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Switching Between Sheets

Every VisiData action that creates a derived view (frequency table, pivot table, describe sheet) pushes a new sheet onto the stack. Understanding how to navigate this stack is essential for a fluid workflow.

Learning Focus

Learn the Sheets Sheet (Shift+S), the direct sheet number jump (Alt+N), and split-screen mode (Z) as three complementary navigation strategies.

The Sheet Stack​

Core Navigation Keys​

KeyAction
qClose current sheet (go back)
QClose current sheet and remove from CommandLog
gqClose all sheets and quit
Shift+SOpen the Sheets Sheet
Ctrl+^Jump to previous sheet (swap)
Alt+1 … Alt+9Jump to sheet by number

The Sheets Sheet (Shift+S)​

The Sheets Sheet is the navigation hub — it lists every open sheet with its type and row count.

 name                    source            nRows   type
 servers.csv             /tmp/servers.csv  4       Sheet
 Frequency by role       servers.csv       3       FreqTable
 Describe servers.csv    servers.csv       4       DescribeSheet

Inside the Sheets Sheet:

Enter           jump to the sheet under cursor
gEnter          push selected sheets to top of stack
g^R             reload all selected sheets
&               merge/join selected sheets (prompts for jointype)
g^S             save selected sheets to files

Direct Sheet Number Jump​

Alt+1           jump to sheet 1
Alt+2           jump to sheet 2
# etc. (only works for first 9 sheets)

Split Screen Navigation​

Split screen lets you view two sheets simultaneously — ideal for comparing source data with a derived view.

Z               split screen — second sheet from stack appears below
zZ              split screen with custom height (queries)
Tab             move focus to other pane
gTab            swap the two panes
gZ              close split; restore single pane

Example workflow:

# Open CSV
vd servers.csv

# Open frequency table (pushed onto stack)
Shift+F

# Split screen to see both
Z

# Tab to switch between panes and interact with each
Tab

Opening a Sheet in a New Pane​

# While on the Sheets Sheet:
gEnter          push selected sheets to the other pane

Derived Sheet Chains​

Derived sheets can themselves spawn further derived sheets:

servers.csv
  └── Frequency Table (Shift+F)
        └── Source rows for "webserver" (Enter on a row)
              └── Filtered copy of servers.csv

Press q at each level to unwind the chain.

Practical Use Cases​

Compare Raw Data and Frequency Table​

vd /var/log/nginx/access.log

# Create frequency table on status column
Shift+F

# Split screen to view both simultaneously
Z

# Tab to switch focus and interact with each
Tab

Manage Multiple Open Files​

vd servers.csv /var/log/nginx/access.log

# Shift+S → see both files as sheets
# Alt+1 → jump to servers.csv
# Alt+2 → jump to access.log
# Ctrl+^ → toggle between the two quickly

Track Your Sheet Stack Depth​

# Open Sheets Sheet at any time to see where you are
Shift+S
# Status bar shows sheet count
# Each row is one sheet in the stack

Troubleshooting Matrix​

ProblemCauseFix
Cannot find original sheetDeep stack of derived sheetsShift+S → click source sheet
q exits VisiDataOnly one sheet in stackExpected behavior — use gq intentionally
Split screen shows wrong sheetStack orderUse gTab to swap pane contents
Alt+N does nothingSheet count < NOnly works for sheets that exist

Hands-On Practice​

vd /tmp/servers.csv

# 1. Shift+F → open frequency table on 'role' column
# 2. Shift+S → view both sheets in the Sheets Sheet
# 3. q → back to source
# 4. Shift+I → open Describe Sheet
# 5. Z → split screen
# 6. Tab → switch panes
# 7. gZ → close split
# 8. gq → exit VisiData

What's Next​