Formulas

This guide walks you through adding computed fields to your sheets using formulas — calculations that update automatically when your data changes.

Formulas are calculated by Obvious as your data changes, the same way Excel or Google Sheets recalculates cells. The agent can write formulas for you, but once set, the formula runs inside the sheet itself — not through the agent. You don't need the agent active for your calculations to work.

Add a Formula Column with the Agent

The quickest way: ask the agent.

Add a formula column that calculates total price from quantity and unit price

The agent creates the field, writes the formula, and applies it to every row. You can review the result and ask for adjustments in plain language.

Change the total price formula to include a 10% tax

The agent updates the formula in place. No syntax to remember.

Add a Formula Manually

1. Open the workbook containing your sheet.

2. Click + Add Field to create a new column.

3. Select any field type that matches your expected output — number for calculations, string for text formulas.

4. Open the sheet operations panel or ask the agent to set a formula on the field. Formulas are stored as cell references (like A1, B2) mapped to expressions.

Formula Syntax

Every formula starts with =. After that, you write an expression using field references, functions, and operators.

Basic structure:

=FUNCTION(value1, value2)

Operators you can use:

Operator	What it does	Example
+	Add	=A1 + B1
-	Subtract	=A1 - B1
*	Multiply	=A1 * B1
/	Divide	=A1 / B1
> < >= <=	Compare values	=IF(A1 > 100, "High", "Low")

Available Functions

Here are the functions you can use in Obvious formulas.

Math

Function	What it does	Example
SUM	Adds values together	=SUM(B1:B10)
AVERAGE	Calculates the mean	=AVERAGE(B1:B10)
MIN	Finds the smallest value	=MIN(B1:B10)
MAX	Finds the largest value	=MAX(B1:B10)
COUNT	Counts how many cells have values	=COUNT(B1:B10)
ROUND	Rounds to a number of decimal places	=ROUND(A1, 2)

Logic

Function	What it does	Example
IF	Returns one value if true, another if false	=IF(A1 > 0, B1, 0)

Text

Function	What it does	Example
CONCAT	Joins text together	=CONCAT(A1, " ", B1)

Tip: You don't need to memorize these. Tell the agent what you want to calculate and it writes the formula for you. "Add a column that averages the scores in column B" works just fine.

Cross-Sheet References

Formulas can pull data from other sheets in the same workbook. Use the sheet name followed by ! and the cell reference.

Syntax:

=SheetName!A1

Example: Your workbook has a "Pricing" sheet with unit costs and an "Orders" sheet where you calculate totals. In the Orders sheet, you can reference Pricing data:

=Pricing!B2 * A1

This multiplies the unit cost from row 2 of the Pricing sheet by the quantity in the current row.

A few things to know about cross-sheet references:

• The sheet name must match exactly — including capitalization and spacing.

• If your sheet name has spaces, the reference still uses the format Sheet Name!A1.

• Cross-sheet references work in any formula function. =SUM(Pricing!B1:B10) totals values from another sheet.

Common Examples

Here's a quick-reference for formulas you'll use often.

Calculate a total with tax:

=A1 * B1 * 1.1

Multiplies quantity by price, then adds 10% tax.

Show "Overdue" or "On Track" based on a value:

=IF(A1 > 30, "Overdue", "On Track")

Combine first and last name:

=CONCAT(A1, " ", B1)

Sum a column from another sheet:

=SUM(Revenue!C1:C100)

Calculate a percentage:

=ROUND(A1 / B1 * 100, 1)

Gives you a percentage rounded to one decimal place.

Next Steps

• Field Types & Configuration — understand the column types your formula results map to

• Validations — add rules that flag values when formula outputs fall outside expected ranges

• Importing Data — bring in the data your formulas will calculate against