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I only use Google Sheets

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Re: I only use Google Sheets

#241

Post by sidrag22 »

jeffbee wrote: post #102
dvh wrote: post #7

I haven't used Google sheets for maybe 2 years, didn't have the need, but week ago I needed to send customer a table that will be updated every couple of days. I was surprised how slow it is. Table has 40 lines and 8 columns, static text only, and it takes 12s until I can edit it. For what it is (adding sentence every 3 day) it's ok but if I had to actually use it for myself on a daily basis it would drive me mad.

I manage all the information for every parcel in my city in Google Sheets. It is > 29k rows x dozens of columns and it is instantly interactive when I visit the bookmarked URL.

ya there is no way this isn't some local issue for something that small to take 12 seconds. my last job i force updated sheets with thousands of rows every 5 mins and it would just be like a quick 1 second blink to totally clear and replace all those rows with fresh data.

Re: I only use Google Sheets

#242

Post by jamesnorden »

jader201 wrote: post #136
thesuitonym wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another oft overlooked point is that anti-spreadsheet people aren't actually against using spreadsheets, we just want our coworkers to stop placing mission critical operations in an enormous, half-baked spreadsheet that exists only in some long-since retired users home directory.

I see these complaints on HN a lot, and maybe it’s anecdotal, but I just don’t see this in the real world these days. If someone shares a sheet with me, it’s for the intended purpose of sharing data and/or visualizations of that data. I’ve always been a huge fan of spreadsheets, and the rare times I’ve encountered them being misused, it was a long time ago, and not near enough to make me an “anti-spreadsheet” person.…

>but I just don’t see this in the real world these days

May be due to the fact you're a single datapoint and not omnipresent at every company. What a weird argument.

Re: I only use Google Sheets

#244

Post by rcfox »

I worked on creating a card game with a couple of my friends. We kept all of the cards in a Google Sheet, allowing everyone to easily edit or create new cards. Then, I wrote a script to compile the sheet into a card atlas so that it could be consumed by Tabletop Simulator. It worked amazingly well.

The only issue was that I had to run the script myself, since my friends were less technical. I'd probably see if I could setup a workflow in Github Actions to do it for me if I were to do this again.

Re: I only use Google Sheets

#245

Post by oaktowner »

patrickscoleman wrote: post #116

Only tangentially on-topic, but I do all the financial modeling for the past several (early stage) startups I've worked for in Google Sheets. The ease, collaboration/sharing, and array formulas win out over the faster speed for calculations, better shortcuts, cross-workbook linking, and customization in Excel. That said, it's been a few years since I've tried Excel so would love to hear someone convince me to try it…

I'm using the MS suite for the first time in over a decade...and the collaborative aspects are still nowhere near Google's. I routinely get problems when multiple people are editing the same content (Word doc, spreadsheet, or PowerPoint). And sometimes the thick client works best, sometimes browser editing works fine...but it's inconsistent.

For all of them, Microsoft has a more complete feature set...but for 99% of things (and anything with lots of collaboration), I prefer Google Work Suite or whatever it's called this month.

Re: I only use Google Sheets

#246

Post by raybb »

blitt wrote: post #199
ksec wrote: post #88

Slightly Off Topic, are there any other online SpreadSheets other than Excel 365 and Google Sheets? Some of them are AirTable like which is CRM focus, but I just want a really simple spreadsheet that is easily accessible and not from Big Tech.

Try out rowzero.io! It's a pure spreadsheet like Sheets/Excel, but with a much larger row limit.

Have any thoughts on how it compares to https://baserow.io/ ?

Re: I only use Google Sheets

#247

Post by Schiphol »

corry wrote: post #59

Always overlooked point in these pro/anti-spreadsheet discussions: A spreadsheet gives you a DB, a quickly and easily customized UI, and iterative / easy-to-debug data processing all in a package that everyone in the working world already understands. AND with a freedom that allows the creator to do it however they want. AND it's fairly portable. You can build incredible things in spreadsheets. I remain convinced tha…

> RIP HyperCard, may you be never forgotten.

There's Decker https://beyondloom.com/decker/

Re: I only use Google Sheets

#248

Post by entropyie »

For those who hated the unmaintainable mega spreadsheet of death, MS Access was actually a quite decent solution. It allowed you to sprinkle some structure and maintainability onto a spreadsheet without losing the accessibility and ease of development. You could whip up really functional UIs without much coding knowledge. 20 years later and I still don't know what the replacement for Access is in today's world...

Re: I only use Google Sheets

#249

Post by alexdoesstuff »

corry wrote: post #59

Always overlooked point in these pro/anti-spreadsheet discussions: A spreadsheet gives you a DB, a quickly and easily customized UI, and iterative / easy-to-debug data processing all in a package that everyone in the working world already understands. AND with a freedom that allows the creator to do it however they want. AND it's fairly portable. You can build incredible things in spreadsheets. I remain convinced tha…

To expand on the overlooked point: it gives you a DB and a programming environment (however challenged) that you can use without needing sign-off from IT. In any moderately sizeable organization, getting approval to use anything but standard software is slow and painful.

Nobody wants to explain to IT that they need to install Python on their machine, or drivers for sqlite, or - god forbid - get a proper database. Because that requires sign-off from several people, a proper justification, and so on.

Re: I only use Google Sheets

#250

Post by michaelteter »

dcminter wrote: post #204

> I entered the workforce about 9 months ago Right or wrong, it takes a certain amount of chutzpah to put forth such a definite opinion after less than a year in the workforce. What OP probably misses is the "there ain't nothing so permanent as a temporary solution" thing. I too embrace quick and dirty solutions but only if I have total control over the lifetime of that solution. If someone's going to ask me to deliv…

I particularly enjoyed the “every couple of months…” bit. So, about four times?
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