About
Dynamic Text shows live text from a Google Sheet on your screens. Keep your prices, menu items, numbers or schedule in a normal Google Sheet: the screens show what’s in the sheet and update by themselves when you edit it. You don’t need to open the playlist or publish again.
Use it for:
- Menu boards and price lists: the Menu style puts the item on the left and the price on the right, joined by dotted leaders like a printed menu
- KPIs and targets: one number in large type, like “Sales today”, “Tickets open” or “Days without incident”
- Schedules and timetables: class times, shift rosters or room bookings
- Inventory and availability: stock levels, free rooms or “sold out”
- Leaderboards and scores kept in a spreadsheet
- Any list your team already keeps in Google Sheets, like opening hours or contact lists
Show your data in three ways: a single cell, the whole sheet (as a grid or a menu), or a custom range of cells. Dynamic Text is in the normal Plugins list in the editor.
Note: The Dynamic Text plugin is available on the Pro and Ultimate plans.
Get Started
Share your Google Sheet
- Open your sheet in Google Sheets
- Click Share
- Under General access, choose Anyone with the link (Viewer is enough)
Private sheets can’t be used: the sheet must be shared with Anyone with the link.
Add Dynamic Text to a slide
- Open the playlist and the slide where you want the text
- Click Plugins and choose Dynamic Text
- Step 1, Connect your data: paste the link to your Google Sheet and press Enter or click Load. When it works, you see Connected with the number of rows and columns
- Choose the sheet tab and how often to refresh (see Options). Tick Use first row as column names if row 1 holds labels
- Step 2, Choose what to display: Single cell, Whole sheet or Custom range (see below)
- Step 3: pick the details for your choice
- Click Save. The text appears on the slide
- Style it in the settings on the right, like a text element (see Options). Click Fit box to text if you want the box to fit its content
- Check it with Preview, then click Publish
From then on, when you edit the sheet, your screens update on the refresh interval you chose.
Show a single cell
Good for a headline number, a price or a status word.
- In Step 2, choose Single cell
- In Step 3, click the cell in the preview of your sheet
The cell is shown on one line. A long value is cut off with “…” instead of wrapping.
Show the whole sheet
Shows every row of the chosen tab.
- In Step 2, choose Whole sheet
- In Step 3, choose a style:
- Grid: rows and columns, like a table. Empty columns are hidden
- Menu: two columns you choose, for example Item and Price. The left one is left-aligned, the right one right-aligned, with dotted leaders in between. Fully empty rows are skipped
A long sheet makes the text smaller to fit the box, which can make it hard to read. Keep sheets for screens short, or show a custom range instead.
Show a custom range
Shows a block of cells, for example A2:B8, up to 50 rows.
- In Step 2, choose Custom range
- In Step 3, type the range, or click the first and the last cell in the preview
Change the sheet or what is shown
- Open the playlist and click the Dynamic Text element to select it
- Click Modify Dynamic Text Plugin in the settings on the right
- Change the sheet, the display type or the columns, and click Save
- Click Publish
Options
Refresh
How often the screens get the latest data from your sheet: None, Every 5 minutes (default), Every 15 minutes, Every hour, Every 6 hours or Once a day. The settings show when the data was last updated, for example “Data last updated Oct 26, 11:50”.
Sheet tab
Which tab (sheet) of the spreadsheet to use.
Use first row as column names
Lets you pick columns by name, like Product or Price, when row 1 holds labels. When it’s off, columns are called Column A, Column B and so on.
Display
Single cell, Whole sheet (as Grid or Menu) or Custom range. See Get Started.
Font
Any font in the editor, including Google Fonts, with bold, italic and underline.
Text color
Pick a color, or use the eyedropper.
Alignment
Left, center or right. In Grid, you can also justify the text.
Font size, line height and column spacing
Set the font size. Line height is for Whole sheet, and column spacing for Grid and Custom range.
Rotate
Rotate the text.
Stroke
Add an outline to the text and choose its color and width.
Fit box to text
Resizes the box to fit its content.
Position and layers
Move, align and layer the element like any other object on the slide.
FAQ
Which plans include Dynamic Text?
The Pro and Ultimate plans. It’s not part of Essential.
Do I have to publish again when I change the sheet?
No. After you publish once, your screens pick up changes to the sheet on the refresh interval you chose, every 5 minutes by default.
Can I use Excel, CSV or another source?
No. Dynamic Text works with Google Sheets only.
Can I use a private sheet?
No. The sheet must be shared with Anyone with the link. Viewer access is enough.
Are numbers, currencies and dates formatted on the screen?
They are shown exactly as they’re formatted in your sheet, with the same currency, decimals and dates.
Are colors, images and conditional formatting from the sheet shown?
No. Dynamic Text shows the text only. You style it with the options in the editor.
Can I use variables like the date or the screen name?
No. Dynamic Text shows the text in the cells as it is. It doesn’t fill in the date, time, screen name or other variables.
Why is my text cut off or tiny?
A single cell is shown on one line, so a long value is cut off with “…”. A long whole sheet gets smaller text to fit the box. Keep the sheet short, or show a custom range instead.
It says "Invalid Google Sheets URL". What do I do?
The link isn’t a Google Sheets link. Copy the link from the address bar of your sheet in Google Sheets and paste it again.
It says "Google did not return the spreadsheet". What do I do?
The sheet doesn’t exist or isn’t shared. Check the link, and share the sheet with Anyone with the link.
It says "The sheet has columns A to F". What do I do?
Your range goes beyond the cells in the sheet. Choose a range inside the columns the message names.
