What the alpha is for
NymForm answers questions about a selected range by writing an Excel formula. The model works from the structure of your data, or from sample rows with private values replaced, and Excel does the calculation on your real values. That makes it best at questions whose answer is a calculation.
Works today
Formulas for calculations. Ask in plain language and get one formula, either a dynamic-array formula that spills from one cell or a formula filled down from the first data row. Typical requests:
- totals, counts, averages, minimums and maximums, overall or per group (
Total Amount per Region, one row per region), - conditional calculations (
Count orders over 1,000 in the West), - lookups, including against a lookup range on another sheet that you add from the Columns screen,
- text work such as splitting, joining, trimming or extracting parts of values,
- date calculations such as months, working days or ages in days,
- ranking, sorting, filtering and unique lists with dynamic-array functions.
Answers about the sample rows. With Include sample rows, you can ask a question about the rows that were sent, and the model can answer in words. The answer is about those rows only, not your whole sheet, and stand-ins in it are shown with your real values restored, in the pane only.
Clarifying questions. When your question is ambiguous, the model can ask one short question back instead of guessing.
Follow-up questions. A conversation keeps up to six earlier messages (yours and the model's), always in stand-in form, so you can refine a formula. Those earlier messages, including any sample rows they held, are sent again with the follow-up and checked again. To switch to Structure only after a sample-rows exchange, choose Clear conversation first.
Reviewing and exporting. The What gets sent screen, the Log and Export log let you see each request and keep a record of recent ones (the Log keeps the last 200).
Not supported in the alpha
- Summaries or analysis of a whole dataset in prose. The model sees structure, or the first rows of your range (50 by default, at most 200), so it can't summarize rows it hasn't seen. A range with no more data rows than that is sent in full, with private columns replaced. Ask for a formula that computes the answer instead.
- Changing your data. NymForm writes only the formula you insert, into the cell you choose and, with Fill down, the cells below it. If those cells already hold values, it asks before replacing them, and Excel can't undo the write. It doesn't sort, clean or delete cells, and doesn't create charts, pivot tables, macros or VBA.
- Functions that reach outside the workbook, such as WEBSERVICE, IMAGE, HYPERLINK, STOCKHISTORY, PY or COPILOT, or references to other workbooks. The formula gate refuses them.
- Other Office apps, such as Word or PowerPoint.
- Other model providers. The alpha works with OpenRouter only.
- Saved keys or accounts. You paste your OpenRouter key each session.
Coming later
These are recorded plans, not features:
- a hosted release of the add-in that doesn't need a local server, once the source repository is public,
- signing in with OpenRouter instead of pasting a key,
- published benchmark results for answer quality with and without sample rows.