Start with the assumption
It is tempting to treat every blank below a populated cell as a request to repeat its value. That makes exported rows look complete, but completeness can be manufactured. A spreadsheet can use empty space for missing information, visual separation or inherited context. The same empty cell does not settle which interpretation applies.
Follow the North region label
Consider a merged cell labeled North region above several office rows. A plain row export may detach those offices from their regional context. Here, the merged range can support assigning a region to each office, provided its scope actually covers those records. Preserve that range as provenance so a reviewer can inspect the reason for inheritance. The example illustrates a possible interpretation, not a measured extraction result.
Check meaning as well as position
Now imagine a hypothetical workbook where the North region banner groups offices serving that sales territory, while a separate column records each office's physical location. An office outside the north could legitimately belong to this group. Filling an empty location cell with North would convert a service relationship into a geographic claim. The decision rule is to inherit only into a field whose meaning matches the heading; otherwise leave the location unknown and request review.
Make the decision inspectable
Before accepting a derived table, compare affected rows with the source. Check merged boundaries, section headings, blank separators and misleading subtotals. Ask whether each inherited value has both a structural basis and the intended meaning. If either fails, keep the uncertainty explicit. A useful review set should expose invented values as well as lost hierarchy, because a tidy table can hide both errors.
Keep the claim bounded
FlashRelate and the table extraction survey provide research context for interpreting structure. The reviewed abstract or introductory excerpts do not validate a universal fill-down rule. ABOLTUS is in development; retaining provenance, previewing transformations and obtaining reviewer confirmation are proposed experimental directions here, not reported product results or claims of available features.