document-spreadsheet-tooling-readiness

Document Spreadsheet Tooling Readiness

Acknowledgement: Shared by Peter Bamuhigire, techguypeter.com, +256 784 464178.

Use When

• Before promising or creating .docx, .pdf, .xlsx, application registers, scoring matrices, budgets, dashboards, price schedules, CV packs, reports, or annexes.
• When moving an engine to a new machine and confirming whether document/spreadsheet tooling is installed.

Do Not Use When

• The user only asks for plain Markdown or a conceptual outline and no generated file is claimed.

Required Inputs

• Desired output formats, local tooling access, plugin/connector availability, and any required templates.

Workflow

• Check plugins/connectors first, then Python packages, then binaries.
• Run a one-file smoke test before production export.
• Choose a route and state fallback honestly.
• Never claim a file exists until it was generated and opened or validated.

Quality Standards

• File-output claims are factual claims.
• Fallbacks are explicit, not silent.
• PDF conversion route must be known before promising PDF.

Anti-Patterns

• Saying a Word, PDF, or Excel file was generated when only Markdown exists.
• Assuming LibreOffice, Pandoc, or a plugin exists without checking.
• Shipping a workbook without reopening or formula/control checks.

Outputs

• Toolchain check, smoke-test result, route decision, fallback plan, and validation note.

References

• references/toolchain-checks.md: Commands and package/binary checklist.
• references/fallback-routes.md: Output routes and fallback decision tree.

Core Workflow

1. Confirm requested formats and whether a generated file is actually required.
2. Prefer built-in document/spreadsheet plugins where available.
3. Check Python packages: openpyxl, XlsxWriter, pandas, python-docx, docxtpl, docxcompose, pypandoc, markdown, beautifulsoup4, lxml, pillow, PyMuPDF, pypdf, pdfplumber, reportlab.
4. Check binaries: pandoc, soffice/LibreOffice, wkhtmltopdf where needed, and tesseract for OCR tasks.
5. Run a minimal DOCX and XLSX smoke test before production output on a new machine.
6. Pick the generation route and record it in the deliverable notes.
7. Open, parse, or otherwise validate the generated file before telling the user it was created.