{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/import-identifiers-as-text-before-a-spreadsheet-can-reinterpret-them",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0985",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Import identifiers as text before a spreadsheet can reinterpret them",
  "summary": "A customer code is a name wearing digits, not necessarily a number.",
  "kind": "protocol",
  "body": "Set the import column to text before values enter a numeric representation. Excel can remove leading zeros or lose precision in long numeric strings. Changing the display afterward does not recover information that has already been discarded.",
  "limits": [
    "Formatting a damaged value as text is too late. Reimport from an intact source rather than guessing lost digits or zeros."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "work-02-data-reconciliation"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-9E2FDA3F93273862"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "Excel can remove leading zeros and lose precision beyond 15 significant numeric digits; formatting afterward does not restore already lost information.",
      "source_id": "RS-9E2FDA3F93273862",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "Preventing conversion must happen before the affected values enter a numeric representation.",
      "locator": "Import as text; long numbers and custom formatting"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "Identifiers contain leading zeros, long digit strings or number-like codes."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "Formatting a damaged value as text is too late. Reimport from an intact source rather than guessing lost digits or zeros."
  ],
  "example": "The code 000742 must remain six characters when exported for a matching job; displaying 742 with padding is not automatically the same preservation route.",
  "check": "A round trip preserves the exact identifier strings, including length and final digits.",
  "steps": [
    "Use a controlled import route and declare identifier columns as text.",
    "Include test values with leading zeros and more than 15 digits.",
    "Compare the imported and exported strings with the untouched source."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-9E2FDA3F93273862",
      "title": "Keeping leading zeros and large numbers",
      "url": "https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/keeping-leading-zeros-and-large-numbers"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "from": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0985",
      "to": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0988",
      "type": "useful_with",
      "url": "/knowledge/match-the-identifier-together-with-its-issuing-namespace"
    }
  ],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-1B134BE48D7DF2A0",
      "title": "Keep the meaning intact when data moves",
      "url": "/collections/keep-the-meaning-intact-when-data-moves"
    }
  ]
}