Component Catalog
This is the authoritative list of proposed reusable components for Digital Products
workbooks. Every component below has Status proposed. None is implemented.
"Proposed" means the idea has been specified at a catalog level; it has not been
built, tested, or verified in an actual Excel workbook. Candidate Products listed
are backlog/example product names for illustration only — they are not commitments
to build those products, and referencing a component here does not commit any
product to using it.
When a component matures beyond this single-row specification, it should get a full
specification using the _template/ scaffold inside its category directory, and its
Status should change to specified (fully documented, still unbuilt) or later
implemented (built and verified in at least one shipped product) — only ever
advanced by explicit human review, never unilaterally by an AI agent.
Navigation and User Guidance
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-101
Guided Start-Here Navigator
Orient a new user on first open: what the workbook does, suggested order of tabs, where to enter data
None (static content tab)
Navigation links/buttons to other tabs
Product name, tab list, brand theme
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Hyperlink-based navigation can break if tabs are renamed/reordered without updating links
Retirement Decision Planner, Household Budget Planner
proposed
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-102
In-Sheet Table of Contents
Persistent, always-visible index of tabs with jump links, shown on every tab or a dedicated nav tab
Tab list, tab visibility rules
Clickable index
Tab order, tab labels
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Requires manual update when tabs are added/removed; no dynamic tab detection in native Excel
Cash Flow Forecast, Small Business Pricing Calculator
proposed
Configuration and Settings
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-201
Central Configuration Panel
Single tab/panel holding all user-adjustable settings (currency, fiscal year start, thresholds, theme) that other tabs read via named ranges
User-entered setting values
Named ranges consumed workbook-wide
Which settings are exposed vs. locked
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Settings changes are not versioned; no undo history beyond Excel's native undo
Household Budget Planner, Rental Property Tracker
proposed
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-301
Input Validation Framework
Consistent data-validation rules (dropdowns, numeric ranges, date bounds) and consistent error messaging pattern applied across all input cells
Field definitions from a product's data-dictionary.md
Data validation rules, input error prompts
Per-field validation rule set
Excel 365, Excel 2019+ (Data Validation feature)
Custom-formula validation messages have limited formatting; no true modal error dialogs in native Excel
Retirement Decision Planner, Small Business Pricing Calculator
proposed
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-302
Required-Field Indicator
Visual marker (icon/conditional formatting) showing which input cells are required vs. optional, and whether they are currently satisfied
Required-field list, current cell values
Conditional formatting state, optional summary count of unfilled required fields
Which fields are required per tab
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Relies on conditional formatting performance; large sheets may see minor recalculation lag
Household Budget Planner, Cash Flow Forecast
proposed
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-303
Data Import Helper
Structured paste-in area with validation and mapping guidance for users bringing in existing data (e.g. bank export, expense list)
Pasted raw data
Cleaned/validated data ready for use by calculation tabs
Expected column mapping
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Cannot fully replace true data-import tooling (no external connections by default); relies on user following paste instructions
Household Budget Planner, Rental Property Tracker
proposed
Calculation Engines
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-401
Core Calculation Audit Trail
A hidden/dev-facing tab exposing intermediate calculation steps so every displayed output can be traced back to its inputs, for QA and customer trust
Calculation specification per product
Traceable calculation chain, human-readable step labels
Which calculations are exposed in the audit trail
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Adds workbook size/complexity; must be kept in sync with calculation-specification.md manually
Retirement Decision Planner, Cash Flow Forecast
proposed
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-402
Sensitivity Analysis Toggle
Lets a user flip one or more key assumptions between "conservative / expected / optimistic" presets and see downstream outputs update
Named preset values per assumption
Recalculated dependent outputs
Preset value sets per assumption
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Only supports discrete presets, not continuous what-if sliders, without add-ins
Retirement Decision Planner, Small Business Pricing Calculator
proposed
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-403
Scenario Comparison Table
Side-by-side comparison of 2-4 named scenarios' key outputs, built on top of the calculation engine without duplicating formula logic
Scenario input sets
Comparison table of key outputs per scenario
Number of scenario columns, which outputs are compared
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Manual scenario data entry/duplication risk if not paired with structured scenario input tab
Retirement Decision Planner, Cash Flow Forecast
proposed
KPI and Status Indicators
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-501
KPI Status Tile
Compact, consistently styled tile showing a single KPI label, value, and status color
KPI value, thresholds
Formatted display cell/shape group
Threshold values, label text, tile size
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Shape-based tiles can shift on print/resize if not locked to cell anchors
Household Budget Planner, Small Business Pricing Calculator
proposed
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-502
Traffic-Light Status Indicator
Red/amber/green (plus non-color icon/text redundancy for accessibility) status marker driven by a calculated value against thresholds
Calculated value, threshold set
Icon/color + text status label
Threshold boundaries, icon set
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Must always pair color with text/icon per accessibility requirement; color-only variants are non-compliant
Cash Flow Forecast, Rental Property Tracker
proposed
Dashboard and Visualization
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-601
Executive Dashboard Layout
A single-screen, print-friendly dashboard layout pattern combining KPI tiles, a primary chart, and a status summary, per the dashboard-and-reporting standard
Product's dashboard-specification.md KPI list
Assembled dashboard tab layout
Number/placement of tiles and charts
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Fixed-layout approach; heavily customized dashboards may need to deviate from the pattern
Retirement Decision Planner, Household Budget Planner
proposed
Timeline and Gantt
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-701
Gantt Timeline Component
Conditional-formatting-driven Gantt chart for task/milestone timelines built entirely from formulas (no external add-in)
Task list with start/end dates
Visual timeline bars aligned to a date axis
Date range, row count, color coding by status/category
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Practical row/date-range limits before recalculation slows; no drag-to-resize like dedicated PM tools
Small Business Launch Planner, Marketing Campaign Planner
proposed
Forecasting
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-801
Rolling Cash Flow Forecast Engine
Rolling N-period forward projection of cash position from recurring and one-time entries, with configurable horizon
Recurring/one-time cash flow entries, starting balance
Period-by-period projected balance
Forecast horizon length, period granularity (weekly/monthly)
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Assumes recurring entries are regular; irregular/seasonal patterns need manual entry
Cash Flow Forecast, Small Business Pricing Calculator
proposed
Budgeting
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-901
Budget vs Actual Tracker
Compares budgeted amounts per category/period against actual entries, with variance calculation and status indicator
Budgeted amounts, actual amounts by category/period
Variance values, percent-of-budget, status indicator
Category list, period granularity
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Requires consistent category taxonomy between budget and actuals entry; no automatic category matching
Household Budget Planner, Small Business Pricing Calculator
proposed
Reporting and Print Export
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-1001
Printable Report Generator
Standardized, print-tested single or multi-page report layout pulling from dashboard/data tabs, following the report-specification.md pattern
Report content mapping from source tabs
Print-ready formatted tab(s)
Paper size, included sections, header/footer content
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Manual print-area/page-break maintenance required if source data grows
Retirement Decision Planner, Rental Property Tracker
proposed
Themes and Styling
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-1101
Brand Theme Pack
Consistent Excel workbook theme (colors, fonts, cell styles, table styles) applied across all Digital Products workbooks or a product family
Brand palette, typography choices
Excel Theme (.thmx-equivalent cell styles), named cell style set
Which palette/typography variant is applied
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Excel theme fidelity varies slightly across platforms (Mac/Online); requires spot-checking per compatibility.md
All products (cross-cutting)
proposed
Documentation
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-1201
Embedded Instructions Panel
In-workbook instructions tab pattern (purpose, how-to-use, glossary) kept structurally consistent across products
Product-specific instructional copy
Formatted instructions tab
Section list, product-specific copy
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Static content; must be manually kept in sync with actual feature set per release
All products (cross-cutting)
proposed
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-1202
Version and Changelog Tracker
In-workbook (and/or paired file) changelog tab recording version history visible to the customer
Release notes per releases/
Formatted changelog display
Version entry format
Excel 365, Excel 2019+
Manual entry; no automatic version diffing
All products (cross-cutting)
proposed
Quality and Compatibility
Component ID
Capability
Intended Purpose
Inputs
Outputs
Configuration
Compatibility Target
Known Limitations
Candidate Products
Status
DD-DIGPROD-COMP-1301
Cross-Version Compatibility Checklist
Standardized checklist/process artifact for verifying a workbook opens and behaves correctly across all claimed-compatible Excel versions/platforms before release
Product's compatibility target list
Completed checklist result per version/platform
Which versions/platforms are in scope
Process artifact — not an in-workbook component
Coverage limited to versions/platforms actually available for testing; gaps must be disclosed, not assumed passing
All products (cross-cutting)
proposed
Notes on This Catalog
Component IDs are stable once assigned; do not renumber existing entries when
adding new ones.
"Candidate Products" names above (e.g. "Retirement Decision Planner", "Cash Flow
Forecast", "Household Budget Planner", "Small Business Pricing Calculator",
"Rental Property Tracker", "Small Business Launch Planner", "Marketing Campaign
Planner") are illustrative backlog names only, used to show plausible fit. None of
these products currently exist under ../products/; naming them here does not
create, approve, or commit to building them.
This is a specification document, not a template — but it makes no implementation
claims. Do not change a Status value to anything other than proposed without a
recorded, reviewed decision.