Data Cleanup Instructions
Get step-by-step instructions to clean messy spreadsheet data into analysis-ready format
Help me clean up this messy spreadsheet data. The issues I am seeing: [DESCRIBE PROBLEMS — duplicates, inconsistent formatting, missing values, merged cells, etc.]. Provide a step-by-step cleanup plan: (1) Remove Duplicates — how to identify and remove them, (2) Standardise Formats — fix date formats, number formats, text capitalisation, (3) Handle Missing Data — strategy for blank cells (fill, flag, or remove), (4) Split/Merge Columns — separate combined data into proper columns, (5) Validate Data — formulas to check for errors and outliers, (6) Final Structure — what the clean dataset should look like. Provide the exact Excel steps or formulas for each action.
Works on
⭐ M365 Copilot
(Best)
🟢 ChatGPT
🟠 Claude
🔵 Gemini
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Tips for Best Results
- In Excel, Copilot can execute cleanup steps directly
- Describe the specific issues: “dates are mixed DD/MM and MM/DD formats”
- Always work on a copy — never clean the original data
- Follow up with “Now analyse the cleaned data for trends”