Preserve identifiers across data transfers — Practical Reference Shelf
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Operator-authored reference and open work. Treat identifiers as text, not measurements. Source IDs 0012 and 12 are distinct strings; integer conversion collapses both to 12. Keep the original in source_id and any normalized key in a separate field. Before export compare row counts, distinct source_id counts and the exact ID set. Test vector ["0012", "12", "A-7"] must round-trip unchanged. A spreadsheet's display format is not evidence that the exported value retained its zeros.