# Introduction
Welcome to the documentation site for Tablomat! 🎉
Tablomat is a new spreadsheet editor for teams who spend most of their time working with spreadsheets and looking for ways to improve the speed and quality of their work.
If you'd like to learn more about Tablomat and what it can offer, check the following articles:
* [Discover Tablomat's Features](#features)
* [Compare Tablomat to Excel](/other-resources/comparison-with-excel)
The following sections will help you get up and running with Tablomat. Click "Getting Started" below to continue.
# Getting Started
### The Interface
Tablomat looks and behaves similarly to other spreadsheet editors (though with important differences, which we'll get to later).
The user interface consists of a toolbar and a grid cell view, as shown below.
### Quick Start
To give Tablomat a try, please download and open this file ...
{% file src="/files/euyiDezTz21c1m0tCw0H" %}
This file contains the product catalog for an online store. When opened, it looks like this ...
#### First Impressions
Out of the box, here are some things that Tablomat does as soon as the file is opened, to make content easier to work with ...
1. All data is available for browsing and editing immediately, without loading or uploading delays.
2. Row and column sizes are adjusted for comfortable reading
3. Cell content are shown with the appropriate types automatically (more on this later).
#### Editing and Downloading
Try editing some of the cells to a get a feel for things.
When done, click the ellipsis icon () at the right side of the toolbar, then "Download Sheet (CSV)".
The edited sheet will now be downloaded. You can open it again, in either Tablomat or Excel, to confirm that your edits are in the file.
That's it for now. Continue to the following section to learn about column types.
# Column Types
#### Introduction
You may have noticed that Tablomat shows column titles in header cells, like below ...
This reflects an important difference between Tablomat and traditional editors like Excel (where column titles are written on the first row) ...
> Tablomat is strict about the type of data entered in each column, and enforces consistency by limiting each column to a single name and type.
#### Editing Columns
Column types are inferred automatically when loading a sheet, but can also be edited by clicking the ellipsis icon () at the right side of the toolbar then "Edit Columns" to bring up this panel ...
#### Types
Tablomat supports the following types:
1. Text
2. List
3. Rich Text (HTML)
4. Files
5. Number
6. Boolean
7. Single Select
Types tell Tablomat how to display, edit and validate data. The following subsections will go into the details of how each type behaves.
You can learn about the individual types by clicking "Next" below, or skip to the next section [Uploading Images](/learn/uploading-images) to continue reading on Tablomat's features.
# Text and Number
#### Display
The content of `Text` and `Number` cells are displayed as is.
#### Editing
`Text` and `Number` cells can be edited by double-clicking and filling in their values.
# List
#### Display
Columns of type `List` render their content as color-coded pills, like below ...
#### Editing
Behind the scenes, each `List` cell is represented as a comma-separated list, and can be edited by double-clicking ...
When content is changed, any white space surrounding list items will be ignored.
# Files
#### Display
Cells of type `Files` contain comma-separated lists of URLs, for example ...
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0240/7285/products/TreatedLogoKnitHoodieinNatural1.jpg,https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0240/7285/products/TreatedLogoKnitHoodieinNatural2.jpg,https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0240/7285/products/TreatedLogoKnitHoodieinNatural3.jpg
```
{% endcode %}
and are rendered as preview circles, like below ...
#### Editing
`Files` cells can be edited by double-clicking. This will reveal the underlying text representation, which can then be edited directly.
# Boolean
#### Display
Cells of type `Boolean` are shown as checkboxes.
#### Editing
`Boolean`cells can be toggled between the "checked" and "unchecked" states by double-clicking.
# Single Select
#### Display
Each `Single Select` cell contains a selected option from a drop-down menu. The option is shown within the cell as a color-coded pill.
#### Editing
`Single Select` cells by can edited by double-clicking. This will bring up a drop-down menu of options, which can be filtered by typing inside the cell in edit mode, as shown below ...
# Rich Text (HTML)
#### Display
Columns of type `Rich Text (HTML)` show only the text content of their HTML strings. For example, a cell with the following content ...
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```html
1017 ALYX 9SM Mono Slide in Silver
A traditional sandal upper constructed of firm calfskin leather. The lining and footbed of the slides are made from both calf and lambskin, with padded, sculpted details throughout. The sold EVA mold with integrated tread on the bottom.
```
{% endcode %}
will be shown as ...
#### Editing
Double-clicking a cell of type `Rich Text (HTML)` will open up a dedicated rich text editor, as shown below ...
# Uploading Images
#### Introduction
Tablomat contains a bulk image upload tool, to make it easier to upload and add a large number of images to a spreadsheet. This article will showcase this tool through a hands-on tutorial.
We'll be using the following spreadsheet and image directory. Please download both.
{% file src="/files/nFznJdekCSkm0rIulhfH" %}
{% file src="/files/le92hiIJR8PEc3eb0weQ" %}
#### Tutorial
First, open the file `mini-catalog.csv` in Tablomat (shown below).
The sheet contains a simple product catalog. We'll be using the Image Upload tool to upload all the images in the supplied image directory, and insert them into the appropriate cells of the column `Image Src`.
The Image Upload tool can be accessed by clicking the ellipsis icon () at the right side of the toolbar then "Upload Images". This will bring up the tool's panel.
Drag the image directory to the drop zone, and fill the remaining fields of the panel as follows ...
Now click "Upload" to start uploading.
Once complete, the spreadsheet should look like this ...
#### Image Upload Options
The upload panel requires the following inputs:
1. "Add to Column": a selected column to insert images into (must be of type `Files`).
2. "Match filename to column": a selected column whose values are matched against images, to determine at which row each image should be inserted (see "How Matching Works" below).
3. "When cell has existing attachments": the behavior of the image upload tool when attempting to insert images to a cell that has existing images.
#### How Uploading Works
Images are uploaded to Tablomat's Content Delivery Network (CDN), and their URLs are inserted inside cells.
Since cells of the "Add to Column" are of type `Files`, the URLs are rendered as image previews. You can inspect the underlying URLs by double-clicking any cell to enter editing more.
#### How Matching Works
The Image Upload tool decides where to insert each image based on its filename and parent sub-directories. These are taken as "keywords" and compared to each value of the column under "Match Filename to Column" (the comparison is case insensitive).
For example, in the tutorial above, the image ...
```
./mens/mens-1977-knit-hoodie-in-dark-oatmeal/Mens_1977_KnitHoodieinDarkOatmeal-1.jpg
```
has the following keywords ...
1. `mens` (parent directory 1)
2. `mens-1977-knit-hoodie-in-dark-oatmeal` (parent directory 2)
3. `Mens_1977_KnitHoodieinDarkOatmeal-1` (filename)
and the second keyword matches the `Handle` value on row 8. The image was this inserted in the `Image Src` cell of row 8.
Because of the flexibility of Image Upload tool, uploaded images can be organized in any hierarchy, and matched to any column on the sheet.
# Schema
#### Introduction
Users working with sheets that share the same underlying structure or "schema" (same column names, types and validation rules) can define this structure upfront in the schema settings page.
Defining a schema makes Tablomat apply the indicated column settings whenever it loads a file and encounters a column with the same name, helping users skip column configuration and proceed straight ahead with data browsing and editing.
#### Usage
Schema settings can be accessed by clicking the ellipsis icon () at the right side of the toolbar, choosing "Settings" and finally clicking "Schema" in the left-hand sidebar.
A screenshot of the page is shown below ...
A screenshot of the Schema settings page
You can add any number of columns, types and validation rules here (Validation is covered in a separate section of this docs).
Tablomat ships with a number of schema declarations (mostly targeting the Shopify product catalog CSV format). You are free to edit these declarations as you wish.
# Validation
#### Introduction
You can setup validation rules to flag any content errors within your sheets.
#### Usage
Validation rules can be configured per column in the Schema settings page. For example, if you setup the following column definition ...
then any cells under the "SKU" column and containing spaces will be flagged like below ...
Clicking the alert icon () will show a popup with more information on the validation error ...
This particular rule supports auto-correction so the error can be corrected automatically by clicking "Fix".
There are currently two built-in validation rules:
1. "No Spaces"; checks for and corrects spaces in input
2. "No Accents"; checks for and removes letter accents
3. "Lower Case"; checks that input is in lower case
4. "Title Case"; checks that input is in title case
#### Supported Column Types
Validation is currently limited to the following types:
1. `Text`
2. `Single Select`
3. `Rich Text (HTML)`
# Advanced Navigation
#### Introduction
When browsing and doing bulk edits on very large spreadsheets, you may find that you're spending more and more time browsing through the records and setting up your display settings to focus on a relevant subset of records.
For example, if you wish to change the prices on a specific collection of products in a catalog spreadsheet, you may start by setting up a filter or two for these products, then hide/show the relevant columns for pricing, and finally sort the resulting subset to make things easier to look at.
Tablomat has two features that make it easier to perform these functions, and drastically improve the ergonomics of data browsing.
####
# Views
You can save and restore commonly-used data views with a single click in Tablomat. Here, a "view" is a combination of filters, hidden columns and sorting settings.
For example, the following settings ...
1. Filter all products whose price is less than $10
2. Show only the columns "SKU", "Tags" and "Price"
3. Sort by price
can be saved as "Value Products", and recalled by a user who frequently edits said products and prefers the above view settings.
Once defined, this view can recalled on different spreadsheet files, so long as they share the same underlying column names and types.
Views can be saved and restored through the view panel, accessible by clicking "View" on the toolbar ...
# Quick Filters
#### Introduction
Filters are essentially tools for narrowing down a large spreadsheet into a subset of records that are relevant for browsing or editing in a particular task.
Users that perform a large number of small editing tasks may find that they're actually spending more time setting up filters and views than doing cell editing. For these users, saving a few clicks with every filter can result in a drastically-better user experience.
Tablomat supports keyboard and mouse shortcuts to make data filtering as frictionless as humanly possible.
#### `Ctrl` + Left Click
Holding `Ctrl` and left-clicking any cell will add a filter for the clicked cell value.
For example, ctrl-clicking the cell containing the word "Salomon" on the following sheet...
will instantly add a filter "Vendor is Salomon", resulting in the following view of data ...
#### `Ctrl` + `Shift` + Left Click
This shortcut adds a filter that excludes the clicked value from the current view.
For example, applying this shortcut to a cell that contains "Salomon" will add the following filter ...
which will exclude all rows where the "Vendor" value is "Salomon".
In practice, this shortcut can be cascaded to exclude all irrelevant rows.
# Advanced Editing
#### Cell Splitting
Tablomat supports a technique to help with the creation of "combination rows". These are rows that represent some combination of certain values, for example ...
In this case, the rows are the combinations of the "red, blue and green" colors, and the "8, 10, 12 and 14" sizes.
Instead of generating these rows by hand, you can start with the following ...
then select the two cells containing the values ...
and click `Alt` + `s` to produce ...
This technique is called "Cell Splitting". It splits the content of any cells of type "List" that are within the selection, generating enough rows as necessary to create all possible combinations of their values.
# Features
#### 1. Lightweight and Fast
Load and edit data at the same speed as desktop applications.
Loading, navigation, querying and bulk editing are all instant, and results appear as you type.
#### 2. Better Display
Get a comfortable view of your data out of the box, including sensible column/row sizing, coloring and auto-formatting for complex data.
Compare the following two screenshots of the same file opened in Tablomat and Excel.
Tablomat
Excel
#### 3. Modern Data Types
View and edit data in modern types, including lists and files.
#### 4. Rich Text Editing
Use a built-in rich text editor to edit HTML and, for better readability, see only actual text content inside cells (no tags or line breaks).
#### 5. Upload Images
Upload and sort a large directory of images into your spreadsheet with a few clicks.
#### 6. Superior Ergonomics
Many tiny little shortcuts and built-in magic tricks to improve your browsing and editing ergonomics and super-charge your work flow.
# Comparison with Excel
### What is Tablomat?
Tablomat is a new spreadsheet editor that makes it simple and efficient to browse, edit and collaborate on modern large spreadsheets.
It is designed from the grounds up to be a lightweight tool for editing 100s of thousands of rows, containing anything from basic text and numeric values to richer types such as lists, rich text documents and images.
### **Why not Excel or Google Sheets?**
Traditional spreadsheet editors often fall short when dealing with large spreadsheets or those containing rich data types.
In online retail, for example, it is common for merchants to curate and maintain large product catalog spreadsheets that need to be browsed and updated on daily basis. An example of this catalog can be [viewed here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EFcNr_0MuB3kVZRaN1BLROhXVlro4KguEEF-tTw9nVA/edit?usp=sharing).
A user opening such a catalog in Excel has to:
1. Size columns/rows, adjust wrap setting, format/unformat cells and apply other visual settings, just to make content more readable.
2. Filter and sort rows, hide columns/rows and scroll, to browse relevant subsets of the sheet.
3. Edit and format rich types by hand (for example, separate a list of product tags by commas).
4. Repeat the previous steps numerous times to complete non-trivial bulk updates.
All this work is needed because Excel and Google Sheets, while great at many things, are still lacking in terms of viewing, navigation and editing ergonomics.
This has a substantial impact on teams that rely on these tools to process modern spreadsheets; time is wasted on mechanical keyboard chores and mistakes are more likely to happen. Overall, teams take longer to deliver and produce outputs of lower quality.
### **How is Tablomat better?**
Tablomat is a new tool, designed from the grounds up to provide superior viewing, navigation and editing ergonomics for modern spreadsheets.
Compared to Excel and Google Sheets it features:
1. Modern and faster ways to browse and navigate data
2. Better display of rich content within cells (e.g. list coloring, image thumbnails)
3. Built-in tools to edit rich content (e.g. rich text editor and file uploader)
4. Keyboard and mouse shortcuts to perform complex tasks with minimal effort
We'll discuss these features in more details in subsequent sections.
# Keyboard Shortcuts
### Navigation
Key (Windows)
Key (Mac)
Function
↑
(same)
Move up
↓
(same)
Move down
←
(same)
Move left
→
(same)
Move right
Home
(same)
Move to first cell in row
End
(same)
Move to last cell in row
Ctrl + Home
(same)
Move to first cell in column
Ctrl + End
(same)
Move to last cell in column
Page Up
(same)
Scroll Up
Page Down
(same)
Scroll down
### Selection
Key (Windows)
Key (Mac)
Function
Shift + ↑
(same)
Expand selection upwards
Shift + ↓
(same)
Expand selection downwards
Shift + ←
(same)
Expand selection leftwards
Shift + →
(same)
Expand selection rightwards
Ctrl + a
⌘ + a
Select all cells
### Clipboard
| Key (Windows) | Key (Mac) | Function |
| ------------- | --------- | -------- |
| Ctrl + c | ⌘ + c | Copy |
| Ctrl + x | ⌘ + x | Cut |
| Ctrl + v | ⌘ + v | Paste |
### Editing
Key (Windows)
Key (Mac)
Function
Enter
(same)
Edit cell content
Delete or Backspace
(same)
Clear cell content
Ctrl + Insert
⌘ + Shift + i
Add new row
Ctrl + Delete
⌘ + Delete
Delete selected rows
Alt + s
⌥ + s
Split list cell into individual rows
Alt + f
⌥ + f
Auto-correct selected validation errors
### History
| Key (Windows) | Key (Mac) | Function |
| ------------- | --------- | -------- |
| Ctrl + z | ⌘ + z | Undo |
| Ctrl + y | ⌘ + y | Redo |
### Find
| Key (Windows) | Key (Mac) | Function |
| ------------- | --------- | --------------- |
| Ctrl + f | ⌘ + f | Open find panel |
# Mouse Shortcuts
### Cells
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) will show a popup with more information on the validation error ...
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