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Why we need a new doc

In a space full of applications, why do documents and spreadsheets still run the world?

One of the first software applications we made for a computer was the digital document. Over time, we upgraded it from a simple text interface to a full-featured word processor, then moved it to the cloud with tools like Google Docs. If you follow the history of the spreadsheet, it took a similar journey. Despite teams reaching for these tools because they were familiar and flexible, the doc and sheet still hasn’t taken advantage of a hyper collaborative and connected world.

Then came productivity software which took the common processes and rituals we were running with docs, sheets, home-grown databases, emails, and face-to-face meetings and built apps to streamline and systematize these processes. They sold us productivity apps designed from their rigid point of views for how an “ideal team” should work together, and we bought them. But instead of increasing productivity, they ended up multiplying our work. Teams fought against the flows, figured out workarounds, and end users said “this tool wasn’t built for me.” We resorted to copy + paste and export + import to keep things running... in docs and sheets.

At Coda, we wanted to re-imagine docs as they should be in the hyper connected world and provide the right building blocks for teams to create their own unique ways of working without needing to buy 3rd party apps. Within Coda, you’ll find:

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Pages⁠

that create spaces for project plans, meeting notes, brainstorms, and guides.

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Tables⁠

where you can track processes, collect ideas, manage contacts, or simply outline an agenda.

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Views⁠

so that everyone can work off the same data in different ways like Gantt charts for timeline-loving PMs, calendars for marketing, kanban boards for designers, and graphs for exec stakeholders.

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Buttons⁠

that take action like sending an email recap or pinging teams on Slack on overdue tasks.

While a Coda doc starts with a blank page and a blinking cursor just like any doc, there’s no need to build from scratch. You’ll find help and inspiration along the way like:

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Templates⁠

within your doc to explore what tracking a project or getting team feedback would feel like in a Coda doc.

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Doc Gallery⁠

to see what makers have created such as how Figma is modernizing their product meetings, what remote schools are doing to organize communities of learning, and how makers at Spotify, Superhuman, Uber, and Square are turning their best ideas into tools.

With Coda, a doc can be as powerful as an app, and can grow to contain your team’s informational universe. Just import your docs, sheets, and data from productivity apps, then connect to the tools you use every day such as Figma, Jira, and Slack through Packs so that you can stop jumping between tabs and focus on what matters.

If you haven’t already, I’d highly suggest watching this 1.5 min Coda intro video which is more or less a different way to say and show what’s written above.

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Learn more at

coda.io/welcome⁠

or create a doc of your own:

coda.new⁠

Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.

Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (

CtrlP

) instead.