Spreadsheets – here is the What, Why, When and How.
What?
A spreadsheet is a computer application for organization, analysis, and storage of data in tabular form.
Each cell may contain either numeric or text data, or the results of formulas that automatically calculate and display a value based on the contents of other cells.
Wikipedia.org
A spreadsheet should be your first choice if either you’re working with figures to work out (calculate) something, or you have a lot of information (numbers and/or text) that needs some type of analysis.
Why?
Spreadsheets have been designed to be able to handle large amounts of information, and are formatted in rows and columns.
For numbers, spreadsheets have in-built calculations (known as functions) that means you don’t have to write long or complex formulas.
In terms of mixed information (text and numbers), a spreadsheet includes a range of commands and features to sort, filter and show information visually (graphs).
This can make it easier to see patterns or answer questions based on the information.
When?
Anything involving numbers or calculations then a spreadsheet should be the first thought in terms of the type of program to use.
For large amounts of information (or data), a spreadsheet is the easiest way to work with it.
Depending on your skill and needs a database is an alternative option.
How?
As with other types programs, today the favourite spreadsheet is between Microsoft and Google.
Microsoft Excel
Google Sheets
Apple Numbers
Take a look at my Services to see how I can help.
Latest Posts
- Copilot Knows Less About You Than You’d Think
Copilot work account data is the handful of details from your Microsoft account that Copilot uses to personalise answers. It’s far less than you might expect. On the Copilot Basic licence that comes with a business plan, mine showed my office location and nothing else. The paid Premium licence adds a little more, but not… Read more: Copilot Knows Less About You Than You’d Think - 3 Quick Ways to Take Control of Copilot Memory
Copilot memory is the set of details Copilot automatically saves from your conversations, and there are three quick ways to take control of it: ask what it knows about you, tell it what to remember, and delete anything that’s wrong or out of date. It takes a couple of minutes, and it’s worth doing every… Read more: 3 Quick Ways to Take Control of Copilot Memory - Copilot Custom Instructions: Say It Once, Get Better Answers
If you keep typing the same things into Copilot every time (make it shorter, make it friendly, use UK spelling), there’s a setting that does it for you. It’s called Copilot custom instructions. You save details about yourself and how you like responses written, and Copilot applies them to every new chat. It takes about… Read more: Copilot Custom Instructions: Say It Once, Get Better Answers - What’s Actually in Your Microsoft 365 App Launcher?
Open your Microsoft 365 app launcher and you’ll find more than 20 apps staring back at you. You’ll only use a small handful of them regularly. The rest fall into “useful sometimes” or “you’ll probably never touch this” territory. This post has Microsoft 365 apps explained in plain English. Each one is grouped by how… Read more: What’s Actually in Your Microsoft 365 App Launcher? - The OneNote Feature I Rely On More Than Any Other
If you’ve ever typed a search word into OneNote, you’ll know the feeling. Every relevant note appears, no matter which notebook it was buried in. That’s why so many people ask how to search across notebooks in OneNote in the first place. Being able to search across notebooks in OneNote is, for me, the single… Read more: The OneNote Feature I Rely On More Than Any Other