Formulas in Docs are powerful, but we know that writing them, especially in larger tables, could feel harder than it should. You had to remember exact column names, search through menus, and type everything by hand. That added up.
So we built something to improve that: Point & Compose, a familiar interaction from spreadsheets that lets you click to build formulas instead of typing everything manually.
How it works:
Select a column: click any cell or its column header and it gets inserted into your formula automatically. This works with canvas formulas as well, and you can also reference columns from other tables.
Select a specific cell value: hold CMD and click the cell you want. Thatâs it.
The formula builder floats as you scroll: so you can navigate the page and reference other content while writing your formula, without losing your place.
No more memorizing column names or hunting through menus. You stay focused on the analysis, not on the mechanics of writing it. The formula builds as you point, so you can move faster and make fewer mistakes along the way.
Try it out and let us know what you think. We always love to hear about your experience!
An improvement, but what would be really useful (to me at least) is for the formula ediitor to be pinnable / accessible in the right-hand pane. That would make the new functionality in this update much more useful IMO.
At present, accessing the large formula editor is something like 5 clicks . It would be really great if there was an option to go straight to the large editor from the first level of the context menu, and that it opened in the right-hand pane!
Although the following is a chrome extension and not native to Coda, it does work really well and can be customized to pin the CFL editor to the right (and set a custom size and some other options):
i cannot understand why there are two formula editor types, compact and slightly-bigger.
just make the editor a resizable repositionable window so we can squish and squooze it around as we prefer.
and then have a side-panel editor so we can see the whole canvas as we edit.
It happened to me and to many of our Coda developers here at Simpla as well. Itâll be hard to get used to being more cautious when closing the formula box, but it will pay off: this is a nice improvements to Excel/Sheets users and to any one whoâs new to Coda.
I agree with Max that the formula editor window should be structurally re-disigned to be more customizable but as the same time easier to use. And the side panel edito could also much improve the new point and click formula feature when I have to reference cell or column from tables in other pages.
Regarding the announcement itself, I also like the excel-style Point and click addition and I think it will help a lot of new people to transition from spreadsheets to Coda, but I find myself clicking by mistake sometimes, so it would be cool if we could whether disable it or at least change the behavior from a single left click to something less prone to error ( double-click, right click and so on)
This has been a hassle for me this week. I have been accustomed to clicking off a formula to close the editor, and now that selects a thing and changes my formula. So now I have to change my behaviour and push enter (if formula editor not expanded) or click the Done button (if expanded). Itâs not that I canât get used to it, but that I am used to something else. I also often do not have the thing I would want to point to on my screen, so this is not very useful for me. âIf youâre mousing youâre losingâ in the world of RTS games, and so it is with programming⌠I would appreciate the option to disable this.
First off, we fully hear you on the mixed reactions, and honestly, we totally get it. If youâve been clicking off the formula editor to close it for years, having that same action suddenly insert a reference mid-formula is a jolt: no warning, no ramp, just a new reality.
The muscle memory conflict is real, and the ask for a way to disable or tweak the behavior came up enough times that itâs worth the product team hearing.
Your feedback made it pretty clear that something like this deserves a heads-up before it goes live, not a post after. This is something Iâve personally been laser-focused on: working more closely with our internal teams so we can get ahead of things like this early. Not every update needs that treatment; smaller stuff that doesnât really affect your day-to-day can be more of a âhey, good to know.â But something that rewires how you use the formula editor hits differently, and you all made that very clear.
I would use a stronger word after just a day with it. I messed up some super sophisticated formulas and spent about 2 hours trying to fix them.
Probably wouldâve not been so frustrated if it at least showed that Iâve selected a cell or column or it jumped to the updated part of the formula - something that at least moves on the screen when that happens. Instead, on my cursor somewhere in a long formula, it adds stuff.
My best suggestion @Ruggy-Joesten is to improve your QA steps because youâve probably noticed that almost every feature Coda has released in the past several years is just half-baked, and this one goes to this list.
Could we get a CTRL-Enter shortcut (or something similar) to use to mimic clicking on done, instead of mousing to done and clicking - it would make live a lot easier.
Quick update on Point & Compose: we heard you, and the team has temporarily pulled the feature while we fix some of the interaction issues you flagged. It should be back tomorrow or Monday.
We really do appreciate everyone taking the time to share their experience so quickly after it launched. This is exactly the kind of feedback that helps us get things right, and it made a direct impact on how to iterate before moving forward.
Will follow up with additional updates as they come in!
As you pointed out, Point & Compose is back, and we shipped an update this week based on community feedback like yours, so thank you again!
The big change: Point Mode no longer kicks in by default at the end of an existing formula. So if you open a formula youâve already written and click away, itâll behave exactly like it always did: saving and closing the editor. No surprise references sneaking in mid-formula.
Point Mode will still activate when it makes sense: opening a new empty formula, when your cursor is inside a function argument, right after an operator, or right after youâve clicked a column or cell to add a chip.
The short version: if youâre building something new, Point & Compose is there to help. If youâre revisiting something youâve already written, it stays out of your way.
Your detailed feedback went straight to the team and directly shaped this update, and we genuinely appreciate everyone flagging!
Hope this feels like the fix it was always meant to be. Weâd love to hear how itâs landing for you now, so keep the feedback coming, good, bad, or ugly.
As a newby to Coda it was interesting to read this topic and the other recently pinned one about a âmysteriousâ update asking for beta users. It is heartening that there is an active community. For what itâs worth my observations:
updating an existing feature: donât fundamentally change it , even for the better, without either
allowing the user to remain on the old version - web-base means not possible, soâŚ
allowing disable, i.e. use the old behaviour
tell users in good time before the change is launched
if it involves re-architecting such that âoldâ behaviour cannot be offered always use beta testers
beta announcements & invitations: be clear about what the feature is - either the problem being solved, or the high-level idea - otherwise, unless you are in-the-know itâs impossible to make a decision to volunteer, and it creates unnecessary ânoiseâ
âpullingâ a recently launched feature: great that you had the courage to do that, but users must have been very confused, annoyed, or at worst ready to quit
. It would be really great if there was an option to go straight to the large editor from the first level of the context menu, and that it opened in the right-hand pane!
Max