Review a multipage table with intermittent explanatory notes

Separate the note from its effect

Keep their relationship to the data visible so the export remains understandable after the PDF layout is gone.

For multipage invoices, use ParseMill to review extracted invoice data beside the source and export separate summary and line-item sheets. Include a page break in your trial and check that every required line made it through. Other report types need their own fit assessment.

Do not discard a note because it is not a data row. It may explain a missing result, a unit, a method change or a limitation that changes how the adjacent values can be used.

Use a note-to-record map

This invented example shows two different kinds of scope. The asterisk explicitly links N1 to S14. The method note requires checking the source’s row sequence and section boundaries before assigning it to any observations. Do not extend N1 to S15 simply because the note appears immediately above it.

W3C: PROV Data Model supports recording relationships between source entities and derived records. Your note map should retain the evidence for each relationship instead of storing only a flattened interpretation.

Review note boundaries

1. Capture each note verbatim as source data, with its physical page and location. Keep a separate normalized summary only if needed for searching.
2. Classify the note’s scope as explicit record, explicit range, explicit section or unresolved. Record the source wording that supports the classification.
3. Remove the note line from the observation table only after it has a retained note record. Preserve markers in raw result cells.
4. Check records immediately before and after every note. Confirm that no observation was split, duplicated or absorbed into the note text.

Microsoft: Table.SelectRows can filter reviewed row roles. Use separate roles for observations and notes so the filtering step remains transparent and reversible.

Avoid overinterpreting the note

A note saying “estimated” does not supply an uncertainty value. A note explaining one blank does not define all blanks in the report. Preserve the supplier’s actual wording and leave unsupported interpretations out of numeric analysis fields.

When a note spans a page boundary, verify whether its continuation belongs to the same note. A similar font or indentation is insufficient if a new section intervenes. Keep uncertain associations visible so the recipient knows which results need clarification.

Check both data and context

Acceptance for the fixture requires S14 and S15 to remain separate observations, N1 to retain its text and source reference, and S14 alone to have the explicit asterisk relationship. N2 remains unresolved until its stated range is verified. The exported package should make those differences easy to inspect.

For reports with qualifying notes, bring the note-to-record map to a scoped workflow discussion. In the invoice trial, check ordinary invoice notes against the fields and line items actually extracted; general scientific-note interpretation is outside that offer.