Spreadsheet

A native spreadsheet for the ZX Spectrum Next.

Launching the program

Ensure that the sheet command is in your /DOT folder on the ZX Spectrum Next OS card.

To open an untitled, empty document

.sheet

Load an existing document

.sheet myfile.zxl

• If myfile.zxl exists, it will be loaded.
• If it does not exist, a new document will be created with that name as the default.

.zxl is the recommended file extension, but is not enforced by the program.

Navigation

Use the cursor keys to move between cells:

Key	Action
⇦	Move left one cell
⇨	Move right one cell
⇧	Move up one cell
⇩	Move down one cell

Extend Mode commands

Activate Extend Mode by pressing the Extend Mode key or CTRL+SHIFT in CSpect, followed by the command key:

Key	Description
↑S Save	Saves the current document (recommend using .zxl file extension)
↑G Goto	Moves directly to a specified cell
↑C Copy	Copies the content of the current cell to the clipboard (single-cell copy only)
↑V Paste	Pastes the content of the clipboard to the current cell. After pasting, the cursor moves one cell in the last navigation direction used before paste.
↑Q Quit	Exits the editor. You will be prompted to save if the document has unsaved changes.

↑ indicates the Extended Mode modifier (Extend Mode key or CTRL+SHIFT)

Entering data

Data entry works like a traditional spreadsheet. Navigate to the desired cell and start typing.

• Numeric entries are treated as numbers.
• All other entries are treated as text.
• To enter a formula, start the entry with an =.
• To force text entry even for numeric values start the entry with an '

To edit the contents of a cell, press Enter or the Edit key. While editing, you can cancel the operation by pressing Edit.

Pressing Enter while editing a cell will update the value of the cell to the new value and move one cell down.

All function names and cell references are case-insensitive ie. A1 and a1 both refer to cell A1 in the sheet.

Relative, absolute, and mixed references

When pasting a copied formula, references are adjusted relative to the destination cell unless they are fixed with $.

Type	Example	Behavior when pasted
Relative	A1	Row and column both adjust
Absolute	$A$1	Row and column are both fixed
Mixed (fixed column)	$A1	Column fixed, row adjusts
Mixed (fixed row)	A$1	Row fixed, column adjusts

Examples:

• Copy formula from A1 to A2:
  • =B1 becomes =B2
  • =$B$1 stays =$B$1
  • =$B1 becomes =$B2
  • =B$1 stays =B$1

Note: Clipboard operations currently support copying and pasting one cell at a time.

Entry	Description
=A1	References the value in cell A1
=A1*2	Shows a value double that of cell A1
=$A1*2	Column is absolute; copied across columns it still references column A
=A$1*2	Row is absolute; copied across rows it still references row 1
=$A$1*2	Both column and row are absolute

Formulas and Functions

Expressions in formulas use standard precedence rules (BODMAS/PEMDAS) and allow references like A1, B2 etc.

To operate on a range of cells, use the format A1:B2 (top-left to bottom-right).

Example:

Add all values in A1, A2, B1 and B2 =sum(A1:B2)

Range functions

Function	Description
SUM	Returns the sum of cell values in a range: =sum(A1:B3)
AVG	Returns the average of numeric values in a range: =avg(A1:B3)
COUNT	Returns how many cells contain values in a range: =count(A1:B3)
MIN	Returns the smallest numeric value in a range: =min(A1:B3)
MAX	Return the largest numeric value in a range: =max(A1:B3)

Simple functions

These take numeric, string literals or cell references to either type.

Example

Sine of 2.3 radian

=sin(2.3)

Sine of the value in A1

=sin(A1)

Convert a decimal value to binary string

=dec2bin(23) =dec2bin(A1)

Convert a binary string to a decimal value

=bin2dec("1101") =bin2dec(A1)

Function	Description
SIN	Sine of a radian value
COS	Cosine of a radian value
TAN	Tangent of a radian value
ASIN	Inverse sine (returns angle in radians)
ACOS	Inverse cosine (returns angle in radians)
ATAN	Inverse tangent (returns angle in radians)
ABS	Absolute value
CEIL	Ceiling (rounds up)
FLOOR	Floor (rounds down)
ROUND	Rounds to nearest integer
TRUNC	Truncates decimal part
SQRT	Square root
EXP	Exponential (eⁿ)
LOG	Natural logarithm
LOG10	Logarithm base 10
LOG2	Logarithm base 2
DEC2BIN	Decimal value to binary string
BIN2DEC	Binary string to a decimal value
DEC2HEX	Decimal value to hexadecimal string
HEX2DEC	Hexadecimal string to a decimal value

Complex function

Complex functions take more than one argument.

Example

If the value in A1 > 4 return the string True else return the string False

if(A1 > 4, "True", "False")

Function	Description
IF	Select a value based on a conditional expression

Expression

Operators

Operator	Description
( )	Parenthesis used to adjust the precedence of a sub-expression
^	Exponentiation (power)
*,/,%	Multiply, Divide, Modulo
+, -	Add, Subtract. Addition can be used to concatenate strings
=, <>, '<',<=,>,>=	Relational operators