June 2024 Newsletter#
Welcome to our monthly newsletter of updates and tips for Grist users.
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What’s New#
Another month where the Grist community provides us with a bounty of cool contributions, for which we are constantly grateful. Keep an eye out for some sensational things we have simmering for this summer. ☀️
New research templates 👩🔬#
We’ve created three new templates specifically for research labs. This is no coincidence, as we continue to hear from scientists and technicians who find Grist a welcome addition to their software stack.
Self-hosters: you can now run Grist rootless#
It is now much easier to switch from gVisor to Pyodide sandboxing, which allows you to run a Grist container as a regular user without administrator privileges. See this PR for full details.
Grist Desktop has been updated (and renamed)!#
Grist Desktop (formerly Grist Electron) has received a significant update! There’s a new Windows portable build, as well as bug fixes and a grist-core update. Check out the full release notes and download Grist Desktop on GitHub. Look for more Grist Desktop news in the coming months… 👀
Community highlights#
Translation update#
Translations into Finnish, Vietnamese, Bulgarian and Slovak are well underway! A huge thanks to all our contributors, and see here for more information on helping translate Grist.
OpenAPI 🤝 Grist#
At the top of Grist’s API console is a link to a YML file containing Grist’s OpenAPI spec (note, not OpenAI). We’re thrilled to see it used in some exciting community projects:
- ben-pr-p’s grist-js, a new TypeScript client.
- yala1’s GraphQL integration using Hasura.
Grist chat interface with card lists 💬#
On Discord, celine de france shared a novel implementation of card lists that functions as a native chat/comments feature within Grist, complete with manual read receipts and emoji reacts. ✅👍
Custom widget creations 🧩#
- The humble HTML viewer widget holds many a secret. nicobako discovered that you can execute scripts like Mermaid.js to create fancy charts and diagrams.
- You can now have the notepad custom widget export regular old HTML to another column, thanks to guillett’s recent PR.
- Paul (Grist Labs CTO) is not exactly a “community member” (sorry Paul 😢), but his guide to getting custom widgets running offline may be helpful for wannabe widget wizards.
Working on something cool with Grist? Let us know by posting in the Showcase forum or our #grist-showcase Discord channel!
Learning Grist#
Webinar: Link Keys#
In July, we’ll explain how to use one of Grist’s coolest and least explored features: link keys. Learn how to use Grist’s link keys to share partial data – even just a single row – with third parties.
Thursday July 25 at 3:00pm US Eastern Time.
Reference Columns#
In June, Natalie dove into what references are, how reference columns work in Grist, and explained how to use them to build productive dashboards using the Event Speakers Template.
Help spread the word#
If you’re interested in helping Grist grow, consider leaving a review on product review sites. Here’s a short list where your review could make a big impact. Thank you! 🙏
We are here to support you#
Professional services. Grist often surprises people with its capabilities. Schedule a free call to assess your needs and help connect you with a Grist expert. Learn more.
Have questions, feedback, or need help? Search our Help Center, watch video tutorials, share ideas in our Community Forum, or contact us at support@getgrist.com.