Excel & Spreadsheet Redaction
Protect sensitive data in spreadsheets before sharing
Outcome
Redact spreadsheet data without losing sight of hidden sheets, formulas, comments, and the final exported table.
Your progress
Mark each step as you complete it. This is saved only in this browser.
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Before you start
Visual frame
Review asset
Spreadsheet redaction storyboard
Synthetic spreadsheet frame only. It uses fake rows and avoids claiming formula, hidden sheet, or macro coverage beyond visible review guidance.
Synthetic frame
Spreadsheet scope
Start with sheets, headers, and columns.
Spreadsheet workflow frame
A table-first review model that treats cells, sheets, formulas, and comments as separate checkpoints.
Guided steps
Follow the task, then check the result.
Identify sheets and data zones
Before export, know which sheets contain customer, employee, account, financial, or credential data. Hidden sheets and comments can matter as much as the visible table.
Review detections cell by cell
Use the detection list to check names, emails, IDs, account numbers, credentials, and custom identifiers. Keep totals, dates, and categories only when they are safe for the recipient.
Open the exported spreadsheet or CSV
Inspect the exported file. Confirm formulas, visible sheets, hidden sheets, and comments behave as expected for your sharing context.
Branch questions
Are there hidden sheets, comments, formulas, or notes?
Does the exported table still show raw customer, employee, or account values?
Completion check
Support boundary
Support can use by default
- Format category, sheet count band, and workflow step.
- Whether hidden sheets, formulas, or comments were involved.
- Optional attachment only after explicit consent.
- Intent ID
- Article slug
- App route
- Browser and viewport
Requires your consent
- User-written description
- Email address
- Explicit attachment
- Redacted sample
- Support bundle previewed to the user
Not collected by default
- Raw original document text
- Full local file paths
- Pasted private content
- Unmasked screenshots
- Replay capture
Safe support summary
Copy a scrubbed handoff.
Redactorr KB support summary Article: /knowledge-base/spreadsheets Selected issue: A supported spreadsheet fails at upload, preview, review, or export. Playbook progress: 0/3 steps marked complete Safe context to include: - Format category, sheet count band, and workflow step. - Whether hidden sheets, formulas, or comments were involved. - Optional attachment only after explicit consent. - Intent ID - Article slug - App route - Browser and viewport Requires explicit consent: - User-written description - Email address - Explicit attachment - Redacted sample - Support bundle previewed to the user Do not include by default: - Raw original document text - Full local file paths - Pasted private content - Unmasked screenshots - Replay capture User note: - Describe the step and symptom without pasting raw document text, secrets, files, or restoration material.
Article details
Keeping Your Spreadsheets Safe
Spreadsheets are data powerhouses - they hold everything from customer lists to financial records. But that's exactly why they're so risky to share.
Why Spreadsheets Are Extra Risky
Unlike text documents, spreadsheets pack sensitive information into structured tables where:
- Every cell could contain private data
- Formulas might reference sensitive information
- Hidden sheets might contain data you forgot about
- Comments and notes might have personal information
- Cell formatting might reveal information through patterns
A Common Scenario
You need to share a sales report with your marketing team, but the spreadsheet contains:
- Customer email addresses and phone numbers
- Individual salesperson commission rates
- Client company names and addresses
- Internal account IDs
- Personal notes in cell comments
You want to share the overall trends and totals, but not the private details.
How Redactorr Handles Spreadsheets
Upload Your File**
Drop your .xlsx or .xls file into Redactorr for browser-local detection and redaction.
Sheet-by-Sheet Scanning**
Redactorr processes:
- Every visible sheet
- Hidden sheets (you'll get a warning)
- All cells, even empty-looking ones with formulas
- Cell comments and notes
Pattern Detection**
The system finds sensitive data like:
- Email addresses in contact columns
- Phone numbers in customer records
- Social Security Numbers in employee data
- Credit card numbers in transaction logs
- Custom patterns you define (like account IDs)
Smart Replacement**
Sensitive data gets replaced with redacted items, but:
- Numbers stay as numbers (so formulas still work)
- Dates stay as dates
- The table structure is preserved
- Cell formatting remains intact
Export Options**
Choose your format:
- Clean .xlsx (same format, works in Excel)
- CSV (universal format, works everywhere)
What Gets Preserved?
- Row and column structure
- Cell formatting (colours, borders, fonts)
- Formula logic (though referenced data is redacted)
- Sheet names
- Table structure
Pro Tips
Check Hidden Sheets: Before processing, unhide all sheets to see what you're working with. Hidden sheets might contain forgotten sensitive data.
Test Formulas: After redaction, check that your formulas still calculate correctly with the redacted data.
Use CSV for External Sharing: If sharing outside your organisation, export as CSV - it's a universal format that doesn't carry extra metadata.
Still stuck?
Copy a safe article handoff.
Start support with the article, the issue, and safe context. Raw document text, files, restoration material, and unredacted screenshots stay out unless you explicitly choose otherwise.
- Article slug
- Selected issue
- Screen name
- Action name
Redactorr support case Source: Article playbook: spreadsheets Route: /knowledge-base/spreadsheets Selected issue: A supported spreadsheet fails at upload, preview, review, or export. Safe context: - Format category, sheet count band, and workflow step. - Whether hidden sheets, formulas, or comments were involved. - Optional attachment only after explicit consent. - Article slug - Selected issue - Screen name or article section - Action name - Browser and viewport Only include with explicit consent: - User-written description - Email address - Explicit attachment - Redacted sample - Support bundle previewed to the user Do not include by default: - Raw original document text - Full local file paths - Pasted private content - Unmasked screenshots - Replay capture - Hidden diagnostic uploads User note: - Describe what you tried and what happened. Do not paste raw document text, secrets, files, restoration material, or unredacted screenshots.
Support case builder
One case format, wherever you start.
This is the same support case shape used by diagnostics and article handoffs.
- Format category, sheet count band, and workflow step.
- Whether hidden sheets, formulas, or comments were involved.
- Optional attachment only after explicit consent.
- Article slug
- Selected issue
- Screen name or article section
Private material belongs behind an explicit consent step, not in the initial case.
6 default exclusions