Work in the grid

Enter data, use typed columns, select, copy and paste, and insert or delete rows in the Sheets grid.

Type in cells, use typed columns, move around with the keyboard, copy and paste, and insert or delete rows.

Before you start: Can edit on Sheets to change anything. With Can view the grid is read-only.

The screen

The Sheets editor

  • Top bar: back button, Workbook name (click to rename), a status, collaborator avatars, Export .xlsx.
  • Formula bar: shows and edits the contents of the selected cell.
  • Grid: columns A, B, C… and numbered rows. A new sheet starts with 26 columns. Extra empty columns fill the screen. They become real text columns when you type in them.
  • Tab strip at the bottom.

Status in the top bar

Label Meaning
In memory The workbook is loaded for fast editing.
Loading into memory… It is being loaded. You can already work.
On disk Not loaded yet. Everything still works.
a message with Retry Loading failed. Click Retry.

The workbook loads automatically when you open it. It is released after about 30 minutes without use and reloads when someone opens it again.

Enter data

  1. Click a cell and start typing, or press F2 or Enter to edit what is there.
  2. Press Enter to commit and go down, Tab to commit and go right, Esc to cancel.
  3. Start with = to write a formula. See Write formulas.

Column types

Each column has a type that is fixed once the column exists.

Type What you can enter
Text Anything.
Number Numbers. Commas are ignored (1,250). Otherwise "not a number".
Currency Same as Number.
Date YYYY-MM-DD, a full timestamp, YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM, or DD/MM/YYYY. Otherwise "not a date (use YYYY-MM-DD)". Editing opens a date picker.
Checkbox true, false, 1, 0, yes, no, y, n, on, off. Press Space or Enter or click to toggle.
Select One of the column's options (a pick list opens). Anything else: "not one of the select options".

A value that does not fit is refused and the cell is marked.

Select columns you add by hand have no options, so any text is accepted. Columns made from record types carry the field's options.

Select cells

  • Drag to select a range. Shift + click or Shift + arrows extend. Ctrl/Cmd + click adds another range.
  • Click a column letter to select the column. Ctrl + A selects everything.
  • Arrow keys move. Tab and Shift + Tab move right and left.
  • Esc collapses to one cell.

Copy, paste, clear

  • Ctrl + C copies the selected range as tab-separated text, ready for Excel or another app.
  • Paste tab-separated text from a spreadsheet. You see "Pasted N cells".
  • Delete or Backspace clears every selected cell.

Rows

Click a row number (or right-click it) for Insert row above and Delete row. Inserting or deleting a row moves the rest and updates formulas that point to those rows. A formula pointing at a deleted row shows #REF!.

Troubleshooting

Write failed The change was not saved. Try again.

not a number / not a date / not a checkbox value The text does not fit the column type. See the table above.

Cell marked with an error Hover it to read the message.