I have worked with tabular data for many years, and Excel has always felt heavier and more complicated than I wanted for everyday tasks. Even after decades of using it, I still run into the same friction when I just want to quickly open a table, inspect some values, or edit structured data.

At first I actually tried to recreate Excel 97 as closely as possible. I liked its simplicity and the way the interface stayed focused on the core spreadsheet workflow.

But while building it I realized that a strict clone would not really solve the problems I personally have when working with tabular data today. So the project gradually evolved into something a bit different.

Instead of copying Excel 97 exactly, I kept the ideas I liked — simplicity, clarity and speed — and then modernized the tool around my own workflow.

The result is *NextCell*, a lightweight and portable spreadsheet editor for Windows designed for quick work with tables and CSV-like data.

Current features include:

* reimagined formula system * search and fuzzy search * index support for faster work with structured tables * portable build (no installation required)

The main goal of the project is to make spreadsheet editing feel lightweight again — something you can launch instantly and use without the complexity of a full office suite.

This is still an early version, but the application is already usable. I’d really appreciate feedback, especially from people who regularly work with spreadsheets, CSV files, or structured datasets.

At the moment the application runs on Windows 11. Support for MacOS and Linux is planned in the future.