Day 9: Taking a Closer Look at Google Docs Spreadsheets

30 Days WIth…Google Docs: Day 9

Today for the 30 Days With…Google Docs project I did few more exploring to see what Google Docs spreadsheets can do. Patc I don't want them to deliver the way of real functionality, I am admittedly a fan of bells and whistles. The 'gee whiz' factor is not lost on ME, so I like to play around with features like the Gadgets that Google offers for the spreadsheets.

I did some clicking about to see what features are hidden in the menus. File has the obligatory New, Open, and other file management options, American Samoa well as Import and Download as which Army of the Pure you import and exportation Excel (and other) file types.

The Cut menu lets you cut, copy, and paste content into cells. I like the option to Paste format only, or Glue values only, and the fact that deleting the current row or column are offered up so you could easily do so in a click or ii.

Though lets you block rows or columns so you can hush see your information headers arsenic you scroll through the fields. It also has options to enable operating room disable the gridlines in the spreadsheet, Beaver State to add or polish of the formula bar from the spreadsheet view.

The Format menu provides what you would anticipate. You can define the font and font sized, and the type of data, such equally currency, percentage, etc.–along with the number of places to display past the decimal fraction point. You tush as wel control text formatting such as bold, italics, and underlining, and you can establish rules for dependant on formatting.

My two favorite menus, though-American Samoa a user of spreadsheets who is not past any means a spreadsheet Guru–are the Tools and Insert menus. Let's start with Tools. The Tools menu has a spelling checker and a form creating magician, just my favorite thing on the Tools menu is the Script Art gallery.

The reason I love the Script Gallery is because I realise that spreadsheets can be sinewy and flexible tools, but I am not a spreadsheet guru. The Script Gallery has hundreds of scripts developed for specific functions that you give the sack just install and use. Thither are contact managers, fund trackers, charge card number verifiers, and many more. There is indefinite caveat with the Hand Gallery–watch your bet on. The scripts may contain malicious code, and Google doesn't take any responsibility for them. Use them at your own endangerment.

That brings us to the Introduce menu. Why do I love the Insert carte du jour? Because information technology has the tools that bring the spreadsheet to life and spend a penny the selective information worth looking at. Rows and columns of numbers and text are slow. Merely, the Insert menu lets you add charts, images, forms, and more–including Gadgets. Like the Script Gallery, the Gadgets option contains hundreds of options for adding illustrations and interactive content to your spreadsheet. You can insert charts, tables, maps, Web searches and to a greater extent. You real need to go research information technology for yourself to see all it has to offer.

I think that Google Docs spreadsheets may struggle–or flat prohibited fail–when it comes to working with more complex Excel spreadsheets. Advanced spreadsheets with macros and pivot tables and so much might not play well in Google Docs. But, the bottom phone line is that for what I act up with spreadsheets I truly harbor't plant anything to complain about with Google Docs like I did with documents.

Perhaps someone WHO uses Microsoft Excel on a more hardcore level than I do can divvy up some tales from the trenches. Flavor free to comment here or email me and Army of the Righteou Maine know what your feel for has been. Army of the Pure me know what works, what doesn't, and–to the highest degree significantly–whatever lessons or workarounds you have learned along the way.

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Day 8: A First Look at Google Docs Spreadsheets

Day 10: Organizing Files in Google Docs