Directives
What is a directive, how do you add a directive & the difference between each directive we offer on Zen
Directives are Zen commands that make working with spreadsheets easier and more efficient.
Directives allow our users to perform SQL-like data transformations, drag down formulas and connect worksheets easily. Using directives in Zen means that with just a click of a button, everything will be updated automatically as new data is added.
Adding a Directive
We've simplified adding complex functions on spreadsheet, our directives helps you easily transform data, drag down formulas and connect worksheet.
To add a directive,
- Click "Add directive" on the dashboard.
- Choose your choice of directives. We've provided descriptions of each directive and also info button on their respective screen to help guide you.
- Select worksheets you'd want to work with and follow each steps based on the respective directives.
For more detailed step-by-step for adding each directive:
Deleting a Directive
For our beta version, if you would like to delete a directive, you would have to delete the worksheet.
Note: If you would still like to use the data in the worksheet but you would just want to remove the directive attached to that worksheet, simply copy and paste the data into a new worksheet (the directive would not be attached to it this way).
Editing a Directive
To edit a directive that's already been created, e.g. changing the settings of filter, you would have to re-create that directive (the same way you created them) and put in the same output worksheet.
Difference between each directive
| Directive Name | Can combine more than 2 worksheets? | Column Specific? |
|---|---|---|
| from | Yes | No |
| match-rows | No | No |
| cartesian-product | Yes | No |
| join | No | Yes |
| outer-join | No | Yes |
| filter | No | Yes |
| group | No | Yes |
Conditions of each directive
Each directive is unique and has different conditions for it to work.
| Directive Name | Conditions |
|---|---|
| from | Worksheets you've selected should share at least a common column (columns with the same header name) |
| match-rows | The target worksheet should contain a formula and reference another worksheet |
| cartesian-product | 2 worksheets are required to create/add a cartesian-product. Each worksheet should contain at least 1 column to produce expected results. |
| join | Worksheets should share at least a common column (if it doesn't have the same header name, join allows you to choose which columns you'd like to match) |
| outer-join | Worksheets should share at least a common column (if it doesn't have the same header name, join allows you to choose which columns you'd like to match) |
| filter | The worksheet should contain at least 1 column. Columns can be filtered by value (e.g. 1, 30, 1029, etc) and by targeting another column (e.g. Column1 is equal to Column2) |
| Group | The worksheet should contain at least 1 column. Rows are being grouped by column name. |
Updated about 2 years ago
Dive deep into each directive and the step-by-step guide on adding them into your spreadsheet