The custom function in the Excel add-in automatically generates JSON metadata, but the description of the function parameters is not displayed in Excel.

Question

I want to be able to see descriptive information about the parameters of a custom function in Excel.

For example, the description of the instrument parameter: "Instrument ID".

Below is my code;，I hope it can be helpful.

/**
 * Get the market property value.
 * @customfunction
 * @param instrument  Instrument ID.
 * @param property Market Property.
 * @param invocation Custom function handler.
 */
export function market(
  instrument: string,
  property: string,
  invocation: CustomFunctions.StreamingInvocation<string>
): void {
 //
}

Answer 1

Hello nan gou,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Forum.

When using custom functions in an Excel add-in, the descriptions for function parameters may not automatically display in Excel unless the metadata is properly defined and included.

Here are some steps that you can kindly follow to ensure the parameter descriptions show correctly:

• If you are using the JSON metadata file for custom functions, make sure that each parameter has a clear "description" field defined. This field is what Excel reads to display the parameter tooltip.
• When generating JSON metadata automatically, kindly verify the generation process includes theses descriptions. If not, you might need to manually add or customized the JSON metadata to include them.
• In JavaScript or TypeScript, use JSDoc comments with @param annotations alongside the @customfunction tag, as these can be used by tooling to generate metadata that includes descriptions.
• The manifest.xml file of the add-in must properly reference the JSON metadata file and include all required permissions and settings for custom functions.
• The Excel's UI showing parameter descriptions might note refresh immediately after updates. Restarting Excel or clearing the Office cache can help with this.

If the descriptions still don't show, you can kindly review your metadata structure against the official Office Add-ins documentation for custom functions parameter options: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/dev/add-ins/excel/custom-functions-parameter-options?tabs=javascript

I hope my answer helps, thank you for your time and hope you have a great day.

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