The power of spreadsheets

A header value will usually be referenced elsewhere to provide more descriptive context. For example, using the sample data above...

• E7's formula is: =$J$3 & "all the things!"

• F8's formula is: "Create subtasks to provide more " & LOWER($J$3) & "ing details"

Notice the reference to $J$3 rather than simply J3. The former is called an absolute reference while the latter is a relative reference. Those are important spreadsheet concepts, but suffice it to say that for use with these sheets, you'll usually want want to use absolute references (containing the two dollar signs). Otherwise, you’ll likely run into trouble later when copy-pasting values elsewhere in the sheet.

Here are other kinds of things that are possible with spreadsheets:

• Set a value in Assign to and reference that cell (e.g. $C$5) in all top-level tasks below

• Set a Task prefix header (like what appears in row 3 above) that is referenced in all top-level tasks below.

• Use the TEXT function to format date value, e.g. =TEXT($J$4, "mmmm d, yyyy")

• Use Data Validation to limit available options (e.g. Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall)