diff --git a/changelog b/changelog
--- a/changelog
+++ b/changelog
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+0.1.2
+	* added lenses to access cells both using RC and XY style coordinates, RC is used by default
 0.1.1.1
 	* fixed use of internal function for parsing shared strings, previous change was unused in practice
 0.1.1
diff --git a/src/Codec/Xlsx/Lens.hs b/src/Codec/Xlsx/Lens.hs
--- a/src/Codec/Xlsx/Lens.hs
+++ b/src/Codec/Xlsx/Lens.hs
@@ -1,47 +1,73 @@
+-- | lenses to access sheets, cells and values of 'Xlsx'
+{-# LANGUAGE RankNTypes #-}
 module Codec.Xlsx.Lens
     ( ixSheet
     , atSheet
     , ixCell
+    , ixCellRC
+    , ixCellXY
     , atCell
+    , atCellRC
+    , atCellXY
     , cellValueAt
+    , cellValueAtRC
+    , cellValueAtXY
  ) where
 
 import Codec.Xlsx.Types
-import Control.Applicative
 import Control.Lens
 import Data.Text
+import Data.Tuple (swap)
 
-ixSheet :: Applicative f
-        => Text
-        -> (Worksheet -> f Worksheet)
-        -> Xlsx
-        -> f Xlsx
+-- | lens giving access to a worksheet from 'Xlsx' object
+-- by its name
+ixSheet :: Text -> Traversal' Xlsx Worksheet
 ixSheet s = xlSheets . ix s
 
-atSheet :: Functor f
-        => Text
-        -> (Maybe Worksheet -> f (Maybe Worksheet))
-        -> Xlsx
-        -> f Xlsx
+-- | 'Control.Lens.At' variant of 'ixSheet' lens
+atSheet :: Text -> Lens' Xlsx (Maybe Worksheet)
 atSheet s = xlSheets . at s
 
-ixCell :: Applicative f
-       => (Int, Int)
-       -> (Cell -> f Cell)
-       -> Worksheet
-       -> f Worksheet
-ixCell i = wsCells . ix i
+-- | lens giving access to a cell in some worksheet
+-- by its position, by default row+column index is used
+-- so this lens is a synonym of 'ixCellRC'
+ixCell :: (Int, Int) -> Traversal' Worksheet Cell
+ixCell = ixCellRC
 
-atCell :: Functor f
-       => (Int, Int)
-       -> (Maybe Cell -> f (Maybe Cell))
-       -> Worksheet
-       -> f Worksheet
-atCell i = wsCells . at i
+-- | lens to access cell in a worksheet
+ixCellRC :: (Int, Int) -> Traversal' Worksheet Cell
+ixCellRC i = wsCells . ix i
 
-cellValueAt :: Functor f
-           => (Int, Int)
-           -> (Maybe CellValue -> f (Maybe CellValue))
-           -> Worksheet
-           -> f Worksheet
-cellValueAt i = atCell i . non def . cellValue
+-- | lens to access cell in a worksheet using more traditional
+-- x+y coordinates
+ixCellXY :: (Int, Int) -> Traversal' Worksheet Cell
+ixCellXY = ixCellRC . swap
+
+-- | accessor that can read, write or delete cell in a worksheet
+-- synonym of 'atCellRC' so uses row+column index
+atCell :: (Int, Int) -> Lens' Worksheet (Maybe Cell)
+atCell = atCellRC
+
+-- | lens to read, write or delete cell in a worksheet
+atCellRC :: (Int, Int) -> Lens' Worksheet (Maybe Cell)
+atCellRC i = wsCells . at i
+
+-- | lens to read, write or delete cell in a worksheet
+-- using more traditional x+y or row+column index
+atCellXY :: (Int, Int) -> Lens' Worksheet (Maybe Cell)
+atCellXY = atCellRC . swap
+
+-- | lens to read, write or delete cell value in a worksheet
+-- with row+column coordinates, synonym for 'cellValueRC'
+cellValueAt :: (Int, Int) -> Lens' Worksheet (Maybe CellValue)
+cellValueAt = cellValueAtRC
+
+-- | lens to read, write or delete cell value in a worksheet
+-- using row+column coordinates of that cell
+cellValueAtRC :: (Int, Int) -> Lens' Worksheet (Maybe CellValue)
+cellValueAtRC i = atCell i . non def . cellValue
+
+-- | lens to read, write or delete cell value in a worksheet
+-- using traditional x+y coordinates
+cellValueAtXY :: (Int, Int) -> Lens' Worksheet (Maybe CellValue)
+cellValueAtXY = cellValueAtRC . swap
diff --git a/src/Codec/Xlsx/Types.hs b/src/Codec/Xlsx/Types.hs
--- a/src/Codec/Xlsx/Types.hs
+++ b/src/Codec/Xlsx/Types.hs
@@ -52,6 +52,9 @@
 instance Default Cell where
     def = Cell Nothing Nothing
 
+-- | Map containing cell values which are indexed by row and column
+-- if you need to use more traditional (x,y) indexing please you could
+-- use corresponding accessors from ''Codec.Xlsx.Lens''
 type CellMap = Map (Int, Int) Cell
 
 data RowProperties = RowProps { rowHeight :: Maybe Double, rowStyle::Maybe Int}
@@ -70,7 +73,7 @@
     { _wsColumns          :: [ColumnsWidth]         -- ^ column widths
     , _wsRowPropertiesMap :: Map Int RowProperties  -- ^ custom row properties (height, style) map
     , _wsCells            :: CellMap                -- ^ data mapped by (row, column) pairs
-    , _wsMerges           :: [Text]
+    , _wsMerges           :: [Text]                 -- ^ list of cell merges (entries of the form @D13:H14@)
     } deriving (Eq, Show)
 
 makeLenses ''Worksheet
diff --git a/xlsx.cabal b/xlsx.cabal
--- a/xlsx.cabal
+++ b/xlsx.cabal
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 Name:                xlsx
 
-Version:             0.1.1.1
+Version:             0.1.2
 
 Synopsis:            Simple and incomplete Excel file parser/writer
 Description: