September 2025 Newsletter#
Welcome to our monthly newsletter of updates and tips for Grist users.
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What’s new#
This month saw a flurry of community activity, which is often best displayed with animated GIFs showing Grist at work. Make sure to check out the Community highlights below for some exciting visuals. 👇
GristCon recordings available!#
Our first-ever GristCon happened last week, and the recordings are already available to watch on YouTube. If you haven’t yet, take a look at some of the sessions for a peek into what’s going on with Grist inside and outside Grist Labs.
User presence#
At Grist Labs, we’re all about connecting data. People aren’t data, but we want to connect them as well, when appropriate. That’s why we’ve added user presence indicators. Now you can finally see who is loitering on which document, a feature that pairs well with the recently-launched user comments.
Enterprise workshops#
We’re now offering educational workshops aimed at organizations kicking off Grist deployments. The basics:
- A multi-day curriculum covering fundamentals, data modeling, dashboards, reporting, and governance.
- A Grist expert works alongside your team to turn ideas into production-ready workflows.
Note: In addition to teams on the Enterprise plan (and for a limited time), we’re also offering workshops to teams on the Business plan with at least 5 workshop attendees. Reach out via our Contact page if you’re interested!
Accessibility modal#
There will soon be a new options modal designed to show off and help make visible all the new accessibility features in Grist – thanks to the tireless accessibility work by Emmanuel Pelletier!
There’s a new release available: v1.7.4. Click through for the full notes, but note a breaking change related to the DELETE /api/orgs/:orgId endpoint. Also note that the AI Assistant can now explain access rules used in a document!
Community highlights#
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Rogerio has created a fascinating custom widget which enables “interactive scenario simulation”. What is that? It’s best shown off in action:
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Have you ever needed a quick way to view an attachment? Steven_Summers shared a quick custom widget (built with the builder) that does just that. Note: just make sure to use the amended code in the discussion thread!
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Paragrimm shared initial work on a barebones Grist API client for Godot! We just know there are some powerful workflows out there for Grist in games, and this is a great start for Godot users.
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Following up a fantastic GristCon presentation, Aude has shared the full document used: a full-blown Orders and Invoice template! This not only lets you dive deeper into a real-world example shared at GristCon, but is a great showcase of how custom widgets and advanced techniques combine into a complete workflow (Batch Email Composer, PDF generation with the Markdown widget).
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We’ve seen a mermaid.js viewer before, but PWI has created a Python script that can take a Grist document’s schema (from Code View) and turn it into a visual relationship diagram using mermaid.js! Could someone automate this process so that it runs full in Grist using a custom widget? Stranger things have happened…
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The venerable and powerful Vega-Lite interactive graphics grammar is now usable in Grist via a custom widget created by our friends at multi.coop! Read the community post for a link to a demo document and documentation.
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Over on le forum, Enro shared an action button setup that automatically creates bulk rows according to specific parameters, which could be supremely helpful in certain use cases.
Learning Grist#
Ongoing Grist 101 webinars#
New to Grist? We continue to run frequent Grist 101 webinars with a live chat to help you get up and running or answer questions.
Webinar: How Grist uses Grist#
We’re always asking people “How do you use Grist?” So we thought we’d flip it around and ask ourselves: how do we use it? In this session, we’ll give you the answer by walking through real documents from Grist employees – business, personal, and everything in between – so you can see how we use (and perhaps misuse) Grist and even pick up ideas and inspiration for your own workflows.
Thursday October 23rd at 11:00am US Eastern Time.
In September, Natalie showed us how Document Tours and Tutorials make sharing Grist documents more seamless than ever. We learned how to craft interactive walk-throughs to guide our users through documents. Perfect for anyone building documents to share with teammates, clients, or a broader audience.
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#
Solutions. 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.