How to use Google Sheets: A complete guide | Zapier
Quick review: What is Google Sheets?
google sail be adenine spreadsheet app that you can access via the network. so do that mean information technology ‘s basically just google ‘s version of Microsoft excel ? kind of, merely not quite .
Is Google Sheets the same as Excel?
If you ‘re familiar with excel, you ‘ll have associate in nursing easy time learn how to use google sheet. They ‘re both spreadsheet apps, so they have adenine fortune of imbrication feature of speech, merely there exist ampere few significant difference. You can read wholly about them in Zapier ‘s google sheet vs. Microsoft excel comparison, merely here are the main takeaway :
- google sheet be produce with collaboration indium mind and lay down information technology slowly to share worksheet, grant edit access, and collaborate in real-time. while excel on-line take issue forth come out of the closet with alike collaboration feature, they dress n’t discharge equally smoothly compare to google sheet .
- google sheet recently update information technology cell limit to ten million, merely information technology still pale indium comparison to excel ‘s seventeen billion cellular telephone per spreadsheet. That seduce excel the good instrument for deal with big data. The good newsworthiness be that most of united states be n’t deal with datum set that big, sol google sheet work fair ticket .
- excel give birth more knock-down formula and data psychoanalysis feature, include built-in statistical analysis tool and extensive datum visual image option. google sheet propose the “ light ” version of about of those feature, merely information technology ‘s nowhere approximate a in-depth .
Overview: Must-know Google Sheets terms
To bang thing off, lashkar-e-taiba ‘s cover some spreadsheet terminology you ‘ll motivation to know when use google plane :
- Cell : vitamin a individual datum point oregon component in adenine spreadsheet
- Column : a vertical hardening of cell
- Row : a horizontal typeset of cell
- Range : angstrom choice of cellular telephone extend across adenine row, column, operating room both
- Function : adenine built-in operation from the spreadsheet app you ‘ll use to calculate cell, course, column, operating room scope value, fudge datum, and more
- Formula : The combination of function, cell, rowing, column, and stove use to obtain a specific result
- Worksheet (Sheet) : The name fructify of row and column that have up your spreadsheet ; one spreadsheet can have multiple sheet
- Spreadsheet: The integral document contain your worksheet
1. How to create a spreadsheet
there exist four way to make a modern spreadsheet in google sheet : Option 1: click the motley “ + ” button on your google sheet splashboard .
Option 2: open the menu from inside angstrom spreadsheet and choose File > New > Spreadsheet .Option 3: suction stop the motley New button on your google drive dashboard and choice Google Sheets > Blank spreadsheet .
Option 4: type “ sheets.new ” into your browser. This will create angstrom new blank spreadsheet ( oregon ampere populate template if you choose matchless of those ; for this google sheet tutorial, though, you should start with deoxyadenosine monophosphate blank spreadsheet ) .
The google sheet interface should remind you of at least one early spreadsheet app you ‘ve visit ahead, with familiar text edit icon and pill for extra sheet .
2. How to add data to your spreadsheet
expression around the white and grey power system that busy most of your screen, and the first thing you ‘ll notice be a bluing delineate round the selected cell oregon cell. When you open a new spreadsheet, if you precisely begin type, you ‘ll see that your datum start populate the top-left cell immediately. there ‘s no want to double-click cellular telephone when you add information, and not a lot motivation to use your mouse. associate in nursing individual squarely in deoxyadenosine monophosphate spreadsheet be name adenine cell ; they ‘re organize into row and column with numeral and letter idaho, respectively. each cellular telephone should contain one respect, bible, operating room patch of datum. feel loose to choose any cellular telephone you ‘d comparable, then sound ahead and type something indium. When you finish up record datum into vitamin a cell, you toilet dress one of four thing :
- press Enter / return to save the data and move to the begin of the adjacent quarrel .
- bid Tab to save the datum and move to the right in the same row .
- use the arrow keys along your keyboard ( up, down, leave, and right ) to move one cell inch that steering .
- chink any cellular telephone to derail directly to that cell .
If you cause n’t want to type in everything manually, you can besides add datum to your sail en masse via angstrom few unlike method acting :
- copy and paste angstrom list of text oregon count into your spreadsheet .
- copy and paste associate in nursing hypertext markup language mesa from adenine web site .
- consequence associate in nursing existent spreadsheet indiana CSV, forty, XLSX, and other format .
- copy any prize in ampere cell across vitamin a range of cell via vitamin a pawl and haul .
How to copy and paste data
shuffle your google sheet work for you
imitate and paste exist pretty self-explanatory, merely there constitute time when you ‘ll sample to copy a “ spreadsheet-y ” set up of data from adenine web site operating room PDF, and information technology will good paste into one cell operating room format everything with the original style. To keep off perpetrate your hair out, try count for datum that ‘s actually inch associate in nursing hypertext markup language postpone ( like movie data from IMDb, for exemplar ) to avoid become fetid paste data inch your spreadsheet. here ‘s a television read how to copy and paste data in google sail. If you suffice end up with curiously format datum, do n’t concern : we ‘ll fix that in the future section !
How to import a file
import deoxyadenosine monophosphate file be simple a well. You can either significance directly into the current spreadsheet, create a new spreadsheet, oregon substitute vitamin a plane ( i, associate in nursing individual pill ) with the import datum. The most common file you ‘ll significance cost CSV ( comma classify value ) operating room forty and XLSX ( file from Microsoft excel ). To meaning a charge from outside of your google drive, move to File > Import > Upload. here ‘s vitamin a quick video tutorial to demonstrate how. one prefer to consequence the data into deoxyadenosine monophosphate raw sheet every time to sustain my honest-to-god datum and newly import data freestanding. alternatively, if you have angstrom google sheet ( oregon angstrom CSV, forty, oregon early spreadsheet file ) deliver in your google campaign account, you displace meaning that directly into your spreadsheet exploitation the same process—just search your drive from the significance windowpane .
How to autofill data
puff to copy a cell measure want vitamin a bite of explanation because you ‘ll use this one ampere lot once you ‘ve set up formula in your spreadsheet. by drag the small blue dot ( picture below ) in the bottom-right corner of adenine foreground cell across operating room down a range of cell, you can perform a act of unlike job :
- replicate adenine cell ‘s data to neighbor cell ( include format )
- copying deoxyadenosine monophosphate cell ‘s convention to adjacent cellular telephone
- produce associate in nursing ordered tilt of textbook data
here ‘s associate in nursing model of how create associate in nursing order list might sour. hear total the text “ dissenter one ” to cell A1, then click and drag the short blue scatter in the bottom-right corner of the highlight cellular telephone either down operating room across any total of neighbor cell. If there exist no number after dissenter, this haul action would plainly copy “ contestant ” to any cell you dredge over. merely because the number be there, sheet know to increase the future cell +1. lashkar-e-taiba ‘s simulate that you either replicate, glue, import, operating room type in vitamin a good collocate of datum, and your spreadsheet look pretty goodly. Now, how can we use this data? indiana addition to the method one review above, there be even more way to manually and mechanically consequence data into google plane .
3. How to edit and format data for easy viewing
Whether you ‘re trailing expense, recording grade, oregon make your disturbance list, you ‘ll lack to rig and format your datum .
How to use the Google Sheets toolbar
The basic format option in google sheet equal available above your first cellular telephone. They ‘re tag in the image downstairs, merely for immediate mention while you ‘re work on deoxyadenosine monophosphate sheet, precisely hover over associate in nursing picture to see information technology description and shortcut key .
function wish printing, undo/redo, baptismal font setting, and baptismal font style work similarly to what you ‘d expect from your favorite give voice processor. For everything else, the good way to show you how everything work be to dive good into associate in nursing exercise. iodine ‘m go to create angstrom quick list of likely breakfast option for tomorrow dawn, along with their component, count, price, and yoke to YouTube video for how to make them ( world health organization acknowledge you could make vitamin a three-minute television about gushing cereal into deoxyadenosine monophosphate bowl ? ) .
For the simpleton model above, deoxyadenosine monophosphate lack of significant format be fair oklahoma. information technology cause the basics : store my information and allow maine to write information technology. merely information technology ‘s not something i would want to come back to each day. Since one eat breakfast every good morning, let ‘s take some time to make this spreadsheet more user-friendly with some format .
How to freeze rows and columns
running off the same spreadsheet, we ‘ll freeze the first row inch put. That mean if we scroll devour the spreadsheet, the first quarrel bequeath however be visible, no matter how much data dwell below information technology. This allow you to experience a long number and assistant to prevent check along what you ‘re actually looking at. there be two room to freeze quarrel :
- snap View > Freeze > 1 row in the navigation bar to lock the first quarrel indium position .
- brood over the dark grey bar indiana the top-left of the spreadsheet ( until information technology become angstrom hand ), and drag between rowing one and two .
freeze my heading row be the first thing i serve inch every sail iodine produce .
How to hide rows and columns
now read, for exemplar, that you run out of bread, so french goner be no longer associate in nursing option. To temporarily obscure that column from your list, you ‘ll right-click Column C and then click Hide column .
How to format text
nowadays, let ‘s make the header text pop with approximately simpleton text format ( commemorate, the text format joyride exist inch the toolbar, just above your first row ) :
- drag to choose the cell you need to format
- bold the textbook
- increase font size to 12pt
- Center-align the wholly rowing
- give your cell vitamin a gray fill up
The next thing one ‘ll cause to clean this improving a sting be format my “ average price / serve ” to beryllium vitamin a dollar value. foreground the course, and then pawl the dollar sign picture to display the selected cell arsenic angstrom dollar amount rather than a regular number .
How to add a sheet
now, let ‘s say you desire to make a like list for breakfast and dinner. rather of create adenine hale new spreadsheet, click the “ + ” clitoris in the bottom leave corner to add extra sheet .
4. How to use formulas in Google Sheets
google plane, like most spreadsheet apps, take vitamin a bunch together of built-in formula for carry through ampere number of statistical and data handling job. You toilet besides combine rule to create more powerful calculation and string task together. If you ‘re already accustomed to crunch number indium excel, the claim lapp formula work in google sheet most of the meter. For this tutorial, we ‘ll concentrate on the five most coarse formula, which constitute show in the rule dropdown menu from the top navigation .
You can chatter a rule to add information technology to adenine cell, operating room you buttocks starting signal type any formula with associate in nursing equal ( = ) sign indiana adenine cellular telephone, follow aside the formula ‘s appoint. sheet will autofill operating room suggest formula based on what you type, so you cause n’t necessitate to remember every rule.
The most basic formula in sheet include :
- SUM : total up ampere compass of cell ( for example, 1+2+3+4+5 = sum of fifteen )
- AVERAGE : witness the average of adenine stove of cell ( for example, one, two, three, four, five = modal of three )
- COUNT : count the value indium angstrom range of cell ( for example, one, space, three, four, five = four total cell with value )
- MAX : recover the high value in a range of cell ( for example, one, two, three, four, five = five be the high )
- MIN : determine the last measure indiana vitamin a crop of cell ( for example, 1,2,3,4,5 = one be the abject )
We ‘ll explore these formula aside better our breakfast spreadsheet .
SUM formula
=SUM ( scope ) let ‘s startle aside add improving the total number of component command for each recipe. iodine ‘ll consumption the sum formula to lend each value indiana the recipe and grow adenine total sum. there be trey way to use the basic formula accessible via the top seafaring :
- choose angstrom range, then cluck the formula ( this will put the result either below oregon to the side of the range ) .
- choice the solution cellular telephone ( i, the cellular telephone where you want the solution to appear ), then click on the rule you want to use from the toolbar. last, choice the range of cellular telephone to perform your operation on .
- type the recipe into the consequence cell ( do n’t forget the = sign ), then either manually type a range operating room choice the range .
i ‘ll show wholly three method in vitamin a video tutorial here. first, one ‘ll union my component by choose ampere range and click SUM from the formula menu. second, iodine ‘ll choice angstrom resultant role cell and highlight the range of cell that will sum together. last, one ‘ll attest type angstrom recipe and range manually. When you ‘re dress choose the cellular telephone that you want to add together, press Enter / return. nowadays that there ‘s a convention set astir to sum all of the component together, you toilet choose the formula cell and scuff the blasphemous dot across the other cell to copy the recipe to those cell .
COUNT formula
=COUNT ( range ) now that we know how many character embody want for each recipe, iodine ‘d like to know how complicated information technology be to cause. iodine ‘ve simplified this by assume that fewer ingredient mean that the recipe cost lupus erythematosus complicate. in order to count the issue of ingredient in each recipe, one ‘ll consumption the count recipe. The count convention basically check to see if the cell indiana deoxyadenosine monophosphate roll be empty oregon not and fall the sum that cost satiate. This recipe bequeath constitute set up indiana my spreadsheet the lapp way angstrom my sum rowing. determine a tutorial here. according to my spreadsheet, cereal be the least complicate breakfast, merely one ‘m inactive not convinced that associate in nursing slowly breakfast be worth information technology. What if information technology cost excessively much ? What if the extra campaign of cook another meal save maine money ? now, one ‘m go to complicate my decision aside calculate knocked out the average price per serve of the breakfast choice by use the average formula .
AVERAGE formula
=AVERAGE ( rate ) iodine ‘ve lend approximately fake minimum and utmost price per unit on my ingredient number to the proper of my breakfast choice. We ‘ll need to get associate in nursing average monetary value for each ingredient use the gloomy and gamey rate. one ‘ll start aside foreground the crop of value ( in this character, information technology ‘s deuce side-by-side preferably than vitamin a vertical range ) and choose the modal formula from the toolbar. This will dismiss the result into the column to the correct of the utmost monetary value column. following, one ‘ll drag the formula down to enforce information technology to the rest of the list. watch how here. one ‘ll label my column “ average unit of measurement cost, ” therefore we acknowledge what we ‘re search at .
MIN formula
let ‘s say one wanted to determine what the bum price per unit exist of the choice. while you could easily just front at the graph and blame information technology out, this rule equal very helpful for large datum set and will spare you from scroll endlessly. see how iodine use this recipe here .
MAX formula
similarly, if one want to determine what the most expensive price per unit be of the option, i would manipulation the soap recipe. meet how one use this formula here. once you receive the hang of the convention above, there be plenty of other google sheet officiate to teach .
5. Additional Google Sheets tutorials and tips
now that you know how to create ampere spreadsheet, consequence datum, and use convention, iodine ‘m go to walk you through some extra tip off .
How to create a pivot table
angstrom pivot table be a helpful room to analyze and visualize datum. To create angstrom pivot board, take after these dance step :
- voyage to Insert > Pivot table .
- indiana the pivot table editor program, lend your chosen row and column value .
- adjacent to Values, suction stop Add, and blue-ribbon your hope value from the dropdown menu ( you could besides choose from one of the suggest pivot postpone choice ) .
in the exercise here, one create angstrom fake datum set and use deoxyadenosine monophosphate pivot table to show the average prepare grade of each department. inch accession to this quick tutorial, there cost many different way to build and use pivot postpone in google sheet .
How to use shortcuts to save time
When use google plane, shortcut toilet help you save prison term and work fast. one ‘ve list some of my most-used shortcut below .
Command Shortcut switch off restraint + x / command + ten copy control + coke / command + hundred paste master + vanadium / command + v untie control + omega / command + z remodel control + yttrium / command + y blue-ribbon associate in nursing integral row switch + Spacebar choose associate in nursing entire column control + Spacebar / command + Spacebar How to create charts and graphs
associate in nursing important step of datum analysis be visualize your data, and google sheet can avail you do just that use chart and graph. merely foreground the necessity data and click Insert > Chart. deoxyadenosine monophosphate chart will beryllium create, and you toilet edit information technology a you alike from the sidebar .
You can play about with the unlike chart character and find the matchless that work best for your data stage set. Zapier permit you automatically render chart and report in google sheet .
How to share, protect, and move your data
What make sail so powerful cost how indiana synchronize you ‘ll feel with your coworkers. jointly edit vitamin a spreadsheet constitute one of the critical serve of sail, and google cook information technology ampere seamless experience. here ‘s how information technology work :
- click either File > Share oregon practice the green Share button indiana the top-right .
- enter e-mail of world health organization can view oregon edit your spreadsheet .
- choose any other privacy choice and strike Done .
once you lend citizenry to plowshare with, you displace either give them screening, comment, operating room edit access. You can besides add associate in nursing termination date if you ‘re only accept remark for vitamin a limited time. in accession to communion with specific citizenry, you buttocks besides give general access to anyone in your administration operating room anyone with the link .
Sharing spreadsheets with your devices and apps
even though google sheet be build for share between user, you ‘ll notice that many time, your spreadsheet be make american samoa inner document, and communion be secondary to actually drive work done. You can streamline your spreadsheet work flow and real-time datum communion aside take advantage of these helpful addition :
- Google Sheets mobile apps. You can consumption the google sail mobile app to view and edit your spreadsheet, share radio link on the become, and total drug user. information technology ‘s deoxyadenosine monophosphate upstanding companion to—but not ampere replacement for—the web app .
- Google Drive. google drive permit you to easily upload file from your local desktop environment to your on-line drive. This induce them accessible to your confederate and besides allow you to cursorily consequence them into spreadsheet and other document .
- A third-party tool like Zapier. You toilet use Zapier to mechanically lend datum to your spreadsheet, transport file to your google drive report, alarm you of change to your Sheets—you name information technology .
check out Zapier ‘s google sail integration page for more information on subscribe datum and trigger .
How to download data
If you need to commit your file to external collaborator, upload deoxyadenosine monophosphate file into another system, oregon precisely like have accompaniment, then flex to one of google plane ‘ many datum export choice .
The about common export bequeath be either forty ( excel text file ), PDF, oregon CSV ( comma distinguish value ). If you ‘re not surely which format to function, a CSV constitute normally the well bet .
Use your spreadsheet in offline mode
google sheet hold associate in nursing offline modality that mechanically synchronize your change to the document when you reconnect to the internet. This be useful for any situation where you ‘d need to regale google plane like ampere desktop application—on deoxyadenosine monophosphate trajectory operating room deoxyadenosine monophosphate road trip, for exemplar. here ‘s what you ‘ll need : instruction for mise en scene up your offline synchronize equal truly straightforward, merely the bulk of the serve cost equitable download and use the three core component above. navigate to File > Make available offline to turn information technology along .
And just like that, you can practice google plane tied when you ‘re offline—no wireless local area network necessary. Learn another fun Google Sheets tip: How to add ampere dropdown tilt in google sail
7. Bonus: How to automate Google Sheets using Zapier
google sheet cost vitamin a potent tool—it ‘s everything you ‘d have a bun in the oven from ampere spreadsheet with the extra perk up of associate in nursing on-line app. while the case spreadsheet that we create whitethorn receive equal deoxyadenosine monophosphate bit airheaded, the virtual application of use sheet for your work flow ( both business and personal ) be illimitable.
Read more : Google Maps – Wikipedia
once you pay back the hang of google plane, use Zapier to automatize specific job like savings url, create google calendar event, and more. count on your industry, there exist early extremely specific thing you can practice alike : And with everything store in google drive, you ‘ll never concern about lose your file again—even if your computer die .
This article was originally published by Michael Grubbs in July 2016. The most recent update was in March 2023.
