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Creating a Sheet

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Create a Blank Sheet

  1. Go to Automate → Sheets in the sidebar.
  2. Click Create.
  3. Select Blank sheet.
  4. The new sheet opens with one tab named Tab 1.
The Create menu also offers From template, Folder, and CSV.

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Create a Sheet from a CSV

  1. Click Create → CSV.
  2. Click Select file and choose a CSV of 10 MB or less.
  3. Click Import CSV. The sheet takes its name from the file name.

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Rename Your Sheet

Click the sheet name at the top of the sheet, type a new name, and press Enter.

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Organize Sheets in Folders

In the sheets list, open a sheet’s ⋯ menu and select Move to folder. To move or delete up to 10 sheets at once, tick their checkboxes and click the selection button, such as 3 selected.

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Working with Tabs

Tabs appear along the bottom of the sheet. Each tab has its own columns, rows, and settings.
  • Create a tab: click + after the last tab.
  • Rename a tab: double-click its name, type, and press Enter.

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Tab Actions

Hover over a tab and click its ⋮ menu:

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Managing Columns

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Add a Column

Click + Add at the end of the header row, then select a type from Column Types. To insert a Text column elsewhere, right-click a cell and select Insert 1 column left or Insert 1 column right.

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Column Menu

Click a column header to open its menu:

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Reorder and Resize Columns

Drag the grip handle on a header to move the column. Drag the header’s right edge to resize the column.

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Managing Rows

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Add Rows

Scroll to the bottom of the tab, enter a number, and click Add rows. You can also right-click a cell and select Insert 1 row above or Insert 1 row below.

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Select and Delete Rows

  1. Hover over a row number and tick its checkbox. The top-left checkbox selects all rows.
  2. Click Selected rows in the toolbar.
  3. Click Delete. You can delete up to 100 rows at once.
To delete one row, right-click it and select Delete row.
Deleting rows, columns, and tabs happens immediately, with no confirmation step.

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Editing Cells

  1. Click a cell to select it.
  2. Start typing, or double-click to edit the current value.
  3. Press Enter to save, or Escape to cancel.
Some column types work differently:
  • Markdown and HTML cells open in an editor panel when you double-click them.
  • Single Select cells show a dropdown of the column’s options.
  • File cells open Select File, where you pick a file or click Upload.
  • Text cells that contain only a web address become clickable links.
When you paste, Slate shows how many cells will change. Click Apply paste to confirm. Slate adds rows and Text columns if the pasted data needs them.

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Adding Workflow Columns

Workflow columns connect your data to Slate Workflows, Superblocks, and Recipes.
  1. Click + Workflow in the toolbar.
  2. Select Workflow, Superblock, or Recipe.
  3. Search by name and select an item. The Workflow list shows only published workflows.
  4. Under Input mapping, keep Create new column for each input, or pick an existing column.
  5. Click Create (Create Recipe column for Recipes).
Example mapping: For a workflow or Superblock, Slate also adds an output column named after it, such as Blog Writer - output. A Recipe column gets no output column. Click View Output in a cell to read the Recipe’s final text.

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Start from a Workflow or from Pages

  • On a published workflow, click Add to sheet, then Create new sheet or Add to existing sheet.
  • In Insights → Pages, select pages and click Add to sheets. Create new sheet puts their URLs in a URL column. Add to existing sheet adds them to a column you choose.

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Running Workflows

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Run a Column

  1. Click the green play button in the workflow column’s header.
  2. Select Run all, Run 10 (first 10 rows), Run remaining (rows this column has not run), or Run failed.
  3. To stop the run, click the square stop button in the header.
An amber warning icon replaces the play button until you select a workflow and map all required inputs.

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Run a Row or a Cell

  • Row: hover over the row number and click the play button. All workflow columns in the row run in order.
  • Cell: click Run workflow in a cell that has not run. To rerun a finished cell, hover over it and click Run again.

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Monitor Progress

Each workflow cell shows its status:

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View Output and Add Output Columns

  1. Click View Output in a cell to open the Workflow execution panel (Recipe execution for Recipes).
  2. Read the result on the Output tab, or each step on the Execution details tab.
  3. Click Add output to columns to give each output field its own column. To add one field, click + Add column next to it.
Slate fills new output columns with existing successful results.

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Run Next on Success

Click Options and turn on Run next on success. A successful run of one workflow column then continues to the next workflow columns in that row. The setting is off by default and applies to the current tab.

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Importing and Exporting CSV

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Import into an Existing Sheet

  1. Click Options → Import CSV.
  2. Select a CSV file and choose its Separator.
  3. Choose Create a new sheet to add the CSV as a new tab, or Append to current sheet to add rows to this tab.
  4. Map columns if you are appending, then click Import CSV.

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Export to CSV

  1. Click Options → Export CSV, or Selected rows → Export CSV.
  2. Choose the columns and an optional row range.
  3. Click Export CSV.
The list leaves out Workflow, Superblock, and Recipe columns, so add output columns to export their results. Slate emails you a download link that stays available for 10 days.

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Updating Workflow Columns

Click the workflow column header and select Edit configuration. Changes save as you make them. Inputs can map only to columns to the left of the workflow column. Choosing a different workflow resets its input and output mappings.

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Best Practices

  • Fill input columns before adding workflow columns.
  • Use Run 10 to test before running all rows.
  • Use Run failed to retry only the rows that failed.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

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What’s Next

  • See Use Cases for practical examples
  • Explore Workflows to create custom workflows for your sheets