Oda in Excel

DataMind Oda in Excel is a task pane add-in: a chat that sits inside your workbook, next to your sheets. From the pane you ask your company's Minds and work with the open workbook.

Where Oda in Excel runs

• Windows: Excel in Microsoft 365, or Office 2021 or later. These versions run add-ins with Microsoft Edge WebView2, which the pane needs. Office 2016 and Office 2019 cannot load the pane.
• Mac: Excel for Mac on a Mac with Safari 17.4 or later.
• Excel on the web: in a current browser.

Open the pane

1. On Excel's Home tab, in the DataMind group, click Oda. The pane opens. Hovering over the Oda button shows: Open DataMind Oda to ask your Minds and work with this workbook.
2. While the pane connects, it shows Connecting to DataMind…. If you are not signed in yet, it asks you to sign in; otherwise the chat opens straight away. See Sign in to Oda in Excel.
3. Once you have sent a message in a workbook, the pane reopens with that workbook the next time you open the file.

When Excel first makes Oda available for you, it shows DataMind Oda is ready, with the note Open Oda from the Home tab to get started.

Oda in Excel is enabled for your account by your administrator, and the add-in is installed for your company; Get DataMind Oda covers the add-in file and the steps, and Manage DataMind Oda for your company shows where access is given. If it is not enabled for you, the sign-in screen says so; Fix problems with Oda in Excel explains what to do.

The pane at a glance

• Header: the pane's name, then New chat, History and Sign out. History lists this workbook's earlier chats; see Chats and history in Excel.
• Transcript: your messages and Oda's answers. Answers are laid out as headings, lists and tables, and links in them open in a new browser tab; they never replace the pane.
• Step rows: while Oda works, each step appears as a row named for what it does: Looking at the workbook, Reading cells, Writing cells, Creating a table, Looking up your Minds, Asking the Mind, Answering the Mind or Pulling data into a new sheet. The row names the cells, question or sheet involved, and the dot beside it shows the state: grey by default, pulsing while the step runs, green when it is done and red when it failed. When it finishes, the row adds a short result, such as Wrote and the range. An answer still arriving shows a caret at its end, and the transcript keeps scrolling to the newest lines; a run that ends in an error leaves an error bubble in the transcript.
• Approval card: when a change needs your answer, a card above the message box lists the change and waits; see Permission modes and approvals in Excel.
• Mind chip: Asking: shows which Mind answers; see Choosing the Mind.
• Message box: the hint Ask about your data or this workbook… stays there until you type. Enter sends the message and Shift+Enter starts a new line; Send stays disabled while your message is empty.
• Permissions: under the message box, the list that sets how often Oda asks before it changes the workbook. Accept edits is the default.

Before your first message, the transcript shows What should we work on? with a hint: For example: “Summarize the selected table” or “Add a growth column to Sales”.

Ask about the workbook or your data

• Ask in plain language. Oda can look at the open workbook, read cells, write values and create tables; How Oda works in your workbook covers those steps. In the default Accept edits mode, Oda writes into empty cells on its own and asks before overwriting your data or removing anything; Permission modes and approvals in Excel covers the other modes.
• When a question needs company data, Oda asks your company's Minds. To bring a result into your workbook, it pulls the result into a new sheet as a table; see Ask about data and pull it into Excel. Asking Minds needs the Use Minds from DataMind Oda permission; without it, the pane works with the workbook only.
• There is no model picker in the pane: Oda answers with the model your DataMind server marks as its default; if none is marked, the first it lists.

What the pane does not do

• In Excel, Oda works through the workbook tools and your Minds only: tools that run commands or read files on your computer are not available in the pane.
• Pictures in an answer that come from the web are not loaded. Each one shows as a link instead, named by the picture's description or its address, and the link opens in your browser.

Questions, answered

I closed the pane. How do I open it again?

Click Oda on Excel's Home tab, in the DataMind group. The pane opens again.

Which versions of Excel can run Oda?

Excel in Microsoft 365 or Office 2021 and later on Windows, Excel for Mac with Safari 17.4 or later, and Excel on the web. Office 2016 and Office 2019 cannot load the pane.

Does Oda in Excel work in Word or PowerPoint?

No. DataMind Oda in Excel loads in Excel workbooks, so it does not appear in Word or PowerPoint.

Can I choose a different model in Excel?

No. The pane has no model picker; Oda answers with the model your DataMind server marks as its default; if none is marked, the first it lists.

Can Oda run commands or read files on my computer from Excel?

No. In the pane Oda works through the workbook tools and your Minds only: it cannot run commands or read files on your computer.

What do the step rows in the transcript mean?

Each row names one step Oda is taking, such as Reading cells or Asking the Mind, with the cells or question involved. The dot beside the row shows the step's state, and a stopped step says so in grey.

Why does a picture in Oda's answer show as a link?

The pane does not load pictures from the web. Each one shows as a link with its description, and the link opens in your browser.

What does the coloured dot next to a step row mean?

Grey is the default and also marks a stopped step, a pulsing dot means the step is running, green means it finished and red means it failed.

Where do links in Oda's answers open?

In a new browser tab. They never replace the pane, so your workbook stays where it is.

How do I get Oda in Excel for my account?

An administrator enables it for your account and installs the add-in for your company; see Get DataMind Oda. If it is not enabled for you, the sign-in screen says so; Fix problems with Oda in Excel explains what to do.

Why can't I click Send?

Send stays disabled while your message is empty; type a message first. Enter sends it, and Shift+Enter starts a new line.