Cell Editor for Google Sheets

The formula bar was never big enough.

Cell Editor opens the cell you are editing into a full editor inside Google Sheets. Colored syntax, live function hints, and nine checks that catch a broken formula before it reaches the sheet.

Install (Coming Soon) See it in the sheet

Free. Google Sheets in a desktop browser.

What Sheets gives you

fx =SORT(QUERY({Sale1!A2:C100; Sale2!A2:C100}, "select Col1, Col2, Col3 where Col1 is not null and Col2 > 0", 0), 1, TRUE)

What Cell Editor gives you

Cell Editor
Result A2 TEXT FORMULA
=SORT(
  QUERY(
    {
      Sale1!A2:C100;
      Sale2!A2:C100
    },
    "select Col1, Col2, Col3
     where Col1 is not null",
    0
  ), 1, TRUE)
Result: Apple
→ Dock to sidebar✓ Apply💾 Save✕ Close
Argument separator , · decimal . · Ctrl+Space to pick a function
516functions recognised
16categories of functions
9validation checks
25interface languages
$0now and later

Everything the formula bar left out

One editor, two modes. Rich text for notes and descriptions, a code editor for formulas — each with its own tools.

Sidebar or window

A narrow panel that stays beside the sheet, or a wide resizable window for long content. One button switches, and your choice is remembered.

Colored syntax

Functions, references, numbers, strings and brackets each take their own color, and every distinct reference gets its own shade.

Hints while you type

Open a bracket and the function signature appears with the current argument highlighted, described in your spreadsheet's language.

Pick ranges with the mouse

Put the cursor where the address belongs, select cells on the sheet, and the reference lands in the formula — cross-sheet names quoted correctly.

Move without closing

Step to the next cell with the arrow keys or type an address to jump, across sheets. Unsaved changes are flagged before you leave.

Scale the text

Enlarge the editor's font without changing the size of the characters in the cell itself. Built for long sessions and for low vision.

Rich text mode

Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, color, point sizes, lists, several hyperlinks inside one cell, and an emoji picker with search.

Your locale decides

Argument and decimal separators follow your spreadsheet's own setting, and the pair in force is always shown at the bottom of the window.

Character counter

It appears as content nears the 50 000 character cell limit and turns red past it, blocking the save rather than truncating silently.

Formulas you can actually read

A nested QUERY inside a SORT is unreadable on one line. Broken across lines and colored by token, it is just a formula again.

Cell Editor open in a window over a Google Sheet, showing a nested SORT and QUERY formula with colored syntax and line numbers
Formula mode in a resizable window, with the text zoom controls and the launcher icon marked

Every reference in its own shade

Two ranges from two different sheets take two different colors, so a repeated reference is obvious without reading character by character.

Room to break it up

Line numbers down the side and line breaks wherever you want them. Brackets and quotes are colored too, which is how a missing one becomes visible.

The answer, as you type

The result is recalculated and shown below the editor, and the separators in force are printed at the bottom of the window.

Five hundred and sixteen functions, recognised by name

Press Ctrl + Space to browse by category or start typing to match. Where a function has a described signature — 450 of them do — the hint shows it and links to Google's own reference page, opened in your language.

  • Argument names stay in English, matching Google's documentation
  • Sixteen categories, from statistical to the AI function
  • Argument counts checked against the signature wherever one exists
A tooltip over the formula showing the QUERY signature with the data argument highlighted and a one-line description
The signature of the function you are inside, with the current argument highlighted

Sixteen categories, 516 functions

The whole catalogue the editor recognises, used for autocompletion and for checking how many arguments you have passed. Open a category to see what is inside.

Statistical136
AVEDEVAVERAGEAVERAGE.WEIGHTEDAVERAGEAAVERAGEIFAVERAGEIFSBETA.DISTBETA.INVBETADISTBETAINVBINOM.DISTBINOM.INVBINOMDISTCHIDISTCHIINVCHISQ.DISTCHISQ.DIST.RTCHISQ.INVCHISQ.INV.RTCHISQ.TESTCHITESTCONFIDENCECONFIDENCE.NORMCONFIDENCE.TCORRELCOUNTCOUNTACOVARCOVARIANCE.PCOVARIANCE.SCRITBINOMDEVSQEXPON.DISTEXPONDISTF.DISTF.DIST.RTF.INVF.INV.RTF.TESTFDISTFINVFISHERFISHERINVFORECASTFORECAST.LINEARFTESTGAMMAGAMMA.DISTGAMMA.INVGAMMADISTGAMMAINVGAUSSGEOMEANHARMEANHYPGEOM.DISTHYPGEOMDISTINTERCEPTKURTLARGELOGINVLOGNORM.DISTLOGNORM.INVLOGNORMDISTMARGINOFERRORMAXMAXAMAXIFSMEDIANMINMINAMINIFSMODEMODE.MULTMODE.SNGLNEGBINOM.DISTNEGBINOMDISTNORM.DISTNORM.INVNORM.S.DISTNORM.S.INVNORMDISTNORMINVNORMSDISTNORMSINVPEARSONPERCENTILEPERCENTILE.EXCPERCENTILE.INCPERCENTRANKPERCENTRANK.EXCPERCENTRANK.INCPERMUTPERMUTATIONAPHIPOISSONPOISSON.DISTPROBQUARTILEQUARTILE.EXCQUARTILE.INCRANKRANK.AVGRANK.EQRSQSKEWSKEW.PSLOPESMALLSTANDARDIZESTDEVSTDEV.PSTDEV.SSTDEVASTDEVPSTDEVPASTEYXT.DISTT.DIST.2TT.DIST.RTT.INVT.INV.2TT.TESTTDISTTINVTRIMMEANTTESTVARVAR.PVAR.SVARAVARPVARPAWEIBULLWEIBULL.DISTZ.TESTZTEST
Math83
ABSACOSACOSHACOTACOTHASINASINHATANATAN2ATANHBASECEILINGCEILING.MATHCEILING.PRECISECOMBINCOMBINACOSCOSHCOTCOTHCOUNTBLANKCOUNTIFCOUNTIFSCOUNTUNIQUECSCCSCHDECIMALDEGREESERFC.PRECISEEVENEXPFACTFACTDOUBLEFLOORFLOOR.MATHFLOOR.PRECISEGAMMALNGAMMALN.PRECISEGCDIMLNIMPOWERIMSQRTINTISEVENISO.CEILINGISODDLCMLNLOGLOG10MODMROUNDMULTINOMIALMUNITODDPIPOWERPRODUCTQUOTIENTRADIANSRANDRANDARRAYRANDBETWEENROUNDROUNDDOWNROUNDUPSECSECHSEQUENCESERIESSUMSIGNSINSINHSQRTSQRTPISUBTOTALSUMSUMIFSUMIFSSUMSQTANTANHTRUNC
Financial50
ACCRINTACCRINTMAMORLINCCOUPDAYBSCOUPDAYSCOUPDAYSNCCOUPNCDCOUPNUMCOUPPCDCUMIPMTCUMPRINCDBDDBDISCDOLLARDEDOLLARFRDURATIONEFFECTFVFVSCHEDULEINTRATEIPMTIRRISPMTMDURATIONMIRRNOMINALNPERNPVPDURATIONPMTPPMTPRICEPRICEDISCPRICEMATPVRATERECEIVEDRRISLNSYDTBILLEQTBILLPRICETBILLYIELDVDBXIRRXNPVYIELDYIELDDISCYIELDMAT
Engineering48
BIN2DECBIN2HEXBIN2OCTBITANDBITLSHIFTBITORBITRSHIFTBITXORCOMPLEXDEC2BINDEC2HEXDEC2OCTDELTAERFERF.PRECISEERFCGESTEPHEX2BINHEX2DECHEX2OCTIMABSIMAGINARYIMARGUMENTIMCONJUGATEIMCOSIMCOSHIMCOTIMCOTHIMCSCIMCSCHIMDIVIMEXPIMLOGIMLOG10IMLOG2IMPRODUCTIMREALIMSECIMSECHIMSINIMSINHIMSUBIMSUMIMTANIMTANHOCT2BINOCT2DECOCT2HEX
Text41
ARABICASCCHARCLEANCODECONCATENATEDOLLAREXACTFINDFINDBFIXEDJOINLEFTLEFTBLENLENBLOWERMIDMIDBPROPERREGEXEXTRACTREGEXMATCHREGEXREPLACEREPLACEREPLACEBREPTRIGHTRIGHTBROMANSEARCHSEARCHBSPLITSUBSTITUTETTEXTTEXTJOINTRIMUNICHARUNICODEUPPERVALUE
Array30
ARRAY_CONSTRAINARRAYFORMULABYCOLBYROWCHOOSECOLSCHOOSEROWSFLATTENFREQUENCYGROWTHHSTACKLINESTLOGESTMAKEARRAYMAPMDETERMMINVERSEMMULTREDUCESCANSUMPRODUCTSUMX2MY2SUMX2PY2SUMXMY2TOCOLTOROWTRANSPOSETRENDVSTACKWRAPCOLSWRAPROWS
Date26
DATEDATEDIFDATEVALUEDAYDAYSDAYS360EDATEEOMONTHEPOCHTODATEHOURISOWEEKNUMMINUTEMONTHNETWORKDAYSNETWORKDAYS.INTLNOWSECONDTIMETIMEVALUETODAYWEEKDAYWEEKNUMWORKDAYWORKDAY.INTLYEARYEARFRAC
Info19
CELLERROR.TYPEISBLANKISDATEISEMAILISERRISERRORISFORMULAISLOGICALISNAISNONTEXTISNUMBERISREFISTEXTNNASHEETSHEETSTYPE
Lookup17
ADDRESSCHOOSECOLUMNCOLUMNSFORMULATEXTGETPIVOTDATAHLOOKUPINDEXINDIRECTLOOKUPMATCHOFFSETROWROWSVLOOKUPXLOOKUPXMATCH
Operator15
ADDCONCATDIVIDEEQGTGTELTLTEMINUSMULTIPLYNEPOWUMINUSUNARY_PERCENTUPLUS
Logical14
ANDFALSEIFIFERRORIFNAIFSISBETWEENLAMBDALETNOTORSWITCHTRUEXOR
Database12
DAVERAGEDCOUNTDCOUNTADGETDMAXDMINDPRODUCTDSTDEVDSTDEVPDSUMDVARDVARP
Web8
ENCODEURLHYPERLINKIMPORTDATAIMPORTFEEDIMPORTHTMLIMPORTRANGEIMPORTXMLISURL
Google7
AIDETECTLANGUAGEGOOGLEFINANCEGOOGLETRANSLATEIMAGEQUERYSPARKLINE
Parser6
CONVERTTO_DATETO_DOLLARSTO_PERCENTTO_PURE_NUMBERTO_TEXT
Filter4
FILTERSORTSORTNUNIQUE

What one cell can hold

Text mode is not decoration. These are four things a single cell can carry once you can format inside it — each one saving a column, a row, or a workaround.

B7Order status
Shipped · 🚚 left the warehouse 12 Sep

One cell carries the state and the note together, so no extra column is needed for a coloured dot.

D12Handover procedure
  1. Export the monthly report
  2. Reconcile the totals against the ledger
  3. Send to the client and copy the account manager

A real numbered list inside one cell — the numbers come from the list, not typed in by hand, so inserting a step renumbers the rest.

A3Definition with a source
Net 30 — payment falls due thirty days after the invoice date. See the payment policy.

Bold on one fragment, a link on another, and the rest plain — all within one cell.

C5Product line with two links
Steelcase Leap v2 — spec sheet · warranty terms

Google Sheets attaches one link per cell on its own. Cell Editor attaches one per fragment.

Nine checks, two levels

Seven are errors and block the save. Two are warnings — they flag the formula and let you through.

  • errorUnclosed quote in a text string
  • errorUnclosed quote in a sheet name
  • errorExtra closing bracket
  • errorUnclosed bracket
  • errorToo few arguments for the function
  • errorToo many arguments for the function
  • errorUnexpected character
  • warningUnknown function name — likely a typo
  • warningNesting too deep — split it across helper cells
=SUMIF(A2:A40, "paid, B2:B40)
Unclosed quote in a text string. Saving is blocked until it is fixed.

Cells hold more than numbers

Switch to text mode for notes, descriptions and anything that needs formatting inside a single cell.

Cell Editor in text mode showing bold italic and colored text, numbered and bulleted lists, and a hyperlink being added
Text mode: styles, lists and several links inside one cell

Formatting that survives the save

Bold, italic, underline and strikethrough, text color on individual fragments, and a point size that sets the real size of the characters in the cell. Lists come out as lists.

  • Several hyperlinks attached to different fragments of one cell
  • Clear formatting resets a fragment back to plain text
  • Undo and redo inside the editor

Your spreadsheet stays yours. Cell Editor asks for exactly two permissions: to draw its window inside Google Sheets, and to work with the one spreadsheet you currently have open. It has no permission to reach the internet, so it cannot send your data anywhere even in principle. The privacy policy spells this out.

See it in the sheet

Both surfaces, both modes. Click any image to enlarge.

Cell Editor docked as a narrow sidebar beside the spreadsheet
Sidebar mode, always within reach of the sheet
The emoji picker open inside Cell Editor with a search field and category grid
Emoji picker with search, inside text mode
Formula mode in a window over the sheet
Formula mode in a resizable window
A tooltip over the formula showing the QUERY signature with the data argument highlighted and a one-line description
The signature of the function you are inside, with the current argument highlighted

Twenty-five languages, chosen for you

The interface, the help and the function descriptions follow your spreadsheet's locale — the same setting that decides whether your separator is a comma or a semicolon. Function descriptions are translated into twenty of the twenty-five; the rest show them in English.

EnglishEnglishУкраїнськаUkrainianDeutschGermanFrançaisFrenchEspañolSpanishItalianoItalianNederlandsDutchPolskiPolishČeštinaCzechSlovenčinaSlovakMagyarHungarianHrvatskiCroatianСрпскиSerbianБългарскиBulgarianDanskDanishSvenskaSwedishNorskNorwegianSuomiFinnishÍslenskaIcelandicPortuguêsPortuguesePortuguês do BrasilBrazilian PortugueseРусскийRussianEuskaraBasqueქართულიGeorgianՀայերենArmenian

Keyboard

On macOS, Cmd replaces Ctrl.

Move to the next cellAlt + ← → ↑ ↓
Save and stay in the editorCtrl + Enter
UndoCtrl + Z
RedoCtrl + Y
Browse functions by categoryCtrl + Space

One thing to know about Firefox. There the separate window opens as a modal, so it cannot be dragged and the sheet is unreachable while it is open — which means picking ranges with the mouse does not work. Use the sidebar, or another browser, for range work.

Add it to your spreadsheet

Installs from the Google Workspace Marketplace and appears under the Extensions menu. Free, with no account to create.

Install (Coming Soon)