Getting started

This page covers the life of a workbook in Nixt Sheets: the start screen, creating and opening files, saving, and closing. Get Nixt Sheets from the Download page.

The start screen

When Nixt Sheets starts with no file to open, it shows the start screen. It has:

• The app’s name and a one-line description at the top.
• Two cards: New spreadsheet and Open a spreadsheet.
• A wide Open a file bar that lists the file types the app opens: .xlsx, .xlsm, .xltx, .xltm, .csv and .tsv.
• A RECENT list of the spreadsheets you opened most recently.
• A line at the bottom that says the app opens spreadsheets only, needs no account, doesn’t sync and sends no telemetry.
• A moon or sun button at the top right. It switches the window between the light and dark appearance (Switch to dark or Switch to light). The app starts in the light appearance each time it opens.

Create a new workbook

1. On the start screen, click New spreadsheet.

A new workbook opens with one empty sheet called Sheet1. Its name in the title bar is Untitled spreadsheet, and the location next to it reads Not saved yet. Nothing is written to disk until you save.

Open a workbook

1. On the start screen, click Open a spreadsheet or the Open a file bar.
2. In the file picker, choose the file.
3. Click the picker’s open button.

The file picker is filtered to the spreadsheet types Nixt Sheets opens. The workbook opens in the editor, showing the first sheet.

Open a recent file

1. On the start screen, look under RECENT.
2. Click the file’s name.

The list shows the six most recent spreadsheets, newest first, with each file’s location beside its name. Until you have opened a file, it reads Spreadsheets you open appear here. A file that has been moved, renamed or deleted since you opened it is dropped from the list. If you click one that has gone since the list was shown, a Cannot open message says That file is no longer where it was.

Open a file from the command line

If you start Nixt Sheets from a terminal or a launcher and pass the path of a file that exists, the app opens that file as soon as the window appears. Anything that is not the path of an existing file is ignored.

Opening CSV and TSV files

A .csv or .tsv file opens as a workbook with one sheet named after the file. The delimiter is worked out from the first few lines — comma, tab, semicolon or pipe — and quoted fields can contain the delimiter and line breaks. Each value is typed the same way as if you had typed it into a cell, so 1,200 becomes a number and 12% becomes a percentage. See Entering and editing data for the rules.

Files Nixt Sheets can’t open

When a file can’t be opened, a dialog titled Cannot open followed by the file name explains why, sometimes with a suggestion underneath.

The app looks at a file’s contents as well as its name. A file named .xlsx that actually contains a PDF or a Word document is refused with the message above. A file whose name says it is another kind of Office file but whose contents are a workbook opens as a workbook, and the status bar says the file is not what its name claims.

Read-only files

If you open a file that your account can’t write to, it opens read-only. A small lock appears after the file name in the title bar and the Save button is unavailable. You can still edit the workbook and keep your changes with Save a copy as.

Save a workbook

1. Click Save at the right of the title bar, or press ⌘S (Ctrl+S on Windows and Linux).

• A workbook you opened from disk is saved back to the same file. The status bar says Saved to followed by the path.
• A new workbook, or one that can’t be saved in place, opens a save dialog titled Save followed by the workbook’s name, so you can choose where it goes.

When you have unsaved changes, a small amber dot appears after the file name in the title bar. Hover over it to see Unsaved changes.

If the workbook is set to manual calculation, saving recalculates every formula first, so the file never stores out-of-date results. See Writing formulas.

If saving fails, the status bar says Could not save: followed by the reason — for example, the folder is not writable. Choose another location with Save a copy as.

Save a copy or export

1. Click the download icon to the right of Save (its tooltip is Save a copy as).
2. Choose a format:

3. In the save dialog, choose a folder and a name, and save.

When the copy has the same extension as the file you are editing — for example, an .xlsx copy of an .xlsx workbook — the window switches to the new file and later saves go to the copy. Exporting to any other format leaves the window pointing at the workbook you were editing. The status bar says Saved followed by the new file name. Printing and exporting describes each format in detail.

Close a workbook

1. Click the back arrow at the far left of the title bar (its tooltip is Close).

If there are no unsaved changes, the workbook closes and you return to the start screen. Otherwise a dialog asks Save changes to followed by the workbook’s name, and says Your changes will be lost if you close without saving.

Closing the app’s window or quitting the app with unsaved changes asks the same question. Cancel keeps the app open.

Next steps

• The workbook window — the title bar, ribbon, formula bar, grid, sheet tabs and status bar.
• Entering and editing data — start typing.