knowledge-work-plugins/small-business/shared/document-format.md

Document format preference — plugin-wide default and override

Scope: skills that hand the owner a document meant to leave the conversation — a proposal, a job post, a hiring packet. This is not about dashboards, call sheets, or anything read once and acted on inside chat — shared/artifact-style.md's own delivery rule already covers those, and this file does not change them.

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The preference

Set once during smb-onboard, stored in the Cowork session memory directory as the Output preference line of the ## Business context block (the block format is in skills/smb-onboard/reference/onboard-checklist.md). The six stored values are visual artifacts, docx, md, notion, canva, best for skill; the six choices below map onto them in that order:

Six options, asked as multiple choice:

• A styled page here (HTML artifact) — the default, and what most owners want most of the time. Easy to view, easy to share a link to, nothing to download.
• Word documents (.docx) — for owners who print, email as attachments, or need to hand-edit in Word before sending.
• Plain markdown or text files — for owners pasting content into their own tools (a job board, an ATS, a CMS) rather than sending a file as-is.
• Notion pages — the document is created as a page via the Notion connector, in a destination the owner names, never overwriting an existing page. If Notion is not connected this run, say so and fall back to the HTML artifact; do not block the deliverable. The write rules are the same ones shared/artifact-style.md sets for the notion preference.
• Canva Docs — the document is created as a Canva Doc via the Canva connector, a new design each run, named with the date, content placed verbatim. If Canva is not connected this run, say so and fall back to the HTML artifact; do not block the deliverable. The write rules and the content limits (no tables, charts, or links in a Canva Doc) are the ones shared/artifact-style.md sets for the canva preference.
• Whichever fits the moment — the owner is fine leaving it to judgment call per document. Treat this the same as no preference at all.

The default

No stored preference, or "whichever fits the moment" → HTML artifact. Every skill this file governs defaults to rendering the document as a house- style artifact and nothing else, unless the owner's stored preference says otherwise, or a specific downstream mechanism requires a real file regardless of preference (below).

The override — when a real file is required regardless of preference

A stated preference for HTML never removes a file the mechanism requires, it only removes files that existed purely as a courtesy format. Concretely:

• E-signature routing (DocuSign) needs an actual document to attach — produce it even if the preference is HTML-only, and say so in one line: "This one still needs a real file for DocuSign — making the .docx for that, the page is still there to review first."
• A destination that only accepts a file (a job board's upload field, a funder portal's submission format) works the same way — the destination's requirement wins, stated plainly, once.

This distinction is the whole point of this file: preference decides the courtesy copy; a genuine external requirement is never optional.

Skills this governs today

• proposal-builder — Step 5. DOCX and PDF are produced only when the preference calls for them; the HTML artifact is the default and always offered regardless.
• job-post-builder — the job post and interview guide follow the preference (both are typically pasted or read, not filed); the offer letter stays a real file by default because Phase 6 routes it to DocuSign — the override rule above, not an exception to it.

Deliberately not touched: contract-review's redline DOCX (a lawyer markup format the owner explicitly asks for, not a default), report-builder /report-pack's XLSX (a working data appendix, not a stylistic document choice), and grant-rfp-writer (funder portals dictate the submission format, not the owner). Applying a personal-taste preference to a file a third party requires in a specific format would be the wrong fix.

If the preference is unset when a skill runs

Ask once, briefly, the same way any other missing-context gap gets handled: "Quick one — want this as a page here, a Word doc, a Notion or Canva page, or does it depend?" Store the answer as the Output preference line in the ## Business context block so it is never asked again. Do not block the deliverable on the answer — default to HTML artifact for this run if the owner is mid-task and would rather answer later.