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New Google Sheets: faster, more powerful, and works offline

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Re: New Google Sheets: faster, more powerful, and works offline

#41

Post by sheetjs »

csmuk wrote: post #34

Fed up of all the Google Docs fanfare... Excel features... fast - check. Powerful - check. Works offline - check. Let's get a little closer to google docs... Works online - check. Edit in browser - check. Edit on mobile device - check. Share with other people - check. Cheap - check (o365 sub is really cheap per seat). Can customise the UI - check. Can deal with huge sheets - check. Can extend, script etc - check. Goo…

The $0 Google Docs is correctly priced for what it offers: spreadsheet functionality for the lower 80% of the market that doesn't use advanced features and most likely wouldn't pay for a solution

Re: New Google Sheets: faster, more powerful, and works offline

#42

Post by selectodude »

joezydeco wrote: post #19
jonthn wrote: post #3

Why would anyone use Excel now?

I've worked with one organization that uses Excel sheets to model product mathematics for gaming (gambling) equipment. They won't even use the Macintosh version of Excel since they can't be sure the math will come out exactly the same as the PC version, and the PC version is what has gotten them approved by the gaming boards before. Call it superstitious, but they don't have the time or expense to sit there and prove…

Most people I know who sit in Excel all day use Windows Excel on a Mac. OS X is a better platform (it's nice to have the terminal right there) but Mac Excel is trash, and Microsoft knows it.

Re: New Google Sheets: faster, more powerful, and works offline

#43

Post by alexman »

nailer wrote: post #27

Can we insert rows normally now? In a discoverable, intuitive way, like Edit -> Insert rows used in every other spreadsheet ever? Currently the solution is this: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/44684?hl=en Eg, to add 30 rows, select 30 random rows, no matter what they are, as long as your selection is 30 high. Then you right click the row area, you get the option to insert 30 rows. Who does UX for these produ…

The one thing that really annoys me is that they don't have a keyboard shortcut for adding a new row. Now I always have to

1) Shift space to select the current row

2) Press the "right-click" button the keyboard

3) Press the down arrow 4 times to select "Insert 1 above"

4) Press enter

Or else I've to use the mouse, which is equally slow. It's really silly given that how often people insert rows.

Re: New Google Sheets: faster, more powerful, and works offline

#44

Post by dragonwriter »

nailer wrote: post #27

Can we insert rows normally now? In a discoverable, intuitive way, like Edit -> Insert rows used in every other spreadsheet ever? Currently the solution is this: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/44684?hl=en Eg, to add 30 rows, select 30 random rows, no matter what they are, as long as your selection is 30 high. Then you right click the row area, you get the option to insert 30 rows. Who does UX for these produ…

Inserting multiple rows in Excel works basically the same way. Insert -> Entire Row inserts exactly as many rows as are currently selected.

Re: New Google Sheets: faster, more powerful, and works offline

#45

Post by [deleted] »

nailer wrote: post #35
actionscripted wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried it? You select N rows, it then says Insert > N Rows Above and Insert > N Rows Below. I've never had any problems inserting rows, but perhaps I'm not using the product the way others do.

Yes, evidently I have. The idea of selecting existing content in order to get the option to add space for new content is very, very odd. Did you really discover how to do this without looking it up?

[deleted]

Re: New Google Sheets: faster, more powerful, and works offline

#46

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

gdulli wrote: post #24

I'm at my first company that uses Google apps and it's been a bad experience. There's so much about email and calendaring that Outlook/Exchange got right that it's hard to be without it after taking it for granted. Using a native rich application is always going to be superior to building a web app on top of a browser. Once you're used to real applications, Gmail and the other apps aren't suitable for anything more t…

I'm not here to defend Google apps (although I use them everyday) as much as web apps in general.

> Once you're used to real applications

What makes an application 'real' as opposed to 'not real'? Did you mean 'native'?

> It's not just the features that are missing

One potential upside to web apps is that, by constraint, a lot more thought needs to go into what should be included and what should be left out. For example, I find a lot of features in Word, Excel, etc. to be completely unnecessary and, moreover, counterproductive. A stripped-down interface, and even functionality set, does have some advantages.

> I can't assume I can right click and get anything useful

Often the case for native apps, although - admittedly - less so

> The concept of a consistent menu bar you can access with hotkeys is gone

Ditto. OSX almost solves the former at the expense of the latter. Applications like Chrome break the single-menu paradigm, though. Windows has a host of applications that invent their own menu styles/behaviours.

> And the input lag is intolerable.

Which specific file type? I rarely have problems with documents or spreadsheets.

> Having all of my documents stored centrally is a real, but small, convenience

It's a massive convenience for me. Dropbox is a good alternative, but I never want to go back to the days of having to remember to carry a specific USB stick everywhere I go and/or using network drives that are a nightmare to access anywhere but the office.

Re: New Google Sheets: faster, more powerful, and works offline

#47

Post by csmuk »

sheetjs wrote: post #41
csmuk wrote: post #34

Fed up of all the Google Docs fanfare... Excel features... fast - check. Powerful - check. Works offline - check. Let's get a little closer to google docs... Works online - check. Edit in browser - check. Edit on mobile device - check. Share with other people - check. Cheap - check (o365 sub is really cheap per seat). Can customise the UI - check. Can deal with huge sheets - check. Can extend, script etc - check. Goo…

The $0 Google Docs is correctly priced for what it offers: spreadsheet functionality for the lower 80% of the market that doesn't use advanced features and most likely wouldn't pay for a solution

The $0 skydrive facility (gives you Excel, PowerPoint, Word) is the same on the MS side of things. Hell even a WP8 handset with office is $80 now.

If you want to pay for it you get a crap load more from O365.

Re: New Google Sheets: faster, more powerful, and works offline

#48

Post by myko »

gdulli wrote: post #24

I'm at my first company that uses Google apps and it's been a bad experience. There's so much about email and calendaring that Outlook/Exchange got right that it's hard to be without it after taking it for granted. Using a native rich application is always going to be superior to building a web app on top of a browser. Once you're used to real applications, Gmail and the other apps aren't suitable for anything more t…

I'll give you maybe Excel, but for a standard document (and really most spreadsheets, which for me admittedly aren't very complicated and the real-time sharing is more important) Google Drive kills Microsoft's offerings to me.

Especially mail. Gmail and its web interface are far superior to Outlook in usability, far less frustrating experience to me.

Basically I disagree that 'native' apps will always be superior here. Docs and Gmail are already superior on the web IMO.

Re: New Google Sheets: faster, more powerful, and works offline

#49

Post by cglee »

gdulli wrote: post #24

I'm at my first company that uses Google apps and it's been a bad experience. There's so much about email and calendaring that Outlook/Exchange got right that it's hard to be without it after taking it for granted. Using a native rich application is always going to be superior to building a web app on top of a browser. Once you're used to real applications, Gmail and the other apps aren't suitable for anything more t…

This is how a disruptive technology starts. Google Apps doesn't have to be better, but the idea is that one day, you'll find Google Apps "good enough", with all the benefits of being online (and now offline, too). You're just on the higher end of the power-user curve, but your "good enough" day is approaching.

Re: New Google Sheets: faster, more powerful, and works offline

#50

Post by xhrpost »

csmuk wrote: post #34

Fed up of all the Google Docs fanfare... Excel features... fast - check. Powerful - check. Works offline - check. Let's get a little closer to google docs... Works online - check. Edit in browser - check. Edit on mobile device - check. Share with other people - check. Cheap - check (o365 sub is really cheap per seat). Can customise the UI - check. Can deal with huge sheets - check. Can extend, script etc - check. Goo…

I use MS Office occasionally at work but even that small amount of usage has me wanting to use Google Docs instead. -Someone has the Excel file open on the network? Oh, read-only for you my friend. Have to save? Better track down whoever has it open. -No revision/change tracking. Have to always be alert as to who is changing what and when. Often simpler just to make a new file and add to the clutter on the network folder.
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