Create and edit a spreadsheet

You can create a spreadsheet directly in Drive or from inside Sheets, then enter data and edit it using the toolbar menus and keyboard shortcuts.

Create a spreadsheet

From Drive

1. Open Drive and navigate to the folder where you want the spreadsheet.
2. Click New in the sidebar.
3. Choose New sheet from the menu.
4. Type a name for the spreadsheet and click Create.

The spreadsheet opens in Sheets straight away.

From inside Sheets

1. Click File in the top-left of the menu bar.
2. Click New sheet.
3. Type a name and click Create.

The editor layout

When a spreadsheet is open, the editor has three main areas:

• Menu bar: a row of menus (File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Data) at the top.
• Formula bar: below the menu bar. The box on the left shows the current cell address (for example, A1). The wider area to the right shows the cell's content or formula.
• Sheet tabs: a row of tabs along the bottom. Click a tab to switch between sheets. Click the + button at the left of the tab bar to add a new sheet tab.

Enter and edit data

Click a cell to select it. Type to enter data. Press Enter to confirm and move down, or Tab to confirm and move right. Press Escape to cancel without saving.

To edit a cell you have already filled in, double-click it, or select it and start typing to replace its contents. You can also click the formula bar to edit there.

To delete the contents of one or more cells, select them and press Backspace or Delete.

Select cells

Click a single cell to select it. To select a range, click and drag. To select a whole column or row, click its header letter or number.

You can select multiple separate ranges by holding Ctrl (Windows and Linux) or ⌘ (Mac) while clicking.

Copy, cut, and paste

Use the standard keyboard shortcuts:

• Ctrl+C (Mac: ⌘C) to copy
• Ctrl+X (Mac: ⌘X) to cut
• Ctrl+V (Mac: ⌘V) to paste

You can also use Edit → Copy, Edit → Cut, and Edit → Paste from the menu bar.

Undo and redo

• Ctrl+Z (Mac: ⌘Z) undoes your last change.
• Ctrl+Shift+Z (Mac: ⌘⇧Z) redoes it.

Both are also available under Edit → Undo and Edit → Redo.

Format cells

The Format menu covers all formatting options:

• Text: bold (Ctrl+B), italic (Ctrl+I), underline, and strikethrough.
• Number: choose a format such as currency, percentage, or date from the submenu.
• Alignment: left, centre, or right horizontally; top, middle, or bottom vertically.
• Wrapping: overflow (default), wrap, or clip long text.
• Font size: pick from the list.
• Fill color and Borders: set a background colour or draw borders around cells.
• Merge cells: combine a selection into one cell.
• Clear formatting: remove all formatting from the selected cells without deleting their values.

On wider screens, quick buttons for Text color, Fill color, and horizontal alignment also appear in the centre of the menu bar.

Find and replace

Press Ctrl+F (Mac: ⌘F) to open the find panel, or Edit → Find and replace. A search box appears where you can search across all cells. Use the Replace tab to replace matching values.

Sheet tabs

Each spreadsheet can contain multiple sheets. To manage them:

• Click the + button at the left of the tab bar to add a sheet.
• Double-click a tab to rename it.
• Click the ⌄ arrow on a tab to open a menu with options to Rename, Delete, Copy, Hide, Move left, Move right, and Change color.
• Drag a tab to a different position to reorder sheets.

Save your work

Sheets saves your changes automatically. There is no Save button.