# Onboarding Guide

**This guide gets you from "downloaded the app" to "I can open data and run my first analysis" in a few minutes.**

## What you will do

- Install OrcaSheets on your machine.
- Activate your account.
- Open a dataset and produce your first result.

## Before you start

- Make sure you have access to the **email inbox** you will sign up with. You may need to verify your email and copy an activation key.
- If you are behind a strict corporate network, keep this page handy for later: [Connection Problems](/docs/connection-problems).

## Step 1: Install

Download OrcaSheets and follow the steps for your platform:

- **macOS**: open the `.dmg` and drag OrcaSheets into **Applications**.
- **Windows**: run the `.msi` installer.
- **Linux**: make the AppImage executable and run it.

When you are done, launch OrcaSheets from your applications list.

## Step 2: Activate

1. **Launch** OrcaSheets.
2. **Create** an account with email or Google.
3. **Verify** your email if prompted, and copy the activation key.
4. **Paste** the key into the desktop app.

If you get stuck on sign-in or activation, go to [Troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting).

## Step 3: Do your first analysis (recommended path)

Continue with [First Steps](/docs/first-steps). It walks you through importing data and producing an output (Pivot Table, Chart, or Dashboard) that you can export or share.

## What to do next

- **Importing files**: see [Importing Data](/docs/data-import) and [Data Import Errors](/docs/data-import-errors).
- **Connecting to databases**: see [Connectors](/docs/connectors) (premium).
- **Performance feels slow**: see [Basic Configuration](/docs/basic-configuration) and [Performance Issues](/docs/performance-issues).

## Related pages

- [First Steps](/docs/first-steps)
- [Importing Data](/docs/data-import)
- [Connectors](/docs/connectors)
- [Troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting)