Inline Help Box Makes Google Docs Spreadsheet Functions Easier to Use

Google Docs' spreadsheet editor enables users to build powerful formulas to process data, but all of the options and functions can be daunting at times. You may know what you want to do, but you may not be sure what function to use in a particular case.

Google is making it easier to discover what everything does with a new inline help box which displays the syntax for each function as well as an explanation for what it does, making the process of getting more info a lot more seamless.

The help pages for the spreadsheet editor, relating to functions, have also been revamped.

"From the simple SUM function to GoogleLookup, Google spreadsheets continues to add features that help you power through data," a Michael Schidlowsky, Software Engineer at Google, wrote.

"But sometimes it can be a challenge to find the one you need to use or figure out the right way to use it," he said.

The new help snippets that have been integrated into the function suggestions should help with that.

"As soon as you start typing a formula into a cell, you’ll notice an auto-suggest box with the name and syntax of the function you might be looking for," Schidlowsky explained.

"Mouse over any of the suggested functions, and you’ll see a description that explains the function, its syntax, and how it’s used," he said.

Google says there is info for all of the more than 300 functions Google Docs supports and it also works for nested functions.

Google has revamped the documentation for spreadsheets functions, with help from a number of involved forum users. There is now a table for browsing and searching for any of the functions.

There are also pages for more than 60 new functions and formulas and more information on the more complex and harder to use functions. Google says that the documentation and inline help will be translated into more languages soon, they're only available in English now.