An Excel delivery is often both a document and a small software system. Visible values depend on formulas, names, links, calculation settings, hidden structure, and the recipient’s environment. The final review needs to cover both presentation and behavior.
Lock a copy of the workbook you intend to send.
Keep formulas, source connections, and working history in the original. Review removals only in the copy.
Confirm calculation settings, refresh expectations, dates, locale, currency, and any macro requirement before reading the outputs.
Find error values beyond the summary tab.
Search the entire workbook for errors such as #REF!, #VALUE!, #DIV/0!, #NAME?, #N/A, and #NUM!. Then trace whether the error is visible, hidden, handled by another formula, or feeding a chart or named range.
artifact-1.xlsxResolve the broken reference and recalculate the delivery copy before release.
An error on a hidden support sheet can still affect a visible total, chart, print area, or exported PDF.
Decide what every external reference should do.
Workbook links can appear in cells, names, objects, chart titles, or chart data series. Decide whether the recipient should receive the linked source, a preserved link, a fixed value, or a self-contained copy.
Microsoft says Document Inspector detects external links but cannot remove them for you. Review each dependency first. External links found ↗
Open the copy where linked drives and local paths are unavailable. Confirm the workbook communicates the expected state clearly.
Resolve comments, notes, and internal instructions.
Comments can reveal reviewer names, unresolved decisions, internal language, or client context. Review each one for intent; do not remove all by default if the recipient is supposed to receive explanatory notes.
Include hidden sheets, defined names, scenario comments, headers, and footers—not only the active worksheet.
Inspect again, then record the release state.
Run Document Inspector on the changed copy, rescan the exact candidate, and close with a named outcome.
No unresolved issue was found under the workbook checks and rules you ran.
A link, hidden feature, comment, or assumption needs a business owner’s context.
An error, prohibited content, exposed credential, or unresolved release condition must be fixed or explicitly accepted.