Spreadsheet widget

The Spreadsheet widget puts a full PlexiiSheets spreadsheet on your desk, with formulas, formatting, sheet tabs and Excel and CSV import and export. It sits beside your notes, tasks and other widgets, so the figures you are working on stay next to the work they belong to.

The spreadsheet is a file in Office. The widget and PlexiiSheets in Office open the same file, so the changes you make in one place are there when you open it in the other.

More about this widget Coming soon

Before you start

• The Spreadsheet widget is on every plan.
• You need a desk open.
• To start from a file, have an Excel file (.xlsx or .xls) or a .csv file ready.

Add a Spreadsheet

1. Open the desk you want the spreadsheet on.
2. Click Add widget in the centre of the header.
3. Click Spreadsheet. The Add spreadsheet window opens.
4. Choose how to start:
   • Create new (Start blank with our editor) makes an empty spreadsheet called "Untitled spreadsheet".
   • Import a file (Import an Excel .xlsx / .csv, formatting kept) lets you choose an .xlsx, .xls or .csv file. The new spreadsheet takes the file's name.
   • Place an existing one lists the spreadsheets you already have. Type in Search spreadsheets… to narrow the list, then click the one you want.

The Add widget menu groups widgets into columns by what they are for. Spreadsheet is in the Numbers & data column. You can also type spreadsheet in the search box at the top of the menu and press Enter.

The widget opens at 880 × 580, large enough to show the toolbar, the formula bar and a good block of cells.

Other ways to add one

• From the command palette. Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows, type spreadsheet and choose Add Spreadsheet. This puts a new blank spreadsheet on the desk straight away.
• From Office. You can also bring a spreadsheet you already have in Office onto a desk. See Put a document, spreadsheet or deck on a desk Coming soon.

The parts of the spreadsheet

Inside the widget is the same editor you get in Office:

• The menu bar: File, Edit, Insert, Format, Data, Tools and Help.
• The toolbar: undo and redo; bold, italic and underline; text colour and fill colour; the font; alignment; merge cells; Format for number formats (General, Number, Integer, Currency, Percent and Date); insert and delete rows and columns; sort; conditional formatting; data validation; filter; pivot table; sparkline; lookup (XLOOKUP); macros; query; Insert chart; Import / export; and AI fill.
• The formula bar: the cell you are on, such as A1, and what is in it. Start with = to type a formula. Beside it are AI (Ask AI to write a formula), Names for named ranges, and Assistant.
• The sheet tabs along the bottom, for more than one sheet in the same file.

Rest the pointer on any toolbar button to see what it does. For a full tour of the editor, see PlexiiSheets overview Coming soon.

Work in the spreadsheet

In the widget you can:

• Type values and formulas. See Formulas, functions and named ranges Coming soon.
• Format cells and numbers. See Format cells and numbers Coming soon.
• Add and remove rows, columns and sheet tabs. See Rows, columns, frozen panes and tabs Coming soon.
• Fill, copy and paste. See Fill, copy and paste Coming soon.
• Sort and filter. See Sort and filter Coming soon.
• Add drop-down lists and rules. See Data validation and dropdowns Coming soon and Conditional formatting Coming soon.
• Summarise and chart your figures. See Pivot tables Coming soon and Charts and sparklines in a sheet Coming soon.
• Automate and reshape data. See Automate a sheet with macros Coming soon and Shape data with queries Coming soon.

Right-clicking inside the spreadsheet opens the spreadsheet's own menus, such as the one on a column heading. To get the widget's menu instead, right-click its title bar.

AI in the spreadsheet

The spreadsheet has AI built into the editor:

• AI, beside the formula bar, writes a formula from a description of the calculation you want. See Describe a calculation, get a formula Coming soon.
• AI fill, on the toolbar and under Tools, suggests columns and fills in rows. See Build a sheet with AI fill Coming soon.
• Assistant, beside the formula bar, gives you a short summary of your figures and answers questions about them. See Insights and questions about your sheet Coming soon.

These use Plexii's AI, so AI needs to be set up. See AI settings.

The widget's title bar starts with an AI button (the sparkle). The spreadsheet's own AI is in the editor, so on a Spreadsheet widget this button opens the Plexii panel with the spreadsheet attached, ready for you to ask Plexii about it. See Use a widget's AI button.

Import and export

Bring in a file

• To start a new spreadsheet from a file, add a Spreadsheet widget and choose Import a file, as above.
• To bring a file into a spreadsheet that is already open, click the folder button on the toolbar (Import / export) and choose Import .xlsx / .csv, or choose File > Import (.xlsx / .csv).

Importing into an open spreadsheet replaces what is in it. If you did not mean to, click Undo on the toolbar to get the previous contents back. To keep both, import the file as a new spreadsheet instead.

Save a copy as Excel or CSV

1. Click the folder button on the toolbar (Import / export) and choose Export .xlsx or Export .csv. Or choose File > Download > Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) or Comma-separated values (.csv).
2. Choose where to save the file, and click Save.

A .csv file holds the values of the sheet tab you are on. Use .xlsx to keep every tab and the formatting. See Import and export Excel and CSV files Coming soon.

The same file in Office

The widget shows a spreadsheet that lives in Office. You can:

• Open it in PlexiiSheets in Office when you want the whole window to work in. Edits you make in either place are saved to the same file.
• Put the same spreadsheet on more than one desk with Place an existing one.

Removing the widget from the desk (the × in its title bar) takes it off the desk only. The spreadsheet stays in Office.

Sharing

• A live view. When you publish a live view of a desk, the spreadsheet is included and visitors can read it. See Publish a live view of a desk.
• The file itself. To share the spreadsheet with people, see Share a widget, document or file Coming soon.

Spreadsheet or Table?

Both hold rows and columns. Pick the one that suits the job:

• Spreadsheet is for working figures out: formulas, several sheet tabs, number formats, pivot tables, and Excel and CSV files you send or receive.
• Table is for keeping a list of records, where each column has a type (text, number, date, checkbox, choice and more). You can see a table as a list, cards, a Kanban board, a calendar or a timeline, and Chart, Metrics and Stat card widgets read their numbers from tables. See Table widget and Six views of every table.

Good uses

• A budget or price list on the project's desk, with formulas that total as you type.
• An Excel file someone sent you, imported and kept beside the notes and tasks it belongs to.
• A pivot table that summarises a long list into a few lines you can read at a glance.
• A .csv export for someone who needs your figures in their own tools.

Common questions

Where else can I open this spreadsheet? In Office, in PlexiiSheets. It is the same file, so it shows the same contents. See PlexiiSheets overview Coming soon.

I removed the widget. Is the spreadsheet gone? No. Removing the widget takes it off the desk only. To put it back, add a Spreadsheet widget and choose Place an existing one.

Can a Chart widget draw from my spreadsheet? Chart widgets read Tables. To chart figures in a spreadsheet, select them and use Insert chart in the spreadsheet. See Charts and sparklines in a sheet Coming soon.

Importing replaced my sheet. Click Undo on the toolbar to get the previous contents back.

The spreadsheet feels cramped. Click + in the title bar to make the widget larger, or Expand > Focus mode to give it the whole pane. See Open widgets full screen and side by side.

Related tasks

• PlexiiSheets overview Coming soon
• Import and export Excel and CSV files Coming soon
• Put a document, spreadsheet or deck on a desk Coming soon
• Table widget
• Chart widget
• Calc widget
• Numbers and data widgets
• Add a widget to a desk