Tag Archives: Cloud Computing

View Excel Spreadsheets with the Google Docs Viewer

If you have a Gmail or Google Docs account, getting a quick look at a Microsoft Excel file is now supported with the Google Docs Viewer. Just click the View link beside the file name in your email and the Google Docs Viewer will open to give you a quick look.

Google Docs Viewer in Mail

Now you can send Excel files to people who have a Gmail or Google Docs account and they will be able to view your spreadsheet information. Not the greatest view of a spreadsheet file, but it’s better than nothing.

Google Docs Viewer with Excel File

In the Google Docs Viewer you have the option … Read the rest

Convert Coordinates for Your GPS with Excel

A few years ago I found myself just south of Paris, France one Sunday with a car and the inclination to do some sight-seeing. Since I was alone and don’t speak French my saving grace was Google Earth and a Tom Tom GPS navigation device.

Tom Tom allows GPS coordinates to be entered as a destination, but Google Earth lists those coordinates in a different format. In researching this article I found out that GPS coordinates can be presented in at least four different formats, making it difficult to understand the coordinates.

Google Maps view of the Eiffel

… Read the rest

What Day of the Year is It?

Given the Date in this spreadsheet, a simple formula using the DATE Function will return the Day of Year. Go ahead and type a Date value in cell A2 to see how the formula works, the spreadsheet is embedded from my SkyDrive. (Date format is US, “m/d/yyyy”)

Click here if you can’t see the embedded worksheet.

The Day of Year Formula

The formula in cell B2 is:

= A2-DATE(YEAR(A2),1,0)

The DATE Function takes the Year from the Date you type in cell A2, and uses the zero (0) day of month 1 (January), which is the last day … Read the rest

Microsoft Office 2011 Document Connection

Microsoft Document ConnectionOne of the neat programs you get with Microsoft Office 2011 is Microsoft Document Connection. It allows you to interface with your SkyDrive without going through a web browser.

Once you open the program and sign in to your SkyDrive account all your online files are accessible. You can open the files in Read Only or Edit mode.

Document Connection SkyDrive Files

In Preferences I set all my files to open in Edit mode so that when I double click on a file, Excel 2011 downloads, then opens the file so I can make changes.

Documnent Connection Download Files

Once changes are saved the file uploads … Read the rest

Equation Editors in Excel 2010 and Word 2011

Equation toolbar menu itemThe Equation Editor is new in Excel 2010 and designed to create a mathematical equation as a graphical object. I didn’t find it in Excel 2011 for Mac, but ran across an article showing they put it inside Word 2011. How very strange.

Here I’ll review the Excel 2010 version of Equation Editor first, then briefly compare Mathematical Equations in Google Docs, and come back to the Word 2011 version of Equation Editor.

Excel 2010 Equation Editor

The Equation Editor in Excel 2010 is difficult to navigate at first. The second time I tried creating an equation it got … Read the rest

Excel 2011 for Mac – Installation, Preferences, and VBA

After reading all the great things about Microsoft Excel for Mac 2011 that were written before its release, I decided to purchase a copy. My primary goal was to have an Excel version on my MacBook Pro that allowed VBA macros, however the full Office software suite seemed to be a really great value.

I paid $174.99 USD for the Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Business 2011 – 1 Pack edition on amazon.com after pre-ordering and receiving a $25 discount from their price assurance guarantee.

Excel 2011 Software Installation

What you get with the Office 2011 Home and Business … Read the rest

A New Charts Editor – Google Docs Keeps Improving

Tuesday Google announced a New Charts Editor in Google Docs. This is important because Google continues to improve it’s spreadsheet offering in the cloud. And while in my opinion, Excel will always be the king of spreadsheets, Microsoft has to be aware that many younger people may very well use spreadsheets in Google Docs because it’s free. Hence, a new generation of people that may grow up without Excel.

There’s a short video on the Google Docs Blog about the new Charts Editor in Google Docs. They also show a few screen shots of some, but not all of the … Read the rest

Stock Price Formula in a Spreadsheet

Sadly, Excel doesn’t have a stock price formula, but Google Docs has just the thing: a GoogleFinance Function. It updates a stock price when you open a Google Docs spreadsheet.

Google Finance Formula SpreadsheetThe GoogleFinance Function has two arguments, symbol and attribute. The symbol argument represents the stock symbol for company or mutual fund. If the attribute argument is left blank, price is returned by default. Both arguments are to be enclosed in quotes.

A list of common attributes — high, low, volume, marketcap, etc. —  can be found here, just click on the link: View a list of common attributes… Read the rest

Excel Files on the iPad or iPhone

Documents To Go® Premium lets me open and modify Excel files from my Dropbox folder right on my iPad or iPhone. I can also access and modify spreadsheets from my Google Docs account.

DocsToGo Premium Spreadsheet on iPad

Excel email attachments can be downloaded, viewed and edited. This is a big plus when traveling with the iPad, or iPhone for that matter.

I have an Excel file in Dropbox that serves as a reference and is password protected. Docs To Go® Premium opens this file and is the reason I purchased it.

The app has 111 functions and while this seems like a lot, one … Read the rest

Excel on the Web – Another Spreadsheet in the Cloud

I decided to test the new Microsoft Excel Web App and tell you about my experience in creating a simple spreadsheet, give you a look at the interface, and share my initial opinion.

The Excel Web App – Getting Started

In order to use the Microsoft Excel Web App a Windows Live account is required. It’s relatively easy to sign up for an account and you get 25 GB of storage on a Sky Drive. You also get access to the rest of the Office Web Apps: Word, PowerPoint and OneNote.

Excel Web App vs Google Docs Spreadsheet

The … Read the rest