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+Shift and click the cell you want. That’s 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!
22 Likes
Wow. This will make my life so much easier. Thank you!!!
2 Likes
Oh wow, this is niiiiice. Love it!
1 Like
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!
5 Likes
Same here. On a wide screen I have the estate for a menu on the right and this moving around the screen is pointless cognitive overload
1 Like
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):
5 Likes
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.
but its a nice improvement - so well done.
Max
7 Likes
Is there any way to disable this? I can see myself accidently clicking something I didn’t mean to and messing up my formulas.
4 Likes
It happened to me and to many of our Coda developers here at Simpla as well. It’ll 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 who’s new to Coda.
3 Likes
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)
2 Likes
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). It’s not that I can’t 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. “If you’re mousing you’re losing” in the world of RTS games, and so it is with programming… I would appreciate the option to disable this.
6 Likes
Yeah, so far this has already been a huge issue for just being around for a single day.
1 Like
Appreciate all of the feedback here!
First off, we fully hear you on the mixed reactions, and honestly, we totally get it. If you’ve 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 it’s 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 I’ve 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 doesn’t really affect your day-to-day can be more of a “hey, good to know.” But something that rewires how you use the formula editor hits differently, and you all made that very clear.
More soon, and please keep your thoughts coming!
4 Likes
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 would’ve not been so frustrated if it at least showed that I’ve 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 you’ve 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.
2 Likes
Hello @Ruggy-Joesten ,
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.
Greetings,
Joost
3 Likes
Hey all,
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!
5 Likes
