The other day, I posted here about a collaborative writing tool called "writeboard." Today, I want to continue on the track of online collaborative software, and tell you about Google Spreadsheets.
I have to confess that I'm a bit of an Excel geek. I don't know why, but I love spreadsheets. Google is on the road of eliminating Excel from life.
Google Spreadsheets look and behave like an Excel spreadsheet in almost every aspect. You can upload documents that you've previously created in Excel, or create a new document online. The "Format," "Sort," and "Formula" tabs do the work of several of Excel's menus. About the only thing missing is the ability to draw borders.
Small spreadsheets opened quickly and are respond well to your input. I did slow the application down a bit by uploading a very large document with 14 sheets to it. Other than that, it passed every test I through at it.
To collaborate, just click the "share" link and enter the email address of your co-worker. The only catch is that they need to have a (free) Google account too.
Getting your board to work together on budgeting or reviewing monthly financial statements has never been easier. No more excuses of lost attachments, just go to the web site and click away!
The incredibly good news is that Google Spreadsheets are free to use. The "bad" news (just a minor inconvenience) is that you need to already be signed up for another free Google service, such as gMail, to gain access.
If you'd like to test this out, but don't have a Google account yet, let me know (email link under "About Me" to the top left) and I'll send you an invitation to join gMail and to play with one of my test spreadsheets.
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I'm writing about webapplications on my blog. Just wanted to let you know that Google has added some new features to their Google Spreadsheets application. See my blog for more details.
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