Entered CNET Catalog: 06/16/2006
SKU: SERVGOOGLESPREADSHEETS
Manufacturer: Google
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 06/16/2006
Pros
Google Spreadsheets is easy to use and free, and it works much like every other spreadsheet you've ever worked with. It takes very little time to learn to use it.
You can't lose your work. Once you name the spreadsheet you're working on or right after you import an XLS file from your computer, Google Spreadsheets saves your file. From that point, every change you make is immediately saved.
The sharing function lets you collaborate with other users (Google account holders only so far). Alternatively, you can invite people to view, but not edit, your work. All changes are live, so you can be talking on the phone and editing the same work at the same time. This is very useful, and it's something yout can't easily do with Excel.
There's a good list of mathematical, financial, statistical, and other function types. You won't find many calculations that you can't perform.
The service imports your existing Excel (and CSV) files pretty well. It's not 100 percent, however: I found that some text formatting (colors, in particular) and date formatting did not import.
Google Spreadsheets does support multisheet spreadsheets, just like Excel (I was mistaken in my earlier blog post, where I said it didn't). And here's a nice thing: it doesn't automatically make each file three pages deep, as Excel does, although if you want the extra sheets, it's easy to add them.
Cons
There's no print function. But you can export your spreadsheet as a static HTML file.
There are no visualization tools. You can't graph or chart your data. And there's none of the conditional formatting that we'll get with Excel 2007.
Aside from the good collection of formulas, statistical and analysis tools are missing. There are no pivot tables.
If you're accustomed to using the right mouse button in Excel to access cell-specific options, you might not be as productive in Google Spreadsheets, since it has no right-mouse options.
I couldn't find a way to zoom in or out of a spreadsheet. You can change the size of numbers and letters, but not the grid itself. That's frustrating when you're trying to grok a large table.
While the real-time collaboration and chat feature is very cool, it could get confusing with more than two people, because changes made to the spreadsheet are not marked with the person making them.
The lowdown
I'd recommend this service for the new spreadsheet user or the person who just wants to work with numbers or small data tables from time to time. It has functionality most people need, except the critical graphing and printing functions. The collaboration features are just dynamite.
However, Google Spreadsheets takes you only part of the way if you want to use it for serious analysis or as a tool to create graphics for presentations.
Google PR reps were clear to note that this product is a beta, and an early one at that, so we might see many of the shortcomings addressed soon. Hopefully, they'll be fixed before the product is released into open beta. Google would not give a time frame for that, though.
While you wait, if you are sold or you're just curious about online spreadsheets, you owe it to yourself to also check out suites from ThinkFree, and Zoho, and the stand-alone online spreadsheets EditGrid, iRows, and Num Sum.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6out of 6 user reviews
A step in the right direction
Pros: A great idea whose time has come as it will help free us from the MS monopoly.
Cons: It's still a beta with limited functionality.
out of 6 user reviews
Still work in progress as of 31Aug06
Pros: Its everywhere and is a start and shows it can be done
Cons: Only for beginners and VERY simple tasks
On the positive side, I am sure in a few years it will be fine tuned and this approach is a great idea as it will force MS to offer better products /prices.
out of 6 user reviews
A great start
Pros: Covers all of the basics
Cons: Lacks many features Excel users may be accustomed to
All that being said, I still believe Google Spreadsheets is a great application for its intended purpose, a simple spreadsheet with collaboration abilities. I also like to use it as sort of an online hard drive for my spreadsheets. I am a student and in any one day I may need to work on a spreadsheet in the computer lab, at my apartment, or at my girlfriends place. Rather than having to keep a flash drive on me at all times, Spreadsheets allows me to access the same file anywhere and make any necessary edits.
Overally I think Google did a decent job with Spreadsheets, but I look forward to improvements to add some of the missing functionality from Excel.
out of 6 user reviews
It may be too early to tell...
Pros: Simple, speedy, online storage and collaboration.
Cons: No graphs or charts.
Google Spreadsheets is early in its development, and is prett rudimentary. iRows and Zoho Sheet each offer some simple graphics abilities, which Google lacks, and they have print advantages.
Import / export is available for XLS and CSV format, but support of ODS format is curiously missing.
Overall, things are very basic, but that's okay with me. I don't expect any of the online spreadsheets to compete with Excel or OOo Calc, nor do I see any point in even attempting it. Google Spreadsheets seems aimed at occasional use, and for sharing data, and it works just fine for that. If you're looking for excitement from a spreadsheet application, you really need to get a life.
Google Spreadsheets is very basic, but that's okay. Its intent is NOT to compete with Excel or Calc, but is more for light-duty use and sharing data. For that type of use, it works fine.
If you want a spreadsheet program to be exciting, you need a life. If you want something to calculate numbers and share data, Google Spreadsheets is worth a look.
out of 6 user reviews
Good, and cannot wait for more functionality
Pros: Collaborting is excellent! Very easy to use.
Cons: Would like it to have strong formulas like Excel does
out of 6 user reviews
It just isn't Excel
Pros: If you don't have a spreadsheet application you could get by with this
Cons: It's not a shade on Excel
