Preserve temperature units and scale labels

Capture the scale with the number

Preserve the label with the value so the spreadsheet user can interpret it without reopening the report or guessing the unit.

Before paying for technical-document extraction, inspect how the source meaning survives in the output. ParseMill’s public material-register example gives you a synthetic PDF and downloadable evidence to compare. Bring your own document type and acceptance checks to a scope discussion; the self-service invoice plan is a separate offer.

Also distinguish an absolute temperature reading from a temperature difference. The same conversion rule does not apply to both. Record the quantity label before creating a normalized analysis field, especially when a report mixes operating temperature with temperature rise.

Compare a synthetic set of readings

The first two rows are not equivalent temperatures even though their numbers match. The third describes a difference, not an ambient reading. The final row cannot be normalized reliably until its scale is established from the source or an authoritative clarification.

NIST: SI units—temperature explains the relationship between Celsius and kelvin temperatures and distinguishes temperature intervals. Use a verified conversion only after identifying which quantity the source reports.

Review value and unit as a pair

1. Inspect the cell, column heading and any table-level unit note. Record the physical page supporting each unit assignment.
2. Check whether the quantity is a temperature, a change, a range or an uncertainty term. Preserve that role in a separate label.
3. Keep the raw value and source unit unchanged. Put any approved conversion in separately named derived fields with the formula and target unit.
4. Test the conversion with a known example and reopen the exported workbook. Verify that no display format has hidden the unit or sign.

NIST: SI notation checklist emphasizes clear association between values and units. A unit placed only in a distant worksheet title can be lost when rows are copied, so carry it in the register.

Handle incomplete or conflicting labels

If a heading says °C while a footnote says values are reported in °F, record the conflict rather than choosing the more familiar scale. Ask the issuer to identify the applicable convention. Similarly, a missing degree symbol does not prove that C is a unit rather than part of a code.

Do not use plausible room temperature as proof of the scale. Reports can describe extreme conditions, and a magnitude check should flag a question rather than silently repair the source.

Check the exported meaning

Acceptance means each fixture row retains its quantity role, value and source label. The unresolved row remains visibly unresolved. Derived conversions, if required, have their own review and do not replace the transcription.

Temperature readings and intervals belong in the acceptance criteria for a separately scoped report workflow. Start by inspecting the material-register example, then discuss the source labels and output your technical reviewer needs. These are outside the invoice trial’s extraction promise.