3.6 · File & Document Tasks

Mở đầu: Cowork tạo ra file thật

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                  │
│   CHAT  →  "Here's a summary of your report:     │
│             [text text text 5 paragraphs]        │
│             Copy this into PowerPoint..."         │
│                                                  │
│              ↓                                   │
│                                                  │
│   COWORK →  report-exec-summary.pptx             │
│             (12 slides, editable charts,         │
│              brand template applied,             │
│              ready to send to CEO)               │
│                                                  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Không phải text để copy. Không phải markdown để convert. File thật trên ổ của bạn.

Ba đặc điểm của output

1. Native format

• Presentations với editable charts (click vào, chỉnh data, đổi màu)
• Spreadsheets với working formulas (không phải static values)
• Documents với track changes để teammate review
• PDFs từ source document (không render snapshot)

2. Saved to your drive

File xuất hiện trong folder bạn trỏ Cowork vào. Open với app native (Microsoft Office, Google Docs, Keynote...).

3. Templates + brand rules compound

Một khi bạn làm brand-guidelines skill (học ở Bài 3.4), mọi file Cowork tạo tham chiếu nó. Consistency across outputs tự động.

Prompt pattern: Input → Transformation → Output

Đã gặp ở Bài 3.2, giờ zoom vào áp dụng cho file/document tasks.

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                        │
│   🎯 INPUT         │  🔄 TRANSFORMATION    │  📄 OUTPUT│
│                    │                       │           │
│   Source material  │  What to do with it   │  Format + │
│                    │                       │  location │
│                                                        │
│   "my Downloads    │  "sort by type"       │  "dated   │
│    folder"         │                       │   subfolders"│
│                                                        │
│   "these meeting   │  "turn into slide     │  "a .pptx │
│    notes"          │   deck"               │   with    │
│                    │                       │   template"│
│                                                        │
│   "this folder"    │  "combine into"       │  "a       │
│                    │                       │   formatted│
│                    │                       │   report" │
│                                                        │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Prompt vô dụng vs prompt work

Signal: First column prompts → Claude sẽ hỏi 3-5 clarifying questions. Second column → Claude plan ngay, execute trong phút.

Taxonomy: 2 nhóm tasks chính

File/document tasks chia làm 2 nhóm lớn:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                  │
│   1. 🗂 ORGANIZE WHAT YOU HAVE                   │
│      Chuyển chaos thành clarity                  │
│                                                  │
│      Examples:                                   │
│      - Sort, rename, dedupe files                │
│      - Extract data from PDFs/docs               │
│      - Consolidate scattered docs                │
│      - Format/convert formats                    │
│                                                  │
│   2. 🎨 CREATE WHAT YOU NEED                     │
│      Tạo deliverables từ source material         │
│                                                  │
│      Examples:                                   │
│      - Build spreadsheet from notes              │
│      - Turn notes into presentation              │
│      - Generate report from data                 │
│      - Draft documents from template             │
│                                                  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Nhóm 1: Organize — Starter prompts

Sort + rename:

Sort my Downloads folder by file type into dated subfolders.

Rename all files in this folder using consistent format: YYYY-MM-DD_original-name.ext

Extract + consolidate:

Create a formatted expense report from the receipts (PDFs) in this folder. Include: date, vendor, amount, category. Output: expenses-{month}.xlsx

In the PDFs in this folder, extract: invoice #, date, amount, vendor. Tạo file Excel với mỗi file 1 dòng, cột là các trường trên.

Dedupe + clean:

Scan folder này tìm file trùng lặp (tên giống nhau hoặc content similarity >80%). Tạo duplicates-report.md liệt kê cặp trùng + recommend keep which. KHÔNG xóa gì

chỉ report."

Convert formats:

Convert tất cả file .docx trong folder này sang PDF. Giữ nguyên tên, lưu vào subfolder /PDF/.

Nhóm 2: Create — Starter prompts

Spreadsheet from notes:

Build a project tracking spreadsheet from these notes, with columns: task, owner, status, deadline, notes. Add summary view sheet: counts by status + next deadlines.

Presentation from notes:

Turn these meeting notes into a slide deck. Use the brand-guidelines skill. 10-12 slides covering: context, key decisions, action items, next steps.

Report from data:

Combine the transcripts and notes in this folder into a formatted report. Structure: exec summary, key themes, supporting quotes, open questions. Output: report.docx

Draft từ template:

Draft proposal cho AcmeCorp using /templates/proposal-template.docx. Context: file client-context-acme.md. Length: 8 pages.

Output formats — Khi nào dùng gì

Walkthrough thực chiến: 5 prompts, 5 outputs

1⃣ Sort & organize scattered folder

Trước: Folder Downloads có 200+ files mixed: PDF, images, .docx, .zip, screenshots...

Prompt:

Sort my Downloads folder: - Group files by type (PDF, docs, spreadsheets, images, other) - Create subfolders named by type + year: /pdf-2026/, /docs-2026/, etc. - Rename files to YYYY-MM-DD_original-name.ext based on creation date - Tạo INDEX.md liệt kê các file đã sắp xếp

Output sau 3-5 phút:

📁 Downloads/
├── 📄 INDEX.md                (list của tất cả đã organized)
├── 📁 pdf-2026/
│   ├── 2026-01-15_invoice.pdf
│   ├── 2026-02-03_contract.pdf
│   └── ...
├── 📁 docs-2026/
├── 📁 spreadsheets-2026/
└── 📁 images-2026/

Thời gian tiết kiệm: 1-2 giờ → 5 phút review.

2⃣ Extract data từ PDFs into Excel

Trước: 50 PDF invoices, bạn cần bảng tổng hợp cho kế toán.

Prompt:

In folder /invoices/, từ mỗi PDF extract: - Invoice number - Date - Vendor name - Amount (VND) - Category (infer từ vendor) Output: invoices-summary.xlsx với 50 rows, 5 columns. Add pivot sheet: total by vendor + total by month.

Output

Excel file với 2 sheets (data + pivot), summary formulas.

Thời gian tiết kiệm

3-4 giờ → 10 phút review.

3⃣ Create project tracking spreadsheet

Trước: 3 meeting notes .md có action items scattered.

Prompt:

Từ meeting notes trong folder (q1-kickoff.md, q1-weekly-.md), extract tất cả action items. Tạo project-tracker.xlsx: - Sheet 1 'Tasks': task, owner, deadline, status, source_meeting, notes - Sheet 2 'Summary': counts by status, upcoming deadlines 7 days, overdue items - Sheet 3 'By Owner': grouped view, workload balance"*

Output: Comprehensive tracker, formulas active.

4⃣ Turn notes into branded slide deck

Trước: Thorough meeting notes, cần present cho leadership.

Prompt:

Turn meeting-notes-q1.md thành slide deck. Use brand-guidelines skill. Structure: - Slide 1: Title + meeting context - Slide 2: Agenda - Slide 3-5: Key decisions (1 per slide) - Slide 6-8: Action items by owner - Slide 9: Risks/blockers - Slide 10: Next steps Output: q1-review-deck.pptx

Output: 10-slide .pptx với brand colors, editable charts (if numbers in notes), speaker notes.

5⃣ Combined transcripts → executive report

Trước: 15 user interview transcripts, CEO hỏi "What are our users saying?"

Prompt:

Read all transcripts trong /user-interviews/. Synthesize thành executive report: - Executive summary (1 page, top 5 findings) - Theme analysis (3-5 dominant themes với supporting quotes) - Surprising findings (outliers, contradictions) - Recommended next steps Output: user-research-summary.docx (8-12 pages). Flag quotes as [Transcript ID: Name] for traceability.

Output: Executive-ready document, quotable, actionable.

Case studies theo ngành

Sales Operations

Task: Merge 5 files CRM exports thành master pipeline

Prompt:

5 files .csv trong /crm-exports-march/: merge thành single master. Dedupe theo company+contact_email. Add columns computed: days_in_stage, deal_age. Output: pipeline-master-2026-03.xlsx với conditional formatting: deals stuck >60 days red, >30 days yellow.

Kết quả: 2 giờ → 15 phút.

Finance

Task: Reconcile 3 files với different formats

Prompt:

Reconcile: - bank-statement.xlsx (columns: date, amount, description) - invoice-log.xlsx (columns: invoice_date, total, vendor) - erp-gl-export.csv (account, transaction_date, debit, credit) Match transactions dựa trên amount + date (±2 days). Flag mismatches > 500,000 VND. Output: reconciliation-march-2026.xlsx: - Sheet 'Matched' - Sheet 'Unmatched_Bank' - Sheet 'Unmatched_Invoice' - Sheet 'Summary' với totals + variance_amount

Kết quả: 1 ngày → 45 phút.

Marketing

Task: Repurpose blog post to 5 channels

Prompt:

From blog-post-q4-trends.md (master piece), create: 1. /linkedin/: LinkedIn article (1200-1500 words, catchier title, add LinkedIn-specific CTA) 2. /twitter/: Twitter thread (10-15 tweets, each standalone punchy) 3. /email/: Newsletter version (300 words teaser + CTA to full post) 4. /slides/: Webinar deck (10 slides with speaker notes) 5. /instagram/: 5 carousel posts (1 insight each, visual direction noted) Giữ consistent message, adapt voice cho mỗi platform.

Kết quả: 4 giờ → 30 phút.

Legal

Task: Contract review checklist

Prompt:

Review vendor-msa-acme.docx against template-msa-standard.docx. For each difference, output: - Section reference - Template says: [...] - Contract says: [...] - Severity: High/Medium/Low - Recommendation: Accept / Negotiate / Reject Also cross-check with regulatory-updates-2026-q1.md for new requirements. Output: contract-review-acme.docx với executive summary trước, findings after.

Kết quả: 3 giờ → 45 phút.

HR

Task: Onboarding packet customized

Prompt:

Generate onboarding packet for new hire: - Name: Le Van A - Role: Senior Product Manager - Start date: 2026-04-25 - Team: Product Growth Pull từ: - /templates/onboarding-base.docx (general structure) - /roles/product-manager.md (PM-specific resources) - /teams/product-growth.md (team intro, members, rituals) Output: onboarding-le-van-a.docx customized với first-week schedule, contacts, resources.

Kết quả: 2 giờ → 15 phút.

Education

Task: Grade essays với rubric

Prompt:

Trong folder /essays-submitted/, grade 30 essays dựa trên /rubrics/essay-rubric.md. Cho mỗi essay, output: - student_name (từ filename) - scores per criterion (1-5 scale) - overall score - 3 strengths - 2 areas for improvement - suggested feedback (150 words) Output: /graded/ với: - summary.xlsx (all 30 scored) - individual-{student-name}.md (detailed feedback mỗi student)

Kết quả: 6 giờ → 2 giờ (teacher polishes).

Customer Support

Task: Extract patterns từ ticket corpus

Prompt:

Read 200 tickets trong /tickets-april/: 1. Cluster theo issue type (use content similarity) 2. Identify top 10 recurring issues 3. For each, estimate frequency + avg resolution time 4. Flag emerging issues (new categories past 7 days) 5. Draft FAQ entries cho top 5 Output: - support-trends-april.docx (analysis) - faq-draft.md (5 new FAQ) - escalation-candidates.xlsx (tickets needing senior review)

Kết quả: 2 ngày → 4 giờ.

Prompt templates — Library sẵn dùng

Template 1: Folder organize

Sort folder [path]:
- Group files by [criterion: type/date/project]
- Create subfolders: [naming convention]
- Rename files: [pattern]
- Create INDEX.md listing organized files

Template 2: Data extract

Trong các file [type] ở [folder]:
Extract:
- [field 1]
- [field 2]  
- [field 3]

Output: [filename.xlsx] với mỗi file = 1 row.
Include pivot sheet: [aggregation]

Template 3: Multi-source report

Combine content từ:
- [source 1 với purpose]
- [source 2 với purpose]
- [source 3 với purpose]

Output: [format] report với structure:
- Section 1: [purpose]
- Section 2: [purpose]
- Section 3: [purpose]

Length: [X pages]
Style: [formal/casual/technical]

Template 4: Template-based creation

Create [output type] using template [template path].
Context from: [source files]

Customize:
- [customization 1]
- [customization 2]

Output: [filename] trong [folder]

Template 5: Cross-reference check

Check for consistency between:
- [file A]
- [file B]

Report:
- Conflicts
- Duplicate information
- Gaps

Output: consistency-report.md với flags

Template 6: Format conversion

Convert files in [folder] từ [format A] sang [format B].
Preserve:
- [thing to preserve 1]
- [thing to preserve 2]

Rename pattern: [pattern]
Save to: [destination folder]

Template 7: Executive summary

Từ [source files/folder]:
Create executive summary:
- Max [X words]
- Top [N] findings with evidence
- Actionable recommendations
- Open questions

Audience: [exec level/role]
Tone: [direct/diplomatic]
Output: exec-summary-[topic].docx

Template 8: Bulk content from data

From [data file], generate [N] documents:
One per row/record.

Each document:
- Template: [template path]
- Personalization fields: [list]
- Length: [X pages/words]

Output: /[output-folder]/[doc-{record-id}.docx]

Anti-patterns khi làm file/document tasks

Không specify output location

Triệu chứng

"Create a report from these files" — không nói output ở đâu.

Tại sao sai

Cowork pick default (thường là root of project), bạn mất thời gian tìm.

Cách đúng

Always end prompt với "Save to [specific path]".

Không match output format với use case

Triệu chứng

Output .docx khi bạn cần forward email → bạn phải convert manual.

Tại sao sai

Mismatch → extra work.

Cách đúng

Think final destination trước khi prompt:

• Email attachment → .pdf
• Team edit → .docx với track changes
• Share link read-only → .pdf hoặc .html
• Data analysis → .xlsx

Huge prompt với quá nhiều outputs

Triệu chứng

"Create report + presentation + email + newsletter + 5 social posts all in one go"

Tại sao sai

Cowork tries tất cả → quality giảm mỗi output.

Cách đúng

Break into 2-3 prompts. Or schedule as chain.

Quên "DRAFT only — don't send"

Triệu chứng

"Draft email to CEO and send it" → Cowork gửi real email với draft chưa review.

Tại sao sai

Bạn mất chance review cuối.

Cách đúng

Default position: "Draft only — I'll review". Add "send" only cho automation đã trust fully.

Không dùng brand/style skills

Triệu chứng

Mỗi deck Cowork tạo có font/color khác nhau, non-branded.

Tại sao sai

Chỉ cần 1 brand-guidelines skill (học Bài 3.4) → tất cả outputs consistent.

Cách đúng

Build brand skill một lần, reference nó trong mọi creation prompt.

Không treat output như draft

Triệu chứng

Cowork tạo PDF → ship thẳng cho client.

Tại sao sai

Output polished nhưng có thể có sai số liệu, sai logic.

Cách đúng

3-step review: mở file, check 1 số, follow 1 thread logic. Luôn.

Mẹo nâng cao

Mẹo 1: Leverage existing files as examples

Format output giống file past-report.docx trong folder này. Match structure, tone, depth.

Example > description. Show Cowork cái bạn thích.

Mẹo 2: Two-pass approach cho complex docs

Pass 1 — skeleton:

Create outline cho report (headings + 1-sentence summary each). Wait for my approval.

Pass 2 — fill in:

Approved. Expand outline into full report. Use sources X, Y, Z.

Less waste, higher final quality.

Mẹo 3: Explicit "editable vs final"

Draft trong .docx với track changes enabled

team will review."

vs

Final version

PDF, no revisions marks."

Signal clearly cho Cowork.

Mẹo 4: Metadata in filename

deck-q1-review-v2-2026-04-19.pptx

Versioning + date automatic → no file chaos.

Prompt: "Use filename pattern: [purpose]-v[N]-{YYYY-MM-DD}.[ext]"

Mẹo 5: Ask for outlines first khi uncertain

Khi not sure task scope:

Before executing, propose outline + time estimate. I'll approve or revise.

Catch misalignment early.

Mẹo 6: Native features > plain text

Ask for:

• Word: comments, track changes, styles
• Excel: formulas, conditional formatting, pivot tables
• PowerPoint: speaker notes, editable charts, slide master
• PDF: bookmarks, table of contents

Cowork can generate all. Không phải lúc nào cũng auto.

Mẹo 7: Progressive refinement

Output 1: rough → you review → "Improve X, keep Y" → output 2 → better.

3 iterations often bring quality ceiling.

Áp dụng ngay

Bài tập 1: Run 1 file task (~15 phút)

Chọn 1 prompt từ template library (hoặc pick starter prompts trong bài).

Adapt với folder của bạn. Run.

Observe:

• Clarifying questions Cowork hỏi gì?
• Output format match expect?
• Quality: acceptable/needs revision/redo?

Bài tập 2: Prompt pattern practice (~10 phút)

Lấy 1 task từ tuần qua bạn tự làm. Viết thành I-T-O:

Gộp thành prompt. Length prompt không quá 100 từ là thông thường đủ.

Bài tập 3 (optional): Build brand-guidelines skill (~20 phút)

Nếu role bạn tạo branded output (decks, reports):

1. Document brand rules trong brand-guidelines.md: — Logo location — Color palette (hex codes) — Font pairings — Tone guidelines — Template references

1. Convert sang skill:

/create-skill "brand-guidelines — apply my brand rules 
to any document/presentation/image Cowork creates"

1. Test: next creation task, reference skill:

Create deck from X. Use brand-guidelines skill.

Tóm tắt bài học

Tài liệu tham khảo

• Cowork use-case gallery — 50+ task ideas
• Brand guidelines skills patterns
• Help Center: Output file formats