I routinely receive files, usually Excel spreadsheets, which contain manually-entered data that have outgrown the utility of spreadsheets. I then clean up these files for import into a database.
this is sometimes easy, sometimes painstaking, depending on how "clean" the data are.
for example, something like:
Name Age Phone #
J Smith 31 yo 8019219210
Smith, Mary Alice 43 (203) 456-7788
I translate into:
First_Name Middle_Name Last_Name Age Phone_Number
J NULL Smith 31 801-921-9210
Mary Alice Smith 43 203-456-7788
I'd really love some software that helps me set parameters for what each column "should look like", automatically flag values that are suspect, and permit me to cycle through these to make edits as necessary.
Does anyone know if software like this exists? I have to imagine it does, but I have no idea how to begin finding it.
I'm also open to standard operating procedures that help achieve the same sort of task efficiently.
Thanks!