Extract University Term Dates from Excel using Cloudflare Markdown Conversion

This n8n workflow automates the extraction of university term dates from an Excel file, converts the relevant data into a structured Markdown format, and then uses a Large Language Model (LLM) to extract specific term date information. Finally, it sends the extracted information via email.

What it does

1. Manual Trigger: The workflow is initiated manually, allowing for on-demand processing.
2. HTTP Request (Download Excel): It downloads an Excel file containing university term dates from a specified URL.
3. Convert to File (Excel to Markdown): The downloaded Excel file is converted into a Markdown file. This step is crucial for preparing the data for LLM processing.
4. Edit Fields (Prepare for LLM): The Markdown content is prepared for the LLM by setting the "text" field to the Markdown output.
5. Google Gemini Chat Model: The Markdown content is fed into the Google Gemini Chat Model as a prompt.
6. Information Extractor: This node, powered by Langchain, extracts specific information (likely term names, start dates, end dates, etc.) from the LLM's response based on a defined schema.
7. Split Out: The extracted information, which is likely an array of objects, is split into individual items for further processing.
8. Sort: The individual term date items are sorted, potentially by date or term name, to ensure a consistent output order.
9. Code (Format Output): A custom JavaScript code node formats the extracted and sorted term dates into a human-readable string.
10. Gmail (Send Email): The formatted term dates are sent as an email to a specified recipient.

Prerequisites/Requirements

• n8n Instance: A running n8n instance.
• Google Gemini API Key: For the Google Gemini Chat Model node.
• Gmail Account: Configured as a credential in n8n for sending emails.
• Excel File URL: The URL of the Excel file containing the university term dates.
• Recipient Email Address: The email address to which the extracted term dates will be sent.

Setup/Usage

1. Import the Workflow:
   • Download the provided JSON workflow.
   • In your n8n instance, go to "Workflows" and click "New".
   • Click the "Import from JSON" button and paste the workflow JSON.
2. Configure Credentials:
   • Gmail: Set up a Gmail OAuth2 credential (or an App Password credential if 2FA is enabled) in n8n.
   • Google Gemini: Configure a Google Gemini API Key credential in n8n.
3. Update Node Parameters:
   • HTTP Request (Download Excel):
     • Update the "URL" field to the actual URL of your Excel file.
   • Gmail:
     • Set the "To" email address to the desired recipient.
     • Adjust the "Subject" and "Body" if needed, though the body will be dynamically generated by the Code node.
   • Information Extractor:
     • Review and adjust the "Schema" parameter within the Information Extractor node to precisely define the structure of the term date information you want to extract (e.g., termName: string, startDate: string, endDate: string).
4. Activate the Workflow: Toggle the workflow to "Active" in the top right corner.
5. Execute the Workflow: Click "Execute Workflow" on the "When clicking ‘Execute workflow’" (Manual Trigger) node to run the workflow.

The workflow will download the Excel, convert it, process it with the LLM, extract the structured data, and send an email with the extracted term dates.