# agent parser failed on excel macro enabled questionnaire: how to fix it

An agent parser failing on a macro-enabled Excel questionnaire needs the macros gone before parsing. Save a macro-free copy as plain XLSX and parse that. Parsers cant execute macros, and the macro container confuses them.

```text
agent parser failed on excel macro enabled questionnaire
```

## When to use this skill
- Parsing fails on macro-enabled Excel files
- The file extension is XLSM

## When not to use this skill
- Plain XLSX also fails (a structural issue)
- You need the macro logic itself (extract it separately)

## Tool compatibility
Agent Excel parsing pipelines.
Related area: document export, rendering, and OCR tooling.
Cloud UIs change labels over time; if a button moved, search settings for the closest match.

## Before you start
- Sign in to the tool and keep one tab open so sessions stay clean
- Copy the exact error text and note the time it happened
- Set aside 15 to 20 minutes; most of these resolve in a single pass

## Quick diagnosis
Make sure this is the right skill before you invest the 15 minutes.
- If you are dealing with parsing fails on macro-enabled Excel files, start at step 1 below.
- If instead plain XLSX also fails (a structural issue), stop here; you need a different skill.
- If neither quite matches, compare your screen against the verbatim error block at the top; that block is exactly what this skill covers.

## Fix it in steps
### 1. Save a macro-free copy

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Open the file and save it as a plain XLSX without macros.
```
Expected: a clean workbook with the same data.

### 2. Confirm the data survived

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Spot check that values and sheets match the original.
```
Expected: identical content, no macros.

### 3. Parse the clean copy

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Run the questionnaire parser on the macro-free file.
```
Expected: successful extraction.

### 4. Keep the original archived

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Store the macro version separately for reference.
```
Expected: audit trail preserved.

## Confirm each step worked
Run through this checklist before moving on. If a check fails, redo that step instead of pushing ahead.
- Step 1 (save a macro-free copy): Expected: a clean workbook with the same data.
- Step 2 (confirm the data survived): Expected: identical content, no macros.
- Step 3 (parse the clean copy): Expected: successful extraction.
- Step 4 (keep the original archived): Expected: audit trail preserved.

## Quick recap
1. Save a macro-free copy
2. Confirm the data survived
3. Parse the clean copy
4. Keep the original archived

## Still stuck?
Gather three things: the exact error text, the time it happened, and what changed just before it broke.
Check the vendor status page for an active incident. Then open a support ticket with those three things;
it cuts the back-and-forth in half. For agent runs, attach the last 50 lines of the agent log too,
since the loop or timeout signature in the log usually names the cause.

## Variant phrasings
### macro excel parser failed
Strip macros to plain XLSX first. If this matches what you saw, the steps above apply as written.

### xlsm questionnaire wont parse
Parsers read data, not macro code. If this matches what you saw, the steps above apply as written.

## Why it happens
Macro-enabled workbooks wrap data in a container parsers dont fully support. The parser trips on the macro storage rather than the data, so removing macros leaves a plain workbook it handles fine.

## Edge cases
- Macros sometimes compute values, paste values before stripping
- Some questionnaires hide logic in macros, review what they did
- Never enable macros from untrusted sources

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_3qPu5Gpf9D3e5TxUBtw_lw