Fix spreadsheet damage

Use this guide when a CWR file has passed through a spreadsheet, and the checker now reports many problems. CWR (Common Works Registration) is the text format publishers use to register works with collecting societies.

Your file is never uploaded.

Why spreadsheets damage CWR files

A CWR file has fixed-width fields. Position is the only signal for where a value ends. Spreadsheets reformat. They drop leading zeros, change long numbers, change dates, and trim trailing spaces. In a fixed-width file, trailing spaces and leading zeros are part of the field.

Problems that point to a spreadsheet

Many problems of one kind across the file usually mean one export step caused them.

Steps

1. Keep the original CWR file. Do not send anything saved from a spreadsheet.
2. Open the damaged file in the CWR checker.
3. In the Problems tab, choose "By rule" and see which rules appear most.
4. If you still have the original, check it. If it has fewer problems, send it instead.
5. If you do not have the original, export again from the system that made the file.
6. If you must repair the damaged file, use the tools for what they can do:
   • Clean identifiers for IPI numbers and ISWCs. It adds zeros to an IPI Name number only when the padded number passes its check digits.
   • Find and replace to upper-case names and titles.
7. Fix dates, shares, and trailing spaces in the source system. No tool changes them.
8. Check the repaired file again.

Use a spreadsheet safely

• Use Works list (CSV) when you want a spreadsheet view. It does not change your CWR file.
• Format ID columns as text before you paste data in.
• Never save a spreadsheet over a CWR file.
• Check any file that was edited elsewhere before you send it.

What to check next

1. Check the file in the CWR checker.
2. Compare the number of problems with the original.