clean-data-xls

Clean up messy spreadsheet data — trim whitespace, fix inconsistent casing, convert numbers-stored-as-text, standardize dates, remove duplicates, and flag mixed-type columns. Use when data is messy, inconsistent, or needs prep before analysis. Triggers on "clean this data", "clean up this sheet", "normalize this data", "fix formatting", "dedupe", "standardize this column", "this data is messy".

Clean Data

Clean messy data in the active sheet or a specified range.

Environment

If running inside Excel (Office Add-in / Office JS): Use Office JS directly (Excel.run(async (context) => {...})). Read via range.values, write helper-column formulas via range.formulas = [["=TRIM(A2)"]]. The in-place vs helper-column decision still applies.
If operating on a standalone .xlsx file: Use Python/openpyxl.

Workflow

Step 1: Scope

If a range is given (e.g. A1:F200), use it
Otherwise use the full used range of the active sheet
Profile each column: detect its dominant type (text / number / date) and identify outliers

Step 2: Detect issues

Issue	What to look for
Whitespace	leading/trailing spaces, double spaces
Casing	inconsistent casing in categorical columns (`usa` / `USA` / `Usa`)
Number-as-text	numeric values stored as text; stray `$`, `,`, `%` in number cells
Dates	mixed formats in the same column (`3/8/26`, `2026-03-08`, `March 8 2026`)
Duplicates	exact-duplicate rows and near-duplicates (case/whitespace differences)
Blanks	empty cells in otherwise-populated columns
Mixed types	a column that's 98% numbers but has 3 text entries
Encoding	mojibake (`Ã©`, `â€™`), non-printing characters
Errors	`#REF!`, `#N/A`, `#VALUE!`, `#DIV/0!`

Step 3: Propose fixes

Show a summary table before changing anything:

Column	Issue	Count	Proposed Fix

Step 4: Apply

Prefer formulas over hardcoded cleaned values — where the cleaned output can be expressed as a formula (e.g. =TRIM(A2), =VALUE(SUBSTITUTE(B2,"$","")), =UPPER(C2), =DATEVALUE(D2)), write the formula in an adjacent helper column rather than computing the result in Python and overwriting the original. This keeps the transformation transparent and auditable.
Only overwrite in place with computed values when the user explicitly asks for it, or when no sensible formula equivalent exists (e.g. encoding/mojibake repair)
For destructive operations (removing duplicates, filling blanks, overwriting originals), confirm with the user first
After each category of fix (whitespace → casing → number conversion → dates → dedup), show the user a sample of what changed and get confirmation before moving to the next category
Report a before/after summary of what changed