sc-im
sc-im short for Spreadsheet Calculator Improvised is a terminal-based spreadsheet and calculator with vim-like key bindings. The program is fairly advanced and capable spreadsheet application with most of the features modern spreadsheet users have come to expect in GUI-based spreadsheet applications. Additionally, sc-im can be used non-interactively as a simple calculator tool somewhat like bc.
Development of the original program, then called sc, began in 1981 but stalled sometime in 2002. Around 2015 a group of sc enthusiasts decided to resume development under the name sc-im. In late 2022 the maintained package app-office/sc-im fork was migrated from GURU to the main Gentoo package repository and the unmaintained app-office/sc was removed from the tree via bug #877051.
sc-im has a number of use-cases. It can be used non-interactively as a filter to translate incompatible spreadsheets to the text-based .sc format. It is also popular among mutt users who wish to have a way to view spreadsheets attached to emails without exiting the terminal.
Supported File Formats
The following file formats can be imported or exported:
- Spreadsheet Calculator .sc files.
- Comma Seperated Values .csv files.
- Tab Separated Values .tsv files.
- Markdown Table .md files.
- Plain Text .txt files.
The following formats are supported, but only as import filters:
- LibreOffice OpenDocument Spreadsheet .ods files.
- Legacy Microsoft Excel .xls files.
- Microsoft Office Open XML .xlsx files.
Installation
USE flags
USE flags for app-office/sc-im Ncurses based, vim-like spreadsheet calculator
X
|
Use x11-misc/xclip for clipboard copy/paste |
lua
|
Enable Lua scripting support |
ods
|
Add ods import support |
plots
|
Add sci-visualization/gnuplot for plotting support |
tmux
|
Use app-misc/tmux for clipboard copy/paste |
wayland
|
Use gui-apps/wl-clipboard for clipboard copy/paste |
xls
|
Add xls support |
xlsx
|
Add xlsx support |
Emerge
root #emerge --ask app-office/sc-imConfiguration
Files
- $HOME/.config/sc-im/scimrc — Per-user configuration file.
Usage
The sc-im spreadsheet editor is closely modeled after vim text editor. The program has several different modes:
- Normal Mode: where cell navigation occurs.
- Insert Mode: where new values are entered into cells.
- Edit Mode: to modify existing cells.
- Command Mode: For entering commands to modify application settings.
- Visual Mode: For selecting ranges of cells in a visually intuitive manner.
Basic navigation is performed with keys on a QWERTY keyboard's home row. As a result H moves the cursor up one cell, J moves the cursor down one cell, K moves the cursor right one cell, and the L moves the cursor right one cell. That said, the ←, ↑, →, and the ↓ cursor keys work as expected. The PgUp and PgDn key works the same way it does with the less or more screen pagers. The following table details the major keyboard navigation and editing functions:
| Key | Function |
|---|---|
| = | Insert a numeric value |
| \ | Insert a text value |
| E | Edit a numeric value |
| SHIFT+E | Edit a string value |
| X | Delete current cell content |
| J | Move down |
| K | Move up |
| H | Move left |
| L | Move right |
| U | Undo last change |
| CTRL+R | Redo last change undone |
| Y,Y | Copy current cell |
| V | Select a range using the H, J, K, and L home keys keys |
| P | Paste a previously yanked cell or range |
| I,R | Insert row |
| I,C | Insert column |
| D,R | Delete row |
| D,C | Delete column |
| G,O,<col>,<row> | Go to exact off screen cell. |
Like vim, sc-im has a built-in command mode. The : help command is perhaps the most useful for new users as it provides an extensive overview of internal sc-im commands. The most commonly used commands are:
| Command | Function |
|---|---|
| :q | Quit the app |
| :h | See help |
| :w <filename> | Save current spreadsheet in .sc file format |
Invocation
user $sc-im --helpSC-IM - SC Improved
Usage: sc-im [arguments] [file] specified file
or: sc-im [arguments] - read text from stdin
Arguments:
--autocalc Set variable 'autocalc'.
--copy_to_clipboard_delimited_tab Set variable 'copy_to_clipboard_delimited_tab'
--debug Set variable 'debug'
--default_copy_to_clipboard_cmd=COMMAND set variable 'default_copy_from_clipboard_cmd'
--default_paste_from_clipboard_cmd=COMMAND set variable 'default_paste_from_clipboard_cmd'
--default_open_file_under_cursor_cmd=COMMAND set variable 'default_open_file_under_cursor_cmd'
--export_csv Export to csv without interaction
--export_tab Export to tab without interaction
--export_txt Export to txt without interaction
--export_mkd Export to markdown without interaction
--external_functions Set variable 'external_functions'
--half_page_scroll Set variable 'half_page_scroll'
--ignorecase Set variable 'ignorecase'
--import_delimited_as_text Import text as
--newline_action={j or l} Set variable 'newline_action'
--nocurses Run interactive but without ncurses interface.
--numeric Set variable 'numeric'
--numeric_decimal Set variable 'numeric_decimal'
--output=FILE Save the results in FILE
--overlap Set variable 'overlap variable'
--quit_afterload Quit after loading all the files
--show_cursor Make the screen cursor follow the active cell
--tm_gmtoff={seconds} set gmt offset used for converting datetimes to localtime.
--txtdelim={"," or ";" or "\t" or "|"} Sets delimiter when opening a .tab of .csv file
--version Print version information and exit
--help Print Help (this message) and exit
Troubleshooting
Issues loading spreadsheets larger that 65,536 rows
By default sc-im limits its spreadsheets to 65,536 rows. This was a sane limit when the software was first released but as time passed spreadsheets began to be treated as "poor man's databases" and have grown ever larger. Eventually a compile-time option was added to raise this figure to a new maximum of 1,048,576 rows. Starting with sc-im-0.8.3-r1 the compile time option of 1,048,576 rows is set. If you're having issues opening large spreadsheets upgrade to at least that version.
Currently, sc-im is limited to a maximum 702 columns.
Converting between spreadsheet formats non-interactively
It's possible to use sc-im to convert between spreadsheet file formats. In fact, this is a popular use of the program. Assuming you're trying to convert a modern Microsoft Excel .xlsx file to .csv the command would look something like this:
user $sc-im --nocurses --export_csv --quit_afterload infile.xlsx > outfile.csvOther options are possible, but at this time only .csv, .tsv, .txt, and .md files have output filters.
Unmerge
root #emerge --ask --depclean --verbose app-office/sc-imSee also
- bc — arbitrary-precision fixed-point mathematical scripting language