Course · Spreadsheets

Google Sheets from Scratch: Formulas, QUERY, and Collaboration

A hands-on Google Sheets course for beginners: cells and formulas, functions (SUM, IF, VLOOKUP), array functions (FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE, ARRAYFORMULA), QUERY and IMPORTRANGE, collaboration, and charts — with interactive exercises where you type real formulas.

Course authors

PepelenCourse author

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Unit 1. Google Sheets basics

Lesson 1: Creating a spreadsheet and sharing it

6 exercises · Create your first Google Sheets spreadsheet, understand how it is built (a file in the cloud, sheets, cells), and learn the basics of sharing by link.

Lesson 2: Cells, A1 addresses, and $ references

6 exercises · Read a cell address in A1 notation and tell relative (A1), absolute ($A$1), and mixed ($A1, A$1) references apart.

Lesson 3: Entering data, and how Google Sheets differs from Excel

6 exercises · Enter data and formulas correctly and learn the Google Sheets basics: a formula starts with “=”, English function names, the comma separator, the cloud, and real-time collaboration.

Unit 2. Formulas and basic functions

Lesson 1: Arithmetic and the order of operations in formulas

6 exercises · Write arithmetic formulas with cell references and understand the order of operations and the role of parentheses.

Lesson 2: SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, COUNTA, MIN, MAX

6 exercises · Apply basic aggregate functions to a range to find the sum, the average, the count, and the smallest and largest values.

Lesson 3: Copying formulas: relative and absolute references in practice

7 exercises · Copy a formula down or across so that the references behave correctly, using $ where a cell needs to be locked.

Unit 3. Logic and conditions

Lesson 1: IF, IFS, and nested conditions

6 exercises · Build IF formulas (if-then-else) and replace clunky nested IFs with IFS.

Lesson 2: AND, OR, and compound conditions

5 exercises · Combine several conditions with AND and OR inside IF.

Lesson 3: Counting and adding with conditions: COUNTIF, SUMIF, SUMIFS

5 exercises · Count and sum the rows that meet a condition with COUNTIF, SUMIF, and SUMIFS (several conditions).

Unit 4. Lookups and dynamic arrays

Lesson 1: VLOOKUP and the INDEX/MATCH combo

6 exercises · Find a value by its search key with VLOOKUP, and understand when you need the more flexible INDEX/MATCH combo instead.

Lesson 2: XLOOKUP — the modern lookup

6 exercises · Use XLOOKUP as a simpler, more flexible lookup that searches in any direction, without a fragile column number.

Lesson 3: The power of Sheets: FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE, ARRAYFORMULA

6 exercises · Apply Google Sheets dynamic arrays: filter, sort, remove duplicates, and calculate a whole column with one formula.

Unit 5. QUERY, importing, and collaboration

Lesson 1: QUERY: SQL-like select / where / group by queries

6 exercises · Extract, filter, and group data with a single QUERY formula and its easy-to-read query language.

Lesson 2: Importing data: IMPORTRANGE, IMPORTHTML/IMPORTDATA, GOOGLEFINANCE, GOOGLETRANSLATE

5 exercises · Pull external data into a spreadsheet: from another Google Sheets spreadsheet or a web page, plus stock quotes and text translations.

Lesson 3: Collaboration: roles, comments, version history, protected ranges

5 exercises · Work safely in a spreadsheet with other people: give the right roles, communicate in comments, restore earlier versions, and protect key cells.

Unit 6. Visualization, data cleanup, and final practice

Lesson 1: Charts and pivot tables

6 exercises · Turn a table into a clear picture: choose a chart type that fits the data, and condense large datasets into a pivot table.

Lesson 2: Text functions and data cleanup: TRIM, SPLIT, CONCATENATE/“&”, LEFT/RIGHT/MID, TEXTJOIN

6 exercises · Clean up “dirty” text data: remove extra spaces, split and join values, and cut out parts of a string.

Lesson 3: Error values and final practice: a mini dashboard

6 exercises · Recognize the causes of errors (#N/A, #REF!, #DIV/0!, #NAME?, #VALUE!) and build a small working report from what you’ve learned.