3 ms·

Just get Excel. It is indeed one of the best pieces of software ever made.

Borg3 3y ago
Really? People still like those Microsoft bloated products? How come. I remember Office 2000. Nice and small, quick and easy to use. 2003 wasnt bad either, but you start to feel the direction. 2007 was last usable office for me. Anything later is just downhill ride. Luicky, I can avoid all those tools mostly. I feel sad for those who cannot.
- HackerThemAll 3y ago
  Get out of your cave. 1.2 billion people use Office.
  - robin_reala 3y ago
    But do they want to, or are they forced to by the companies they work in? I mean, I have to use Powerpoint for collaboration on presentations, but I’d be very happy to never touch it again.
  - cosmotic 3y ago
    Many (most?) don't have an option. Their employer pays the office 365 bill and won't pay for an alternative. You're also stuck with file compatibility problemsif you use a potentially superior product.
- john-radio 3y ago
  You're right and you should say it!
- ilrwbwrkhv 3y ago
  You know while I would mostly agree with you, Excel is still amazing. There is nothing like it in the market. Google Sheets look like a child's toy in comparison.
  - Borg3 3y ago
    Excel as a spreedsheet is good tool, no doubt about it. The problem is the bloat that Microsoft brings with new versions. Personally, I use Gnumeric for Win32. Its old, but it does the job for me.
    - cykros 3y ago
      If it's all you need, it's all you need. But comparing Gnumeric to Excel is a bit like comparing nano to emacs.
- cykros 3y ago
  Tell me you don't scratch the surface of what Excel is capable of without saying it directly. Use PowerQuery and PowerPivot for a few months and then try to go to Google Sheets, LibreOffice, Gnumeric, or any of the other supposed replacements. It's like comparing the Gimp to Photoshop, except that I might be being unfair to the Gimp in this situation.
  - macshaggy 3y ago
    Agreed. I'm a Data Analyst and as much as I use numpy/pandas/matplotlib for a lot of my work. When it comes to sharing the data that my work is based on I usually need to export it to Excel with the calculations. There is just a need to use the more complex features to do things and that can also show how changing a variable affects the overall analysis. I can't give people a python script or jupyter notebook and tell them to do x or y or z. I can recreate all my calculations in excel, using python, with the same graphs and visuals, and give them instructions on what cells relate to what variables that affect the analysis so they can experiment for themselves. With Google sheets, LibreOffice, etc., I haven't seen that kind of functionality.
mmh0000 3y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nbkaYsR94c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nbkaYsR94c That video changed my entire outlook (punny) on Excel. Before, I was of the opinion that, "a spreadsheet app is a spreadsheet app". But, no. Excel is insanely complex and capable. After a few years of Excel, I have a really difficult time using anything else.
andy99 3y ago
People who are using spreadsheets for making lists of things or opening csv files have lots of options. Most people who require the functionality of excel are probably already using it and know they need it.
adrianmsmith 3y ago
Yeah that's great advice, I used to use Excel before I moved to Google Sheets and I think for my purposes it would do fine. I don't really use the sharing features of Google Sheets myself to be honest. I appreciate this wasn't one of my requirements in my original post, but is there a way to view or even edit Excel files on a phone? Not that I use that feature of Google Sheets much (the iPhone app is one of the least usable and worst apps in any category I've ever used) but it's nice to have in a pinch. (I bought a Nokia Windows Phone back in the day, 10 years ago now I guess, and I was excited to hear it came with Excel! But I think I never got it to work.)
- ilrwbwrkhv 3y ago
  Office 365 gives you all of that. It is a subscription but if you really use spreadsheets for everything like I do, it is worth it. Also, Excel is insanely more powerful than Sheets.

Really? People still like those Microsoft bloated products? How come. I remember Office 2000. Nice and small, quick and easy to use. 2003 wasnt bad either, but you start to feel the direction. 2007 was last usable office for me. Anything later is just downhill ride. Luicky, I can avoid all those tools mostly. I feel sad for those who cannot.

HackerThemAll 3y ago
Get out of your cave. 1.2 billion people use Office.
- robin_reala 3y ago
  But do they want to, or are they forced to by the companies they work in? I mean, I have to use Powerpoint for collaboration on presentations, but I’d be very happy to never touch it again.
- cosmotic 3y ago
  Many (most?) don't have an option. Their employer pays the office 365 bill and won't pay for an alternative. You're also stuck with file compatibility problemsif you use a potentially superior product.
john-radio 3y ago
You're right and you should say it!
ilrwbwrkhv 3y ago
You know while I would mostly agree with you, Excel is still amazing. There is nothing like it in the market. Google Sheets look like a child's toy in comparison.
- Borg3 3y ago
  Excel as a spreedsheet is good tool, no doubt about it. The problem is the bloat that Microsoft brings with new versions. Personally, I use Gnumeric for Win32. Its old, but it does the job for me.
  - cykros 3y ago
    If it's all you need, it's all you need. But comparing Gnumeric to Excel is a bit like comparing nano to emacs.
cykros 3y ago
Tell me you don't scratch the surface of what Excel is capable of without saying it directly. Use PowerQuery and PowerPivot for a few months and then try to go to Google Sheets, LibreOffice, Gnumeric, or any of the other supposed replacements. It's like comparing the Gimp to Photoshop, except that I might be being unfair to the Gimp in this situation.
- macshaggy 3y ago
  Agreed. I'm a Data Analyst and as much as I use numpy/pandas/matplotlib for a lot of my work. When it comes to sharing the data that my work is based on I usually need to export it to Excel with the calculations. There is just a need to use the more complex features to do things and that can also show how changing a variable affects the overall analysis. I can't give people a python script or jupyter notebook and tell them to do x or y or z. I can recreate all my calculations in excel, using python, with the same graphs and visuals, and give them instructions on what cells relate to what variables that affect the analysis so they can experiment for themselves. With Google sheets, LibreOffice, etc., I haven't seen that kind of functionality.

mmh0000 3y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nbkaYsR94c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nbkaYsR94c That video changed my entire outlook (punny) on Excel. Before, I was of the opinion that, "a spreadsheet app is a spreadsheet app". But, no. Excel is insanely complex and capable. After a few years of Excel, I have a really difficult time using anything else.

andy99 3y ago

People who are using spreadsheets for making lists of things or opening csv files have lots of options. Most people who require the functionality of excel are probably already using it and know they need it.

adrianmsmith 3y ago

Yeah that's great advice, I used to use Excel before I moved to Google Sheets and I think for my purposes it would do fine. I don't really use the sharing features of Google Sheets myself to be honest. I appreciate this wasn't one of my requirements in my original post, but is there a way to view or even edit Excel files on a phone? Not that I use that feature of Google Sheets much (the iPhone app is one of the least usable and worst apps in any category I've ever used) but it's nice to have in a pinch. (I bought a Nokia Windows Phone back in the day, 10 years ago now I guess, and I was excited to hear it came with Excel! But I think I never got it to work.)

ilrwbwrkhv 3y ago
Office 365 gives you all of that. It is a subscription but if you really use spreadsheets for everything like I do, it is worth it. Also, Excel is insanely more powerful than Sheets.