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A free guide from the Ned Ships It video
Claude Excel Skills: Word, PowerPoint + PDF Too
Six free skills. Real files you can open, edit and send.
Commented OFFICE? This box is yours.
From
Ned, @nedshipsit
To
You
In the box
7 free tools
Checked
October 19, 2026
What a skill actually is
A skill is a folder of instructions that teaches Claude one job, the same way every time. Claude only opens a skill when your request matches it, so you never have to pick one. Ask for "the Q4 budget as a spreadsheet" and Claude grabs the Excel skill.
Anthropic publishes its skills in one GitHub repo, anthropics/skills. Six of them handle office work:
Excel (xlsx): spreadsheets with working formulas.
Word (docx): memos and reports with real headings, page numbers and tracked changes.
PowerPoint (pptx): decks where every slide has a visual and charts stay editable.
PDF (pdf): fill in forms, merge, split and pull text out of PDFs.
Brand guidelines: a template for your colors and fonts.
Skill creator: Claude helps you write a brand-new skill.
Kevin finished three files before 8:40 PM. The meeting was at nine. In the morning.
New to this? Start hereWhat you need before Claude makes a file
Any Claude plan works, including Free. Skills need code execution, which is on by default.
In the Claude app (web, desktop or mobile): nothing to install for Excel, Word, PowerPoint and PDF.
In Claude Code: you add Anthropic's skills repo once (steps below).
On Team or Enterprise, an Owner controls skills and file creation in Organization settings.
Ask for a file by name: "Make this a spreadsheet", "Turn this into a Word memo", "Build a 6-slide deck". You get a file to download, not a wall of text.
Built into the Claude app. In Claude Code it's in document-skills.
Try it
Paste your numbers (or upload a CSV), then type:
You, to Claude
Build our Q4 budget as an Excel file from these numbers.
One row per expense, a Total row that uses formulas, and the inputs in blue.
Then tell me which cell holds the total and what formula it uses.
Open the file and click the total. You should see a formula like =SUM(B2:B9) in the formula bar. Change one number and watch the total move.
Heads up The skill checks that every formula calculates, not that it adds up the right rows. More
Click two or three totals yourself before you send it.
Built into the Claude app. In Claude Code it's in document-skills.
Try it
You, to Claude
Write a one-page Word memo to the board about our Q4 budget.
Use real headings, page numbers in the footer, and a short table of the three biggest costs.
Got last year's memo? Upload it and ask: "Update this for Q4 and show every change as a tracked change."
In Claude open Customize, then Skills, and switch on skill-creator. In Claude Code it's in example-skills.
Try it
You, to Claude
Use the skill creator to make a skill for my weekly sales report.
Ask me questions first: where the numbers come from, what the sheet should look like, and who reads it.
Claude interviews you, writes the skill, and tests it on a few example requests.
Kevin made a skill for his Monday report. Now he has Mondays.
If it still breaks
Claude gives me text, not a file. Check Settings > Capabilities > Code execution and file creation is on, then ask for the file type by name ("as an Excel file").
The formulas show errors. Ask: "Recalculate the workbook and fix every formula error." Then click a few totals yourself.
The deck looks generic. Upload your company template, or set up the brand guidelines skill above.
I can't find Skills in Customize. On Team or Enterprise, ask your Owner to turn on Skills in Organization settings.
It's a Claude Code thing. Run /plugin marketplace add anthropics/skills first. The install commands only work after that.
Questions people ask
What is a Claude skill?
A skill is a folder of instructions (and sometimes scripts) that Claude opens only when a job matches it. Ask for a spreadsheet and Claude loads the Excel skill; ask for a deck and it loads the PowerPoint one. Anthropic's help center calls this progressive disclosure: Claude only reads what the task needs.
Are the Claude Excel, Word and PowerPoint skills free?
Yes to use. Anthropic's help center says skills and file creation are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. The document skills are source-available (you can read them on GitHub), not open source. Brand guidelines and skill creator are Apache 2.0, so you can copy and change them.
Can Claude create Excel files with real formulas?
Yes. The Excel skill tells Claude to write formulas instead of typed-in results (for example =SUM(B2:B9) in the total cell) so the sheet recalculates when you change a number, and to recalculate and fix any formula errors before it hands you the file. Still check the numbers: a formula can be error-free and point at the wrong row.
Do I need to install anything in the Claude app?
No. In the Claude app (web, desktop or mobile) the Excel, Word, PowerPoint and PDF skills are built in. Make sure Settings > Capabilities > Code execution and file creation is on (it's on by default on Free, Pro and Max). In Claude Code you install them from Anthropic's skills repo with two commands.
Are the files always perfect?
No. Anthropic's own README says to test skills before relying on them for critical work. Open every file, click the totals, read the memo and flip through the deck before it goes to your boss or your board.
Where Ned does his homework
The tools are free. Knowing what to ask them for is the real skill. Professor Glitch teaches it from zero, in order, inside the community: 8 courses and 200+ lessons. These two are where Ned started.
