Syntax

EtherCalc cells accept the same core types as SocialCalc.

Formulas

Start with =:

=sqrt(3)/2
=if(1+1<0, "surprise!", "ok")
=SUM(A1:A10)

EtherCalc implements OpenFormula-style functions. The authoritative function list lives in the SocialCalc source:

• formula1.js — function definitions
• SocialCalc.Formula.FunctionList — registered names at runtime

Functions such as DAVERAGE, DCOUNT, DMAX, DSUM, COUNTIF, and SUMIF take a criteria argument. Criteria can be:

• a number (optionally prefixed with <, <=, =, >=, >, <>), or
• a text string containing * or ? (Excel-style wildcards) or a JavaScript regular expression.

Dates and plain text

Input	Example
Date (default mm/dd/yyyy, year ≥ 1900)	12/25/2016
Text forced as literal	'hello world (leading single quote)

Default text formatting (wikitext)

In cells using the default text format, you can write:

Effect	Syntax
Bold	the point is *collaboration*
Italic	the point is _collaboration_
Strikethrough	can I -haz- cheezburger
Teletype	it reads `SOS` (backticks)
Horizontal rule	-- at the start of the cell
Heading	^^Section 4 (one or more ^ at the start)
Hyperlink	Leonard Nimoy as "Spock"<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spock>

The wikitext parser is modeled after Socialtext syntax. EtherCalc’s implementation is in third-party/wikiwyg.

HTML formatting

For colors and richer layout:

1. Select a range.
2. Open the Format tab → Text → choose HTML.
3. Enter HTML, for example: <span style="color:red; background:yellow">hello</span>

See MDN HTML formatting for element reference.

Cross-sheet references

Reference another room (sheet) by name:

="sheet1"!A1

See Tips & tricks for conditional-formatting recipes that use HTML formulas.