How to Show an Excel or Google Sheets Spreadsheet on a Digital Sign

Your class schedule, price list or sales numbers already live in a spreadsheet, so there's no reason to retype them into a design tool. Display NOW has Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets apps that put a spreadsheet straight onto your screen. You pick the app, sign in, choose the file, and the sign shows your data.

Retyping is where most signage projects stall. The weekly specials sit in a spreadsheet nobody gets around to rebuilding as a slide. Showing the sheet itself skips that step.

What kind of spreadsheet works on a screen?

Anything structured and short enough to read from across a room:

• Price lists for salons, service counters and repair shops
• Schedules, like class times, shift rosters, event agendas or bell schedules
• Lists, such as this week's new arrivals, top sellers or open jobs
• Simple numbers, like sales goals, production counts, safety stats or fundraising progress

Long sheets need trimming first. A screen is not the place for 200 rows. Show the part that matters for that screen, like today's classes or this week's targets.

How do you show an Excel or Google Sheets file on a digital sign?

1. Open the media app store. In Display NOW Manager, go to the media app store.
2. Pick the app. Choose Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, depending on where your spreadsheet lives.
3. Sign in. Connect the Microsoft or Google account that has the file.
4. Choose the spreadsheet. Select the file you want on screen.
5. Add it to your screen. Put the app in a playlist or schedule like any other media, then check the remote preview to see how it looks.

Because the app is connected to your account, you keep working in the spreadsheet you already use instead of maintaining a separate slide.

How do you get the sizing right?

This is the fiddly part. A spreadsheet is laid out for a laptop, and a TV across the room needs much bigger text. Expect a little trial and error: change something in the sheet, check the remote preview, and adjust again. These changes in the spreadsheet itself make the biggest difference:

• Make a tab just for the screen. Keep your working data on one tab and build a short, clean version for display on another.
• Cut it down. Aim for roughly 8 to 12 rows and 3 to 5 columns. If you need more, split it across two tabs or two slides.
• Increase the font size. Text that looks huge on your laptop often looks right on a TV.
• Widen columns and add row height. Crowded cells are the most common readability problem.
• Remove clutter. Hide unused columns, notes and helper formulas, and turn off gridlines if your sheet tool allows it.
• Use bold and color sparingly. Bold the headers and highlight only what matters, like today's date or a goal that's been hit.

Once it looks right, leave the layout alone and only update the data. The formatting stays put.

What this looks like at a gym

Say a gym keeps its weekly class schedule in Google Sheets: day, time, class name and instructor. The front desk makes a "Screen" tab with just this week's classes in large text, connects it through the Google Sheets app, and adds it to the lobby TV's playlist. When a class changes, they edit the spreadsheet they already use.

Questions about showing spreadsheets on digital signs

Can I show an Excel spreadsheet on a TV?

Yes. Add the Microsoft Excel app from the Display NOW media app store, sign in to your Microsoft account and choose the file.

Does Display NOW work with Google Sheets?

Yes. The Google Sheets app works the same way: pick it in the media app store, sign in with Google and choose the spreadsheet.

Can I show a Word or Google Docs document?

There isn't a document integration. If the content is a list, schedule or price table, move it into a spreadsheet and show it through the Excel or Google Sheets app. You can also upload a PDF or image of the document as regular media.

Why does my spreadsheet look small on the TV?

Spreadsheets default to laptop-sized text. Increase the font size, show fewer rows and columns, and check the remote preview after each change until it reads well from across the room.

Try it with the spreadsheet you already have: start a free trial, or compare plans.