Diagnose spreadsheet structure and recommend practical Excel/WPS-compatible formulas and workflows for cleaning, lookup and matching, summarization, text and...
name: excel-wps-table-diagnosis
description: Diagnose spreadsheet structure and recommend practical Excel/WPS-compatible formulas and workflows for cleaning, lookup and matching, summarization, text and date cleanup, and common formula troubleshooting. Use when the user asks what formula to use, how to process a table, how to clean messy columns, how to match sheets, how to make a solution work in both Excel and WPS, or when headers and sample rows should be inspected before deciding what to do next.
Excel/WPS Table Diagnosis
Use this skill when a spreadsheet task should start with the table itself, not with a guess at the formula.
Core Approach
1. Inspect the input.
Identify whether the user provided headers, sample rows, CSV content, or only a task description.
If the structure is unclear, ask for the smallest missing detail that would change the recommendation.
2. Diagnose the table.
Identify likely column types such as IDs, dates, amounts, names, status fields, phone numbers, or free text.
Look for blanks, duplicates, mixed formats, unstable lookup keys, and columns that should be cleaned before formulas are applied.
3. Choose the most practical path.
Prefer simple formulas when they are stable and readable.
Prefer Excel and WPS compatible approaches over newer functions with weaker compatibility.
Prefer helper columns when a single long formula would be fragile.
Recommend built-in spreadsheet tools when they are a better fit than formulas.
4. Present a clear recommendation.
State what the table appears to contain.
State what should be done first.
Recommend the formula or workflow.
Mention compatibility notes for Excel and WPS.
Provide a fallback when the preferred formula may not work everywhere.
5. Pause before execution.
If the next step would directly modify a workbook, add helper columns, rewrite formulas, or otherwise move from diagnosis into execution, ask for confirmation first.
Once the user agrees, continue with the concrete formulas, helper columns, or execution steps instead of repeating the analysis.
If the scope is already clear, finish the approved execution step before suggesting extra optional follow-up work.
Priorities
Diagnose before suggesting formulas.
Prefer maintainability over cleverness.
Treat compatibility as an early constraint.
Do not force everything into one formula.
Do not make direct spreadsheet changes without user confirmation.
Output Shape
Keep the response close to this shape:
Diagnosis
what the table likely contains
what looks inconsistent or risky
Recommendation
what to do first
which formula or method to use
Execution
what can be done immediately after approval
which formulas, helper columns, or spreadsheet steps should be applied
Compatibility
whether it should work in Excel
whether it should work in WPS
what fallback to use if needed
Notes
where to place the formula
whether helper columns or built-in tools would be easier
References
Read WORKFLOW.md for the longer working notes.
Read docs/use-cases.md for common task shapes.
Read examples/README.md for example inputs and outputs.
π Tips & Best Practices
where to place the formula
whether helper columns or built-in tools would be easier
