Response Projects: Extend “Help Text” Mapping Support to Excel Source Documents

I’m submitting this enhancement idea on behalf of our strategic client, Microsoft.

Overview
Microsoft’s Project Managers frequently use the Help Text mapping option when creating Response Projects. This feature provides valuable contextual guidance to authors without making the content editable or included in exports.

Currently, Help Text is supported only when the source document is in Word or PDF format. Microsoft is requesting that this capability be extended to Excel-based projects as well.

Current Challenge

Microsoft often receives source documents in Excel format, but the Help Text mapping option is unavailable in these cases.
Help Text offers key advantages over Description, including:
- Preventing edits to this contextual text within the platform.
- Excluding the contextual text from export to Response Template files, unlike Description, which exports to Response Templates.

Proposed Enhancement

Enable the Help Text mapping option when creating Response Projects from Excel source documents.
Ensure full parity with Word and PDF behavior, including in-platform visibility and export functionality.

Expected Impact

Provides consistent mapping functionality across all supported document types.
Improves efficiency and accuracy for Microsoft’s Project Managers, who frequently receive Excel-based inputs.
Enhances usability and ensures a more seamless authoring experience for large project teams.

Thank you to the Product Team for your time and consideration. Please reach out if any further clarification is needed.

@Gosia Rios for visibility.

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Future consideration

Response Projects

Status: Future consideration

Comments

Khalees V

@Susan Berger Thanks for sharing the feedback. Is it possible to share few excel files that contain text to be marked as "Help Text" - This is to better understand the problem

Susan Berger

@Khalees V I've attached a sample Excel file that you can use that includes two sections and two cells of descriptive text that currently can only be mapped as a Description. In the cases, where they don't want users to alter the text within the Description or in the case where they are exporting this project to a Response Template and don't want the Description to also export to their Response Template, they'd like the option to be able to map this as Help Text, (when initially mapping the project).

Microsoft is frustrated with the inconsistencies and would like parity when mapping a Word project vs Excel project.

Susan - Excel with Help Text.xlsx

Khalees V

@Susan Berger Until we bring parity, can we recommend this workaround - To convert desc as help text, so it is not exported?

Susan Berger

@Khalees V

Microsoft is aware that after mapping a project, they can manually change any “Descriptions” to “Help Text” afterward. However, since most of their RFPs contain hundreds of project sections, this becomes a time-consuming process and is often overlooked until export, when they notice that unwanted description text is included in the exported Response Template.

With so many users mapping numerous projects in Responsive, the lack of parity between the mapping toolbar options is creating confusion. The manual fix of reassigning each section’s “Description” to “Help Text” is tedious and frequently forgotten.

While this is not a critical enhancement request, Microsoft would appreciate knowing if the Product team plans to address this, and if so, whether there is an approximate ETA.

Thank you!

Khalees V

@Susan Berger I am not sure on the effort and bandwidth. I will have a connect with the Engineering team and get back to you next week.

Susan Berger

@Khalees V Thank you. This is not an urgent/critical ask. I know you are all working hard on other critical asks from Microsoft. This is a want, but not a must have. Thanks again!

Khalees V

Thanks, Susan.