExcelPipe Command-Line Reference

Automate batch find and replace operations across Microsoft Excel spreadsheets using ExcelPipe's command-line interface. Update data sources, replace images, and process thousands of .xls and .xlsx files in a single operation.

Command Syntax

ExcelPipe.exe [input options] [find/replace options] [data source options] [image options] [output options] [advanced options]

All parameters use the /parameter:value format. String values containing spaces must be enclosed in double quotes. Parameters are case-insensitive.

Input File Parameters

Parameter Description Example
/input:<path> Input file or folder path. Specify a single file or a folder to process all matching files. /input:"C:\Spreadsheets\budget.xlsx"
/inputmask:<mask> File mask filter when input is a folder. Supports wildcards. Default: *.xls;*.xlsx /inputmask:"*.xlsx;*.xlsm"
/subfolders Include subfolders recursively when input is a folder. /subfolders
/inputlist:<file> Path to a text file containing one input file path per line. /inputlist:"C:\filelist.txt"

Find and Replace Parameters

Parameter Description Example
/find:<text> Text string to search for in cell values, formulas, and text. Required for find-and-replace operations. /find:"Q3 2024"
/replace:<text> Replacement text. Use empty string for deletion: /replace:"" /replace:"Q4 2024"
/casesensitive Enable case-sensitive matching. Default: case-insensitive. /casesensitive
/wholeword Match whole words only. /wholeword
/findlist:<file> Path to a tab-delimited file with find/replace pairs (one pair per line). /findlist:"C:\replacements.txt"
/scope:<area> Limit search scope. Values: all, values, formulas, comments, headers, sheetnames. Default: all /scope:values
/sheets:<names> Limit processing to specific sheet names (semicolon-separated). Default: all sheets. /sheets:"Sheet1;Summary"
/hyperlinks Also find and replace within hyperlink URLs and display text. /hyperlinks

Data Source Update Parameters

Update external data connections, ODBC data sources, and linked workbook references.

Parameter Description Example
/datasource Enable data source update mode. Find/replace operations apply to data connection strings. /datasource
/findconnection:<text> Text to find within data connection strings (server names, database names, file paths). /findconnection:"OLDSERVER"
/replaceconnection:<text> Replacement text for data connection strings. /replaceconnection:"NEWSERVER"
/updatelinks Also update external workbook link references (e.g., [Budget2024.xlsx] references). /updatelinks
/findlink:<text> Text to find within workbook link paths. /findlink:"\\oldserver\share"
/replacelink:<text> Replacement text for workbook link paths. /replacelink:"\\newserver\share"

Image Replacement Parameters

Replace embedded images across spreadsheets (e.g., logos during rebranding).

Parameter Description Example
/replaceimage Enable image replacement mode. /replaceimage
/findimage:<file> Path to the image file to find (matched by content, not filename). Supports .png, .jpg, .bmp, .gif, .emf. /findimage:"C:\Images\old_logo.png"
/newimage:<file> Path to the replacement image file. /newimage:"C:\Images\new_logo.png"
/imagesize:<mode> How to handle size differences. Values: original (keep original dimensions), replacement (use new image dimensions), stretch (stretch to fill). Default: original /imagesize:original

Output Parameters

Parameter Description Example
/inplace Modify files in place (overwrite originals). Cannot be combined with /outputfolder. /inplace
/outputfolder:<path> Write modified files to this folder, preserving originals. Folder is created if it does not exist. /outputfolder:"C:\Output"
/backup Create a .bak backup of each file before modification. Only applies with /inplace. /backup
/log:<file> Write processing log to specified file. /log:"C:\Logs\excelpipe.log"
/summary Display summary of files processed and replacements made. /summary

Advanced Parameters

Parameter Description Example
/silent Suppress all dialog boxes and UI prompts. Essential for unattended operation. /silent
/noexcel Process files without launching Microsoft Excel (uses internal engine). Faster but fewer features. /noexcel
/timeout:<seconds> Maximum time in seconds per file. Default: 300. /timeout:120
/retries:<count> Number of retry attempts for locked files. Default: 0. /retries:3
/password:<pass> Password to open protected workbooks. /password:"secret123"
/preservemacros Preserve VBA macros in .xlsm files (default behaviour). Use /stripmacros to remove them. /preservemacros
/stripmacros Remove all VBA macros from processed files. /stripmacros

Complete Examples

Simple Find and Replace

Update a fiscal year reference across all spreadsheets:

ExcelPipe.exe /input:"C:\Finance\Budgets" /subfolders /inputmask:"*.xlsx" /find:"FY2024" /replace:"FY2025" /inplace /backup /silent /summary

Data Source Migration

Update ODBC connection strings after a database server migration:

ExcelPipe.exe /input:"C:\Reports" /subfolders /inputmask:"*.xlsx;*.xlsm" /datasource /findconnection:"SQLSERVER01" /replaceconnection:"SQLSERVER02" /updatelinks /findlink:"\\oldnas\data" /replacelink:"\\newnas\data" /inplace /silent /log:"C:\Logs\datasource_migration.log"

Logo Replacement (Rebranding)

Replace company logos across all Excel files after a rebrand:

ExcelPipe.exe /input:"C:\Templates" /subfolders /inputmask:"*.xlsx;*.xltx" /replaceimage /findimage:"C:\Branding\old_logo.png" /newimage:"C:\Branding\new_logo.png" /imagesize:original /inplace /backup /silent /summary

Batch Processing Script

Batch file for scheduled server migration updates:

@echo off
REM ExcelPipe - Update data sources after server migration
REM Schedule via Windows Task Scheduler for off-hours execution

set LOGFILE=C:\Logs\excelpipe_%date:~-4%%date:~4,2%%date:~7,2%.log

"C:\Program Files\DataMystic\ExcelPipe\ExcelPipe.exe" ^
  /input:"\\fileserver\shared\Finance" ^
  /subfolders ^
  /inputmask:"*.xlsx;*.xlsm;*.xls" ^
  /datasource ^
  /findconnection:"Server=DBPROD01;Database=Finance" ^
  /replaceconnection:"Server=DBPROD02;Database=Finance" ^
  /find:"\\\\oldnas\\reports" ^
  /replace:"\\\\newnas\\reports" ^
  /hyperlinks ^
  /inplace ^
  /backup ^
  /silent ^
  /log:"%LOGFILE%" ^
  /summary

if %ERRORLEVEL% NEQ 0 (
    echo ERROR: ExcelPipe failed with code %ERRORLEVEL% >> "%LOGFILE%"
)

echo Processing complete. See %LOGFILE% for details.

Exit Codes

Code Meaning
0 Success — all files processed without errors.
1 Partial success — some files processed, but one or more files failed.
2 No files found — no matching files in the input path.
3 Invalid parameters — one or more command-line parameters were invalid.
4 License error — ExcelPipe is not licensed or the trial has expired.
5 Fatal error — unexpected error. Check log for details.