Spreadsheet Program -- Smartsheet
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So as part of developing a project, I'm working with a lot of spreadsheets. I came across this website at work; we use it for a couple of different things. It's $13/month, so possibly not worth it to folks that aren't serious about their spreadsheets -- but the thing is, only the creator of pages / layout has to have a subscription: viewing and even editing established fields can be done by anyone with the access rights. It's really super easy to use, and perfect if you're looking to collaborate on this sort of thing. While yes, I could get a recruitment bonus if anyone else signs on, I'm not going to use that link just because I do think the product is something that people other than just me could really use.
- Easy collaboration -- multiple access levels based on the invitation sent, and a really easy to use sharing interface -- and people don't have to remember the sheet address, just 'smartsheet' -- when they sign in, it lands on a page with a list of everything you have access to
- Does things like checkboxes / dropdowns / filtering super super easy
- Allows for e-mailed forms to populate fields without ever giving someone actual access to the whole sheet -- you send an email, they follow the directions to give their answer, and it goes into the sheet. Again, super simple interface for this.
- Really good nesting of related items
- Excellent project management tracker tools (progress on items by percentage, that sort of thing)
There's a lot more there (it's super fun to play with!) but I think those are the key ones for the community. I find it a LOT easier to use than Google's spreadsheet stuff, and for the collaborative and project management aspects, it's far superior to Excel. Not sure about advanced functions and math support, but I don't think this is a right product for performing in-depth calculations anyway; getting into that, you need to at least be working with Excel.
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@Sunny I don't do that much work with spreadsheets but wow, $13/month is a lot. Aside from Google Docs it's even more expensive than a month-to-month MS Office subscription ($10/month) which bundles the entire platform let alone their annual price ($100).
I guess there are enough spreadsheet nerds out there to make the business model sustainable.
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Yeah, I guess it's pricy in comparison -- it's cheaper if you do more than month to month too. For what it does and how well it works, I find it worth the cost.
There IS also a month free trial, too.
I definitely don't think it's worth it for people who don't love this sort of thing, but I cannot possibly be the only one...right? RIGHT?
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How does it compare to Onedrive? Because I get Onedrive access for free currently, and it's literally Excel online. The only thing I have seen it not able to do is pivot tables (which are my new favorite thing), but I don't think those are common to casual users and anyway, you can just open the file in actual Excel and sync it automatically with the online copy if need be.
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I haven't used the Excel in Onedrive at all, so I don't know. If it's mostly the same as regular Excel, then it handles project management a lot better, has the email-to-cell functionality, and making checkboxes / attaching files to specific areas / content discussions relating to specific areas of the sheet is WORLDS easier. The discussions are a lot like Excel's comments, except easier to use/see and are formatted better for actual discussion rather than just a notation.
ETA: Also, nesting items are a thing. It's super cool.
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I am unconvinced that you can't get what you're describing with Google Drive and a project manager like Asana, both of which you can use for free.
