Sheet file for creating a poll

In the Favorite Film Buff post, we ran into an issue with publishing the poll, so I decided to create this file and share it here in case it’s useful for you as well

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In this file, I implemented several features to ensure the text is properly formatted and organized. Specifically, we cleaned the input by removing any non-ASCII characters and unnecessary spaces at the beginning and end of each entry. Additionally, we set up automatic sorting mechanisms: one column organizes entries based on the year mentioned in the text, and another sorts entries alphabetically. These steps were designed to maintain consistency, accuracy, and ease of use for anyone entering or reviewing the data.

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In this Google Sheets file, the first three columns are designed specifically for review:

• Column A – Original input text
• Column B – Cleaned output showing removed non-ASCII characters and trimmed spaces
• Column C – Flag ⚠️ indicating any modifications

All other columns can also be edited or pasted into freely; the cleaning process still works automatically, but no flags are shown there.

Here are three sample words added to the file for demonstration:

Héllo 🌍 Wörld! fi re

In the screenshot, you can see how the first three columns highlight changes, while the rest of the file is automatically cleaned without alerts.

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The cleaning process also handles extra spaces in the text:

• Any leading or trailing spaces in the input are automatically removed.
• Spaces between words are preserved, so the original meaning and readability remain intact.
• If a space removal affects a cell in the first three columns (A–C), it is also reflected in the Flag column (C), indicating that a modification occurred.
• In other columns (D and beyond), extra spaces are removed automatically, but no flag is displayed.

For example, if the input is:

fi re 

• Column B (Cleaned Output) will show:

fi re

• Column C (Flag) will show: ⚠

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The year extraction feature automatically detects the last four digits in the input text as the production year and sorts the entries accordingly. This allows easy chronological organization even if the year is enclosed in parentheses, brackets, or added after some text.

Here are a few sample entries added to the file:

The Shawshank Redemption 1994

Inception (2010)

The Godfather [1972]

Interstellar 2014

Casablanca 1942 

In the screenshot, you can see that the sorting is applied based on the years detected in these entries.

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There is a column (column F) where text is entered, and the sheet automatically sorts the entries alphabetically and shows the sorted list in column G.  These samples are written in the column to demonstrate how the sorting works.

The Shawshank Redemption 1994

Inception (2010)

The Godfather [1972]

Interstellar 2014

Casablanca 1942

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"I’ve added the link to this file. You can leave comments on it if anything needs to be corrected or changed, and you can also make a copy of it if you’d like

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U0UUiK42G_hShEQM7f0l3oIsDxB3o39_D33dtNW-ud8/edit?usp=sharing