require some argument so the help is printed

metadata_tools/commands/export_xls_to_json.py

@@ -24,12 +24,14 @@ parser.add_argument(
 parser.add_argument(
     '-o',
     '--output-dir',
-    help='Path to the directory to store JSON files to',
-    default=".",
+    help='Path to the directory to store JSON files to.',
+    required=True,
     dest="output_dir"
 )
 
 args = parser.parse_args()
+if not (args.dirname or args.file):
+    parser.error('No arguments provided. Either -d or -f must be specified')
 
 fileList = []