Start a spreadsheet from chat or the Library
Ask for a sheet in chat or pick a Library template, then get your bearings in the grid it opens.
✦ Course · Beginner
Build and edit spreadsheets in the Sheet editor
Start a sheet from chat or a template, sort and filter it, write formulas, format and chart it, edit it by asking, then export, comment and share it.
Start courseYOUR OUTCOME
By the end you will have a formatted, charted sales sheet and know what survives when you export it.
Build a sheet and find the rows that matter Summarise, format and chart the figures Edit by asking, export and share
6 min
Sort and filter to find the rows you need
Reorder the rows by any column, then hide the ones you don't need with the column menus.
Write formulas without memorising them
Read totals off the status bar, then use AutoSum, the function lists and the fill handle for the formulas you keep.
Format the sheet so it reads at a glance
Mark the header, show money as money and keep the headings on screen as you scroll.
Chart the numbers
Turn a small summary into a chart you can move, resize and change type later.
Edit the sheet by asking
Use the editing chip for the changes the assistant can make, and say which cells you mean.
Import and export workbooks
Bring an .xlsx or .csv in as a new spreadsheet and send the sheet out as .xlsx or .csv, knowing what each keeps.
Keep the sheet saved, comment on it and share it
Read the save state before you close a sheet, leave notes on cells, keep versions and invite people in.
What each lesson covers
The course, lesson by lesson.
Start a spreadsheet from chat or the Library
Ask for a sheet in chat or pick a Library template, then get your bearings in the grid it opens.
This course uses the Sheet editor in the desktop workspace on a computer. The phone's Sheet Editor has fewer tools and isn't covered here. Type /sheet in chat, or click the Spreadsheet chip when an empty chat shows it, and describe the columns you need and what the sheet is for. Oppermind builds the spreadsheet and opens it in the Sheet editor. It picks the layout and may fill in sample figures, so check every number before you total anything. To start from a set layout instead, click Library and choose one of 18 templates, such as Sales tracker or Event budget. A template fills an empty sheet, or lands as a new tab if the sheet already has data. The formula bar shows the selected cell's address and contents, the tabs along the bottom hold each sheet, and the status bar reads whatever you select. While the sheet is open, the composer carries an editing chip with its name, so your next message changes this sheet.
Practice. Ask chat for a sheet that tracks something you count every month, then open Library and add the Sales tracker template to see it arrive as a second tab. Click a few cells and watch the address and contents change in the formula bar.
Make a spreadsheet that tracks Q3 sales for our three bakeries, Fitzroy, Carlton and Brunswick. One row per month, store and product line (bread, pastry, coffee), with columns for units and revenue.
Sort and filter to find the rows you need
Reorder the rows by any column, then hide the ones you don't need with the column menus.
Click a cell in the column you care about, then Sort selection on the toolbar. In a narrow pane it moves to the More menu, under From toolbar. Sort by column lists each column with its heading, such as Column E · Revenue, and Direction offers Ascending or Descending. The sort runs down to the first blank row, so a Total row below a gap stays put, and so does a totals row whose formulas add up the rows above it. Whole rows move, every column included, so a table you keep beside the data gets shuffled too. Formulas travel with their rows and still point at them, and blanks sort last. Undo puts the old order back. To filter, click the funnel, Toggle column auto-filter, and a ▾ appears beside every column letter. Its menu adds Number filters or Text filters. Filter by value lists each entry with a count. Untick what you don't want and click OK, and Clear filter on column B brings the rows back.
Practice. Put =E2/D2 in F2 and fill it down, then sort by Revenue from largest to smallest and click a few cells in F to check each formula points at its own row. Then use Filter by value on Store to show one store, and clear it.
Click E2, click Sort selection, choose Column E · Revenue and then Descending. Then turn on the filter, click ▾ on column B, untick (Select all), tick Carlton and click OK.
Write formulas without memorising them
Read totals off the status bar, then use AutoSum, the function lists and the fill handle for the formulas you keep.
Select a column of numbers and look at the status bar first. It already shows Σ (the sum), μ (the average), n (the count), min and max, so a quick check needs no formula. To keep a result, select the numbers and click Σ, AutoSum, which writes =SUM() in the cell below them. Type = in a cell or the formula bar to write your own, and function names are suggested as you type. ƒx on the toolbar lists functions under tabs from Math to Info. The fx in the formula bar opens the Function wizard, which goes from category to function to arguments and shows a Preview value before you click Insert. Put $ before a row number to hold it still, then drag the small square at the corner of the cell, the fill handle, to copy the formula down. Right-click a formula cell and choose Explain formula (AI) to have Oppermind describe it in plain words.
Practice. Build a small store summary beside the data: Store and Revenue as headings in G1 and H1, the three store names under Store, and a SUMIF in H2 that you fill down. Check its total against the status bar.
In H2 type =SUMIF(B$2:B$28,G2,E$2:E$28) and press Enter. Then drag the fill handle from H2 down to H4.
Format the sheet so it reads at a glance
Mark the header, show money as money and keep the headings on screen as you scroll.
Select the cells first, then format them. Bold and a light Fill colour pick out the header row. Align left and Align center set alignment, and Toggle merge cells joins a title across columns. The $ button shows whole dollars with a thousands separator. For cents, follow it with Decimal places in the More menu and pick 2. % shows one decimal place, and the Number format list adds General, Date, Scientific and Plain text. Double-click a column letter to fit the column to its longest entry. The column letters and row numbers always stay in view as you scroll. To keep your own headings in view too, open Freeze panes on the toolbar and choose Freeze top row, or click A2 and choose Freeze rows in the More menu. Either one is saved with the sheet, and Unfreeze lets go again.
Practice. Bold row 1 and give it a light fill, apply $ to the Revenue column, show a price column to two decimal places, then freeze the header row from the toolbar and scroll down.
Select A1:E1, click Bold and pick a light grey in Fill colour. Select E2:E28 and click $. Then open Freeze panes on the toolbar and choose Freeze top row.
Chart the numbers
Turn a small summary into a chart you can move, resize and change type later.
Chart a summary, not the raw list. Select the cells with their headings, then right-click and choose Insert chart, or click the bar-chart button on the toolbar. The Insert chart dialog offers 13 types, from Bar (column) to Bubble. Data range holds the cells you selected, Chart title is optional, and Series (auto-detected) shows one pill for each column of numbers. The preview redraws as you switch types, so you can compare before committing. Insert chart places a chart card on the grid. Drag it by its header strip and resize it from the bottom-right corner. Right-click the chart for Edit chart… or Delete chart. Columns and lines suit a handful of stores or months. Pie and Doughnut only make sense when the parts add up to a whole, such as each store's share of the quarter.
Practice. Select the store summary from lesson 3, insert a Bar (column) chart with a title, move it clear of the data, then use Edit chart… to compare Line and Doughnut.
Select G1:H4, right-click and choose Insert chart. Keep Bar (column), type Q3 revenue by store in Chart title and click Insert chart.
Edit the sheet by asking
Use the editing chip for the changes the assistant can make, and say which cells you mean.
Keep the editing chip in the composer and say exactly what should change. From chat, the assistant can set cells, write formulas such as a SUM, insert or delete rows and columns, and format cells, from bold and colours to fonts, merges and decimal places. It can also sort by a column, freeze the top rows, leave a cell comment, and add or rename a sheet. It reads the open workbook as it stands, typed figures and comments included, though a very large workbook is cut short. Charts, pivot tables, filters, conditional formatting and Solver aren't among its edits, so use the toolbar and the More menu for those. When the editor can't apply a change, the reply adds This change could not be applied in the editor, with a reason. Name the cells, because "set E25 to 12100" leaves less to guess than "fix Carlton's coffee". Undo takes back a chat change like any other edit. To make a separate sheet, click × on the chip before you ask.
Practice. With the chip showing, ask for three changes in one message: freeze the header row, show Revenue to two decimal places and put a total under it. Check each one, and use Undo if any isn't what you meant.
Freeze the top row, make the headings in row 1 dark blue and put a SUM of Revenue in E29.
Import and export workbooks
Bring an .xlsx or .csv in as a new spreadsheet and send the sheet out as .xlsx or .csv, knowing what each keeps.
To bring a workbook in, attach it in chat and ask to open it in the spreadsheet editor, or choose Import file… in the More menu. Import file… saves the open sheet, then opens the file as a new spreadsheet. Old .xls workbooks can't be opened, so save them as .xlsx first. An .xlsx keeps its values, formulas, formatting, merged cells, conditional formatting, images, charts and notes. A .csv arrives as one sheet. The grid has 26 columns, A to Z, and shows up to 10,000 rows. Export XLSX saves every tab in one file named after the first tab, so rename Sheet1 first. It keeps formulas, styles, validation, tables, most charts and most conditional formatting, and comments become notes. Stacked and combo charts become plain columns. Radar, Polar area and Bubble charts become pictures on the tab you're looking at and are dropped from other tabs. Sparklines, slicers, scenarios and date-based formatting rules are left out. Export CSV saves only the values on the tab you're looking at.
Practice. Rename your first tab, export the sheet as .xlsx and open the file in another spreadsheet app to check the formulas and the chart. Then export a .csv and see what's left.
Double-click the Sheet1 tab, rename it Q3 sales and click Rename. Then open More and choose Export XLSX.
Keep the sheet saved, comment on it and share it
Read the save state before you close a sheet, leave notes on cells, keep versions and invite people in.
The status bar reads Unsaved after a change and Saved once it is stored. A failed save shows in red on the toolbar, such as Save failed (HTTP 500), so press Ctrl+S to retry before you close the tab. Cell comment, under Tools in More, marks a cell with an amber corner and a note. In Version history, Snapshot now records the sheet and Restore brings an older version back after asking. Share is on the toolbar just after the More button, or under From toolbar in More on a narrow pane. In Share this spreadsheet, type an address in Add people by email, pick Can view or Can edit, and press Share. Someone new gets an invite email that names you and the item, says what they can do and has an Open in Oppermind button. Sometimes no email goes, for example after a sending limit, and the message says they will still see it under Shared with me. Sharing by email may depend on your plan.
Practice. Make a change and watch the status bar go from Unsaved to Saved. Leave a comment on one figure, take a snapshot in Version history, then open Share and look at the access choices before inviting anyone.
Click E2, choose Cell comment, type Includes a catering order and click Save. Then open Share, type mia@example.com in Add people by email, choose Can edit and click Share.
Keep going
Make the learning stick
Start with one real piece of work.
Open Oppermind beside the lesson, apply each step, and leave with something you can use.