How to experiment with word choices in Coda for UX writing and more.

@maguay

Ever wanted to see how different words would sound in your copy, without having to entirely rewrite your copy?

Coda lets you include spreadsheet variables directly in your copy—which means you build dynamic text that updates as soon as you change words in the table.

Essentially, start by listing the terms you want to use in a table. Include a first column with a name or number for each copy style, then the different type of words you want to use in separate columns. Fill in each row with that set of copy terms.

Then, write your text as normal underneath—but when you come to a term that you want to use from the table, reference it with a formula. The basic formula will depend on your table, as Coda uses column names directly in formulas, but essentially you’ll enter =TableName.ColumnName.Nth(1), replacing TableName, ColumnName, and the number 1 with the correct name of the table, column, and row you want to reference.

You can then update your text anytime by changing the variable in the table. Or, you can compare multiple copies of your text side-by-side as in the animation above by copying and pasting your text, then updating the new text with the correct row.

It’s a fun way to experiment with how different word choices would sound in your final copy, before publishing.