TreeSheets is a free, open-source organizer for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It arranges notes, plans, lists, and tabular information in grids that can contain further grids. Each cell can therefore hold a label and a structured collection beneath it, rather than occupying only one table position.
Nested grids
Select a cell and type to enter text. Insert creates a subgrid within that cell, while typing at a grid boundary inserts another row or column. TreeSheets resizes the layout as content changes.
Drag across cells to select a block, then move, copy, or delete that selection. Crossing a nesting boundary selects the complete child grid. Pasting indented text recreates its hierarchy, and copying a branch to another application produces text with corresponding indentation.
Zoom into a branch
Relative text sizes distinguish parent labels from deeper details. Adjusting column widths wraps long text without splitting its cell. Zooming into a selection makes that branch the current view, with readable text at its root.
Folding a cell hides its subgrid while retaining the contents. Zooming into a folded branch reveals those details directly. TreeSheets also offers grid, bubble, and line rendering, with child content below or beside its parent text.
Reshaping a hierarchy
Transpose exchanges a grid’s rows and columns. To sort, select one column across the affected rows, then choose ascending or descending order. Hierarchify groups repeated column values into nested branches; Flatten turns nested rows or columns back into a rectangular table.
Hierarchy Swap reorganizes matching labels under a different parent relationship. It promotes matching cells and places their former ancestors beneath them, merging repeated labels. This operation requires single-row or single-column parent grids at both relevant levels, and label matching distinguishes letter case.
Cell content
TreeSheets applies text styles, colors, and alignment to cells. Add an image to embed it within the document, then choose display scaling or pixel resampling. Display scaling changes its appearance; resampling changes the image’s pixel dimensions.
A cell can carry a separate note, which its marker reveals as a tooltip. Links connect selected text to a web page, a file, or the nearest cell with matching target text. Ctrl-click follows the link.
Search filters
Enter a search query and move forward or backward through matching cells. Replacement can affect the current selection or all matches. Tags reuse existing cell text through a popup menu, and a tag filter shows cells with the checked labels.
Other filters focus on matching colors, styles, notes, or recent edits. They shrink or grey nonmatching content instead of deleting it. Options retain an entire matching row, expose matching subgrids, or combine new matches with the previous filter.
Calculations
Type an equals-prefixed formula to calculate from numbers and named grids. TreeSheets supports arithmetic plus SUM, MIN, MAX, AVG, MEDIAN, and COUNT. It displays the result after editing and recalculates formulas when data changes.
TREE variants include numbers from deeper grids while excluding nested formula subtotals. SUBSET selects particular rows and columns for an aggregate. A separate visual programming mode uses data, operation, argument, and view cells. Choose Run from Program to pass data through operations and write results into view cells.
Local documents
TreeSheets saves its editable hierarchy and embedded images in CTS documents. Set a document password to encrypt its contents on save. Optional backup files preserve the previous copy, while autosave writes temporary recovery files for documents that already have filenames.
Import and export
Imports accept XML, XML attributes, indented text, comma-separated or semicolon-separated CSV, and tab-delimited text. XML export preserves a structure that TreeSheets can import again. HTML export offers nested tables, bullet lists, or outline headings.
Manual exports follow the current view, so zooming controls which branch they cover. Flat CSV and TSV exports skip subgrids; Flatten first incorporates that hierarchy into a table. Image, SVG, and PDF outputs capture the view visually. Automatic HTML or PDF export writes companion files whenever users save the document.
Lobster automation
Run a Lobster script file or enter code directly to traverse grids and change text, formulas, styles, or images. Scripts can also load and save documents. TreeSheets can add scripts to its menu for repeated use.
An optional, token-authenticated local socket lets external agents run scripts against the open document and retrieve results. The socket starts closed. Windows ARM builds omit Lobster scripting and its script controls.
