Google Spreadsheets: Google Spreads It On So What Can It Do? Vangie Beal
So What Can It Do?
Using Google Spreadsheets is pretty much a hit or miss process. When creating a new file within the application, things go smoothly. We created a basic spreadsheet for an individual's home office expenses. The formatting, layout, and SUM function worked well. In fact, simply highlighting the cells and clicking the sum button inserts the total in the cell following the highlighted numbers.
The spreadsheet offers just the right amount of options and formatting to create something like this. When attempting to import a basic Excel spreadsheet with no macros and only basic functions, Google Spreadsheets again performs well, importing the file at lightning speed.
However, problems surface when trying to import a more complicated Excel file. For such a file we chose a chart that's used to track changes in computer system memory and for online publishing purposes. Cells often contain a huge amount of HTML code or URLs embedded between columns of numbers. The import was not successful, to say the least.
Since the spreadsheet is in a beta release, don't be surprised to see the 'Server Disconnect Error' pop up quite a bit. (Click for larger image).
In time, the file opened in Google Spreadsheets, but most of it did not translate correctly. We were left with a mess of HTML and no numbers. While trying to fix the problematic cells, Google returned this error message several times — "Oops - Sorry, a server error occurred. We're reloading your spreadsheet now." Unfortunately this type of error, along with "unable to connect to server" messages are most likely going to be an issue for anyone who decides to use the Google Spreadsheets while it's still in the beta stage.
Revisiting the same file, we edited the Excel spreadsheet to remove the HTML code and most URLs before importing to Google. The import worked fine in this case, and the formulas did import correctly, however the file was basically useless as a working file without the HTML tags and URLs.
Keeping it simple, in terms of layout at least, seems to be the theme here, and one that people with basic or occasional spreadsheet needs will appreciate.
Given that this is a Web service we were pleased to find that we could use many standard desktop shortcuts while editing the spreadsheet online, including: CTRL+B for bold text, CTRL+C and CRTL+V for copy and paste, respectively, and CRTL+Z for the undo function.
Google handles the calculations easily and makes quick work of loading, opening, and saving the spreadsheets. Of course, like any Web 2.0 service, the performance depends mainly on the speed and reliability of your Internet connection (and for the spreadsheet, on Google's servers as well).
Collaborative Spreadsheets – The Winning Function
One feature that makes the spreadsheet service worth using is that you can share your spreadsheet with other people online. You activate the sharing feature by clicking a link on each of your opened files — then you provide the e-mail addresses of the people you want to have access. As the owner of the spreadsheet, you can provide invitees with viewing access only or viewing with editing permission.
In sharing mode, once information within a cell has been edited, those changes become visible to others. Of course, in order to see your spreadsheet online, your invitees must also have a Google account.
Multiple people editing at one time can cause confusion. To help with this, you and other editors will have a chat window, embedded in the application interface, which you can use to track changes and to communicate while editing.
