Prepare data for export

Prepare data for export in Microsoft Excel — with the four heights of help laid out: do it now, make it easier for the next person to accept, work out the right move when you are stuck, and learn the pattern so it stops coming back.

4prompt heights
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The four heights

The same task, four distances: today's deadline, the next reviewer, the stuck moment, the pattern.

Execute — do the immediate task

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The export file for procurement must be a clean CSV with only the required columns. Trim helper…
The export file for procurement must be a clean CSV with only the required columns. Trim helper columns, ensure dates are ISO yyyy-mm-dd, remove any formulas leaving values, and run a validation that column headers match the procurement spec. Save the exported file as SupplierExport_20260715.csv and deliver it to Rachel by 3pm.

Improve — make it easier to accept

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Before I hand this to procurement, make the export review-friendly. Bring the supplier ID, total,…
Before I hand this to procurement, make the export review-friendly. Bring the supplier ID, total, and currency to the top, mark rows that will be excluded, call out any mismatched data types, and add a one-line summary of rows exported versus rows dropped so the approver can say yes fast.

Decide — diagnose the stuck moment

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I ran the export and procurement says dozens of rows have blank supplier IDs. Procurement’s lead,…

I generated the export and procurement rejected it for missing IDs.

I ran the export and procurement says dozens of rows have blank supplier IDs. Procurement’s lead, Rachel, expects the corrected file by end of day. I don’t know whether blanks come from upstream data or my filters. Should I re-run with a different filter, contact the source owners, or send what I have with a caveat? What gets this done fastest and safest?

Become — change the pattern

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Every month we get pushback from procurement because exports contain extra columns, wrong date…

Exports repeatedly fail procurement checks and cause rework.

Every month we get pushback from procurement because exports contain extra columns, wrong date formats, or missing keys. Where are we losing credibility — sloppy templates, unclear specs, or poor source data hygiene — and what one change would cut rework and approval time in half?

Next to this one

Other spreadsheet work people do in Microsoft Excel.

Every task here came from the work, not from a feature list — which is why the prompts name what you want done and never the button that does it. The tool changes; the work does not.
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The rest of the map

Same library, five ways in.