Probability Step Chart for Excel

Cumulative probability (CDF) step charts and stochastic dominance, inside Excel.

The add-in converts a discrete probability distribution (an outcome column and a probability column) into the duplicated X/Y coordinates of its cumulative distribution function, draws it as an XY scatter chart with straight lines, compares several distributions on the same axes, and tests first- and second-order stochastic dominance. Works in Excel for Mac, Windows (Microsoft 365, Office 2021/2024) and Excel on the web.

Install

Pick your platform and paste one command. No administrator rights or Microsoft 365 sign-in are needed. The command installs a small manifest file that points Excel at this site, so later updates arrive automatically the next time the task pane opens. You only need to run it again if you are told the add-in's manifest changed.

Excel for Mac

1. Quit Excel.
2. Open Terminal (Applications › Utilities), paste this command and press Return:
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   mkdir -p ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Documents/wef && curl -fsSL https://techyeoman.github.io/step_chart_excel_addin/manifest.xml -o ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Documents/wef/probability-step-chart.xml && echo "Installed. Restart Excel, then choose Home > Add-ins."

3. Open Excel and any workbook, then choose Home › Add-ins and pick Probability Step Chart. The Step Chart button then appears on the Home tab.

rm -f ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Documents/wef/probability-step-chart.xml && echo "Removed. Restart Excel."

Excel for Windows

1. Quit Excel.
2. Open PowerShell (Start menu › type PowerShell; it does not need to run as administrator), paste this command and press Enter:
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   [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12; $d = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\ProbabilityStepChart"; $k = "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\WEF\Developer"; New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $d | Out-Null; Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing -Uri "https://techyeoman.github.io/step_chart_excel_addin/manifest.xml" -OutFile "$d\manifest.xml"; if (-not (Test-Path $k)) { New-Item -Path $k -Force | Out-Null }; New-ItemProperty -Path $k -Name "06577db0-4105-4e43-9a65-aaad5db9a70c" -Value "$d\manifest.xml" -PropertyType String -Force | Out-Null; Write-Host "Installed. Restart Excel, then choose Home > Add-ins."

3. Open Excel and any workbook, then choose Home › Add-ins and pick Probability Step Chart (listed under Developer Add-ins if Excel shows sections).

Remove-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\WEF\Developer" -Name "06577db0-4105-4e43-9a65-aaad5db9a70c" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Remove-Item -Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\ProbabilityStepChart" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Write-Host "Removed. Restart Excel."

Excel on the web

1. Download manifest.xml.
2. Open a workbook at office.com and choose Home › Add-ins › More Add-ins › My Add-ins › Upload My Add-in, then select the file. (Some organisations' accounts block this; a personal Microsoft account works.)

How to use

1. Select a two-column range: outcomes in the first column, probabilities in the second (headers optional).
2. Choose Home › Step Chart to open the pane, then Use selection.
3. Check the preview, pick an output location and choose Generate CDF coordinates.
4. Repeat with other ranges to compare distributions on the same chart. The Analysis tab tests stochastic dominance.

A sample workbook is in the examples folder of the repository.

Privacy

The add-in runs entirely inside Excel. It reads only the ranges you select, writes only the tables, charts and analysis sheets you ask for, and stores its settings inside the workbook. This site only delivers the add-in's code; no workbook data is ever sent to it or to any other server, and the add-in uses no cookies, analytics or tracking.

Terms of use and license

Released under the MIT License, © 2026 Evin Grano. Provided "as is", without warranty of any kind. Verify results before relying on them for decisions.