I’m obviously a huge user of excel and have been using it increasingly as I continue to improve my skills in both building macros and using more advanced excel functions. That being said, I’ve also been using Google Docs Spreadsheets increasingly in recent years as a general move towards the clouds. Why? Here are the main reasons:
–Sharing: Without a doubt, this is the #1 reason! Instead of constantly sending files to my co-workers, we can both work on the same spreadsheets, sometimes at the same time by using Google docs. This ends up making a huge difference
–Available from anywhere: Being able to reach my documents, modify them from home, work, school, and more adds so much convenience, I do not have to worry about having the most updated version
–Easy to use: No matter what type of device I’m using, I can usually start working on a spreadsheet within minutes without having to worry about the version that I am using or anything of that nature. It also helps avoid the issues involved in working with Mac versions of excel, with different versions, etc.
–Special Uses: There are many very innovative and cool ways to use Google spreadsheets. I have used them to create surveys for my users, to publish data to websites, etc.
Things That Are Missing
That being said, I still use excel for most of the more complex things. Why?
–Functions: Google docs spreadsheets do have several functions but not anywhere near as many as Excel does. There are some special ones that work amazingly well, especially in regards to gathering financial data, but overall it remains much weaker. Hopefully that will change over time.
–Macros: While in theory, it’s possible to build macros for Google docs, it’s not anywhere close to being “user friendly” for the moment
–User Interface: I still feel like it is still much easier to view Excel documents, probably simply because the web browser that I use to view Google docs does take out some of the space in my screen.
What About You?
Have you started using Google docs? If so, in what ways?
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