Before you send a Markdown report: a Word table preflight
Disclosure: I make AI Output Delivery Kit and sell optional weekly-report templates. You do not need to buy anything to use this checklist.
A weekly report can look finished while a table still puts the wrong detail under the wrong heading. Before sending a DOCX to a client, check three things separately: the cells survived, the table remains editable, and the pages remain readable.
This is a small acceptance test, not a promise that a converter preserves every layout. Run it on a copy, then repeat the checks on your actual report.
1. Start with an example you can count
The following report is fictional. Copy the text inside the block into a Markdown file or your preferred converter:
# Cedar weekly review
Fictional practice report. Amounts are USD.
| Workstream | Owner | Next action | Budget remaining |
| --- | --- | --- | ---: |
| Research | Avery | Review interview notes | 1200 |
| Website | Morgan | Confirm review date | 800 |
| Launch | Unassigned | Identify approver | 0 |
Write down the expected result before exporting: four columns, one header row, three data rows, and the values 1200, 800, and 0 in the last column. “Unassigned” must remain visible. A blank owner cell would change the meaning.
The USD label makes the currency explicit. This example does not test dollar-sign handling; check symbols used in your real report separately.
2. Check structure before changing fonts
In a disposable copy, replace Review interview notes with Review interviews | notes. That extra unescaped pipe can create an additional cell. Under GitHub Flavored Markdown rules, excess body cells are ignored, so a mistake can lose information instead of producing an obvious error. To include a literal pipe, use Review interviews \| notes; alternatively, write Review interviews and notes. Table support varies by converter. GFM table specification
In AI Output Delivery Kit, this clean example exports as a real four-column table. The extra unescaped pipe stops export with an inconsistent-column error; escaping it retains Review interviews | notes in one cell. The preview alone is not this validation: check the export result and warnings.
Restore the clean example before continuing. Count the cells in the source and output rather than assuming a tidy preview proves completeness. If a value has moved, correct the source first. Adjusting borders will not repair a shifted budget.
3. Prove that the client can edit a cell
Open the DOCX in the application the recipient uses. Click inside Morgan's owner cell, change the name temporarily, and undo the change. Then try inserting and deleting a temporary data row using the application's table controls.
If you can only select a picture, you have an image rather than editable table cells. If you see pipes and hyphens as paragraph text, the table was not converted as intended. Check export warnings. For a table this small, manually insert four columns and four rows, then copy each value into its correct cell. Recount afterward.
4. Test the page boundary deliberately
In the test copy, duplicate data rows until the table crosses a page boundary. Lengthen one action enough to wrap over several lines. This creates a layout test; the duplicated entries do not belong in the client report.
In desktop Word, select the first row, then use Table Layout's Repeat Header Rows command. Inspect the result in Print Layout. Microsoft notes that repeated headers appear there or when printing, and that manually inserted page breaks inside a table do not repeat headers in the same way. Microsoft instructions
In LibreOffice Writer, open Table > Properties > Text Flow. Review the separate settings for allowing the table to span pages and allowing an individual row to break. Enable header repetition when needed. LibreOffice Text Flow help
Check whether each action and its owner can be read together. If a row is too tall, move the explanation below the table and leave a short reference in its cell. Recheck the page boundary after editing.
5. Record the result, then check the real report
Keep a short note beside the reviewed file: application used, cell count checked, edit test passed, and every page inspected. If the recipient needs editable cells, a screenshot is not an equivalent replacement.
Use the same checks after exporting through the free AI Output Delivery Kit or another converter. Finally, verify the real report's amounts, owners, and commitments against your approved notes. Formatting checks establish whether the document survived conversion; they do not establish whether its claims are true.