Sheet Stack and Split Screen

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.

How the Sheet Stack Works

Think of it like browser tabs — each derived view opens as a new "tab" on top. Press q to go back, Shift+S to see all open "tabs" at once.

01-servers.csv  (source sheet)
  ├──Shift+F──▶  Frequency Table  ──q──▶  (back to source)
  ├──Shift+I──▶  Describe Sheet   ──q──▶  (back to source)
  ├──Shift+C──▶  Columns Sheet    ──q──▶  (back to source)
  └──Shift+S──▶  Sheets Sheet     ──Enter──▶  (jump to any sheet)

Navigate the Sheet Stack

q             # close current sheet (go back one level)
gq            # close all sheets (exit VisiData)
Ctrl+^        # swap between current and previous sheet
Alt+1         # jump to sheet #1
Alt+2         # jump to sheet #2
# ... Alt+9 for sheets 1-9

View All Open Sheets (Shift+S)

Shift+S
# Opens the Sheets Sheet — every open sheet listed as a row

Inside the Sheets Sheet:

Enter           jump to the sheet under cursor
g^R             reload all selected sheets
g^S             save selected sheets to files

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:

q   # close filtered copy → back to Frequency Table
q   # close Frequency Table → back to servers.csv

Or jump directly with Shift+S → Enter on any sheet.

Split Screen

View two sheets side by side:

vd ~/github/practice-folder/visidata/03-join/01-servers.csv

# Create a frequency table
Shift+F

# Split screen — frequency table appears in lower pane
Z

# Switch focus between panes
Tab

# Interact with each pane independently
# Top pane: servers.csv
# Bottom pane: Frequency Table

# Close split, restore single view
gZ

Core Keys

Key	Action
q	Close current sheet (go back one level)
Q	Close current sheet and remove from CommandLog
gq	Close all sheets and quit VisiData
Shift+S	Open the Sheets Sheet
Ctrl+^	Swap between current and previous sheet
Alt+1–Alt+9	Jump to sheet by number
Z	Split screen (two panes)
Tab	Switch focus between split panes
gZ	Close split screen

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
Cannot find original sheet	Deep stack of derived sheets	Shift+S → click source sheet
q exits VisiData	Only one sheet in stack	Expected — use gq intentionally
Split screen shows wrong sheet	Stack order	Use gTab to swap pane contents
Alt+N does nothing	Sheet count < N	Only works for sheets that exist

What's Next

• Global Commands — session management, command palette, help
• Sheet Types Reference — overview of all 12 sheet types