Testing Google Spreadsheets was a dream. Actually testing any Google product is a ton of fun. You get the chance to watch the feature list improve and grow over time, from initial lab testing, to beta, to live.Google Spreadsheets is a very powerful online spreadsheet application. It is truly going to give Microsofts Excel a run for the money. Especially for those that don't want to dish out the sometimes giant software fees. Google Spreadsheets is free. Great news.
A main feature for the application is the whole giving user's permissions for documents. The creator of the Spreadsheet can either Invite selected people to Edit the document, or can set their permissions to View only. This option is great for team work.
Google's Spreadsheet application works the same way Excel does. Cell's, Tables, and Formulas. Users can choose to create a spreadsheet from scratch, of import one already created in their profile, or upload a file they have on the desktop. Including documents created in Excel and saved in either a CSV or XLS format. Spreadsheets can also export to CSV and XMS formats for storage on users machines. Spreadsheets also have the ability to export as HTML files.
When importing Excel documents, I have noticed that Google does like to change a few things around. Including formatting, and color choices. Other than that It's all good.
Keep in mind, Google Spreadsheets is still in a Google Lab format, so Im sure many underlying features will be fixed, many new additions will be made, and lots more surprises will be unleashed.
My only complaint? NO SEARCH! Whats with that Google? Im sure its somewhere on the list of additions.
UPDATE: Something really odd happened when I uploaded the Budget sheet template created for Microsoft Excel. The title changed in Google Spreadsheets! Very weird! Some of the figures actually changed as well! I will keep you updated on any new developments. Keeping in mind, of course, that this application is still in the lab format, and there are many under the hood changes going on all the time.
1. Google Spreadsheets ideas
Marshall Sponder June 06, 2006
Know More: Google Spreadsheets
In the tradition of Gmail, Google Analytics, Google Notebook, Google Base, Google Wireless Access there is now Google Spreadsheets according to John Battelle.
I like the ability to share spreadsheets online and to choose who will be able to access the spreadsheets. I think there's a feature or two I'd to see Google add to Google Spreadsheets:
1. Allow formulas to query Google (or any internet site) and put a calculate answers (results) based on rules built into Google Spreadsheet.
2. Google to create Plug Ins to Google Speadsheet that do different things like:
Check Search Rankings of urls without violating Google's Terms of Service
Allow searchers to create their own Google Spreadsheet Plug ins and functions and for Google to create a search engine to list all the user created functions and import those into Google Spreadsheet when a user wishes to.
Use Google Spreadsheets as an interface into Google SiteMaps, Google AdWords/AdSence and Google Analytics.
Allow Google Spreadsheet to interface with sites such as TVGuide and HBO to pull online media data such as the Buzz over who watched The Sopranos" and calculate the online audience reach of, say, American Idol 5 which I highlighted in blog posts such as Clay Aiken scores new fans on American Idol Finale, Idling In America - Search Trends from AdCenter, Idling In America II - Search Demographics from AdCenter, Idling In America III - Searcher Geolocation from AdCenter and Microsoft's adCenter Labs Demographic Prediction Demo weighs in on American Idol Popularity.
Google Spreadsheet should also be able become it's own programming language, but much more web based. Let's imagine that Google Spreadsheets could pull the information I talked about in Weekly Pop Music Blog Roundup: The Return of Clay Aiken or Ashlee Simpson's nose job and process that web data based on semantic analysis.
Use Google Spreadsheets as a way to inbed Google Video and YouTube videos.
But what would be most interesting of all, it to give Google Spreadsheets the ability to query other Google Spreadsheets and pull data out of them - perhaps interacting with the data in another spreadsheet it finds from a Search Query.
For example, lets say that you could program a Google Spreadsheet to look the value of a OnlinePoll, of say, who how many people liked the DaVinci Code and then - based on the value - take a certain action.
I hope I'm giving Google's engineers some ideas on how to improve Google Spreadsheets.
Posted at 12:46AM on Jun 7th 2006 by webmetricsguru