Guides
Practical, step-by-step pieces, kept up to date and dated when they change.
- Guide Work software
Excel CSV imports that mangle zeros and dates: 12 traps tested
A CSV has no column types, so spreadsheets guess. Our test file lost half its cells to guessing; typed text columns kept all 24.
- Guide Automation
Bank statement PDFs to Excel: 3 free tools tested on 5 layouts
On five sample statements we made, Camelot read all 154 transactions. The running balance catches lost rows and wrong amounts, not wrong dates.
- Guide Automation
PDF invoices to Excel: free tools tested, paid APIs priced
On 10 sample invoices we made, two free table readers got 55 of 58 line items right. Paid APIs cost 1 to 10 cents a one-page invoice.
- Guide Automation
Mail merge from Google Sheets to Gmail, with a PDF for each row
Gmail's mail merge works on seven Workspace plans and sends one file to all. Our script makes a PDF per row; we tested it on stand-ins, not Google.
- Guide Automation
Gmail to Google Sheets automatically, with and without code
A free 96-line Apps Script, Zapier or Workspace Studio can fill a sheet from Gmail. We tested the script on 13 sample emails in a stand-in, not live Gmail.
- Guide Automation
Automation payback: a formula that counts the time to fix it
Much of upkeep does not shrink with a task's size, so it sinks small automations first. A tested template, priced with US wage data.
- Guide Automation
Email data into Excel automatically: three methods tested
The label-split recipe most tutorials teach got 8 of our 20 test emails right when we emulated it. A script and an AI prompt read all 100 fields.
- Guide Automation
Outlook attachments saved automatically: three ways, no VBA
Outlook rules can't save attachments, and new Outlook has no VBA. Two free Microsoft tools and a 56-line script can, once you guard against three traps.
- Guide AI
Choosing an AI assistant: 6 vendor questions and a 2-week trial
Most people who use AI at work bring their own tools; the six questions to ask a vendor, the answers to expect and a two-week trial that settles the choice.
- Guide Automation
Weekly reports can send themselves: 9 steps, little or no code
Google, Microsoft and Zapier each include a scheduler that can send the report on time; how to set one up, and the documented limits that break it later.
