Google Sheets has an INDIRECT function that lets users use relative row references in formulas.

For example, instead of using a formula like =A2+B2, you can replace the row numbers with a variable referencing the current row.  This way, you don't have to worry about whether the references for the current row are correct if your formula only deals with data in the current row.

This is particularly useful if you're pushing the formula to …

A QR code (short for Quick Response code) is a two-dimensional barcode that allows you store a lot more data compared to standard UPC barcodes.

You can easily scan it with your smartphone's camera and because almost everyone now has a smartphone, it's becoming more and more popular.

Because QR codes can store more data, this also allows for many more use cases.  They're especially very helpful as a shortcut for entering long texts where it's easy to make …

You may run into a situation where you  need to compare two spreadsheets and figure out which values exist in one but not the other.

For example, if you run an ecommerce store where your supplier provides you a spreadsheet of their inventory that's constantly changing, you may need to figure out which new products exist in the data feed that you currently don't have published in your store.

One way to figure this out is to export the current product data …

You may encounter a scenario where you need to convert data from your Google Sheets spreadsheet to JSON format.  You may need this to use as input to another app or system.

For example, our EZ Exporter app supports a function that takes a raw JSON string that can be used for looking up values (like a lookup table).

JSON data can have complex nested structure but a typical format you'll see is an array that looks like this:

["Alice", "Bob", "Eve", …

Using a comma-separated list of values is a fairly common format when entering multiple values as input to a form. You might have already encountered this while managing an ad campain where you can enter a list of keywords or when needing to send a marketing email to multiple recipients.

If you already have a spreadsheet where you maintain these types of data as rows in a column, you may be wondering whether there's an easy way to convert rows …