Utilizing Google Spreadsheets
Google Spreadsheets are an innovative online share tool for offices and virtual employees. With the use of this tool more than one person can see, edit and save a spreadsheet in multiple settings, all at the same time. This can be very handy for large companies or groups or even for virtual meetings that take place across the globe, whenever information needs to be shared or even updated in real time.
Getting Started
As part of the Google Docs system, you can locate and access Google Spreadsheets at docs.google.com. Once there, in order to use any of Google’s free software you will need to log in. If you don’t already have a Google account, you will be required to create one, which is also free and will give you access to many of Google’s other features should you choose to install them.
Using Spreadsheets
When the Google Docs window allows you access you may find it looks very familiar. If you use MS Outlook for your email the interface is similar. Most Windows and Microsoft users are familiar with using MS Excel for their spreadsheets as well. Google will allow you to upload a pre-existing spreadsheet that you may have already created and saved on your computer. Or if you prefer to create a new document, simply choose “Create New” from the dropdown menu on the left side of the page. From there select “Spreadsheet” and you are ready to start your new work. Again, if you are an Excel user, this new document will look very familiar to you.
Saving Work
Speaking of Excel, once saved Google Spreadsheets will allow you to download your work in several of the most commonly used MS Excel formats; .xls (Excel Spreadsheet), .csv (Comma Separated Values), HTML (for Web), .txt (text), and even export to .pdf (Adobe). Always remember to save often as you update your work so nothing will be lost.
Sharing
Now that your work is ready for sharing, you have some choices to make. By choosing the “Share” option you can send a link to your coworkers or meeting attendees and invite them to see the spreadsheet on Google Docs. You can also set various permissions. For example, you can choose to let them edit the spreadsheet or just view it. With the spreadsheet open, you can opt to send it as an attachment only. In this case, you would lose the interactivity, but still be able to send out your work to others. Sharing your Google Spreadsheets with yourself will also allow you to access from other computers should you not have access to your own.
Collaboration
One thing to keep in mind is that when many people are updating a spreadsheet, the most recent update is the one that will be saved. So if two people are making edits in the same cell at the same time, the changes made by the last person to save will be shown in the final version. Be sure to communicate about final changes to be certain you have the end result you are looking for. To make this easier, Google Spreadsheets even gives you the ability to chat with the other online editors while you make changes.
Conclusion
Google Spreadsheets is a great interactive tool for working together on projects. However, it doesn’t come with all the functions you would find in an Excel spreadsheet so you are somewhat limited when it comes to charts, formatting and other issues. Others have had trouble with copying and pasting from originals and vice versa. I found no problem with that particular function, but it could depend on what version of Excel you are using among other things. While Google has included a good amount of storage space for all your documents, be sure to keep a backup copy on your own hard drive to avoid potential loss of all your work. Google continues to upgrade and update Google Spreadsheets and help us engage in virtual and remote work throughout the world.