1. Five roles across the workflow
The list below is organized around a common job: turn a workbook and supporting notes into a reviewable report. The descriptions reflect the Skills' listed purposes; they are not results from a comparative execution test.
| Workflow role | Skill | Best fit and boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Prepare source notes | convert-word-to-md | Convert DOCX into text that is easier to search or review; inspect complex tables, charts, and images in the original. |
| Inspect workbook structure | convert-excel-to-md | Create sheet-aware Markdown context; do not treat the conversion as formula evaluation or a replacement workbook. |
| Analyze workbook | spreadsheets | Use formula-aware spreadsheet workflows for calculations and workbook edits; independently check key formulas, units, and totals. |
| Draft the report | documents | Create or edit a Word report and visually review it; clear prose does not prove the underlying numbers. |
| Review PDF output | Read, create, render, and visually validate a PDF; layout review does not certify analytical correctness. |
2. Follow a checkable four-step process
Start from copies of the source files. Record the workbook version, sheet names, date range, units, filters, and any hidden rows or columns that could change the interpretation. Use conversion Skills only when searchable text is useful; keep the original workbook as the source of record.
For each important result, preserve the calculation or formula and note where its inputs came from. Before drafting, reconcile a few material totals against the workbook and write down exclusions, assumptions, and unresolved questions. If a figure cannot be traced, label it as unverified rather than filling the gap with confident prose.
Draft the report around decisions and findings, not a dump of every worksheet. Then render the Word or PDF deliverable and inspect page breaks, tables, labels, units, dates, footnotes, and whether the key caveats remain visible. Recheck any numbers changed during editing.
- The source workbook remains unchanged and identifiable.
- Material figures can be traced to a formula, source cell, or explicit calculation.
- Assumptions and missing data are visible rather than silently inferred.
- The rendered final file—not just the editable source—has been reviewed.
3. Where each Skill stops
A file-conversion Skill can make content easier to search; it does not guarantee that formulas, formatting, merged cells, charts, or embedded images survived with the meaning intact. Compare the converted view with the original whenever those details affect the conclusion.
A document or PDF Skill can help produce and inspect a deliverable, but visual polish is not evidence that the analysis is correct. Keep a small audit trail for significant claims: source file and sheet, relevant cells or formula, transformation, and reviewer check.
The public catalog describes listed capabilities and source metadata. SkillSignal has not independently benchmarked these five Skills on the same workbook, measured error rates, or certified their security. Check each linked source and its permissions before installation, especially when files contain confidential data or a Skill can run commands or write files.
4. Start with the smallest useful combination
For a standard workbook-to-Word report, begin with spreadsheets plus documents. Add pdf when the final deliverable is a PDF that needs rendering and visual checks. Add convert-excel-to-md or convert-word-to-md only when a searchable text view of those source files will help the review; avoid installing overlapping tools by default.
Before using any Skill on sensitive files, read its source and permission list, test it on a non-sensitive copy, and confirm which files it reads or writes. A useful stack is the smallest one that produces a traceable calculation and a reviewable final artifact.