Your First Workbook — Obvious Help Center

The Quickstart created a workbook fast. This guide goes further — choosing the right field types, configuring columns, and importing real data. By the end, you'll have a well-structured sheet you built intentionally, not just one the agent generated for you.

Takes about 10 minutes.

Step 1: Create a workbook

Click the + button in the toolbar, then select Sheet. A new workbook opens with a blank sheet ready to configure.

Tip: You can ask the agent to build a workbook for you — but doing it yourself teaches you how the pieces fit together, which pays off later.

Step 2: Add fields and choose the right types

Each column in your sheet is a field — a named slot with a specific type that controls what kind of data it accepts. Getting the types right up front means less cleanup later.

Click the + at the end of the column headers to add your first field. Give it a name and pick a type.

The most common field types:

Text — Names, descriptions, freeform content. The default for most things.
Number — Quantities, scores, prices. Can display as currency or percent.
Date — Deadlines, timestamps. Optional time included.
Select — Predefined options with color labels. Toggle multi-select if a record can have more than one value (like tags or categories).
Checkbox — Yes/no, done/not done. Simple boolean toggle.
Email / Phone / URL — Same as text, but with built-in formatting and validation.

There are more types available — reference, rating, currency — but these six handle most situations. You can always change a field type later if your data evolves.

Step 3: Configure your columns

Once you've added a few fields, fine-tune them:

Right-click any column header and select Edit field to change the name, type, or settings.
Reorder columns by dragging the column header to a new position.
Pin a column so it stays visible when you scroll — right-click the header and select Pin.

Select fields need their options defined. Number fields can have decimal precision and currency code set. Date fields have an Include time checkbox. Take a minute to configure each field properly.

Step 4: Import your data

Two ways to bring data in:

Drag and drop. Pull a CSV or Excel file directly into the chat panel. Obvious reads the file, maps the columns to your sheet's fields, and imports the data.

Upload from the menu. Click the + button in the toolbar, then choose Files from your device. Select your file and Obvious handles the rest.

Column headers in your file are matched to field names in your sheet — the closer they match, the smoother the import.

Tip: If imported data doesn't match a field type (text in a number column, for instance), Obvious flags the mismatch. Fix the data in your file or adjust the field type before reimporting.

Step 5: Edit your data

Click any cell to start editing. Press Tab to move to the next cell, or Enter to move down. To add a new row, scroll to the bottom and click the empty row at the end.

What you just built

You now have a workbook with properly typed fields, configured columns, and real data — structured the way you want it, not just auto-generated. You understand what each field type does and how to adjust things when your needs change.

Next steps

Formulas — Add calculated fields and cross-sheet references.
Validations — Set rules that flag bad data automatically.
Views — Turn your sheet into a Board, Calendar, or Timeline.