Spreadsheet Roundup 20190917

by Debra · Published September 17, 2019 · Updated September 16, 2019

It’s only a month until we celebrate Spreadsheet Day 2019, on October 17th! This year will be extra special – it’s the 40th anniversary of the VisiCalc launch. Were you using VisiCalc when it first came out, in 1979?

While we wait for Spreadsheet Day, here is a roundup of selected spreadsheet articles that I’ve read recently. You’ll find interesting tips, useful sample files, and new ideas for your own spreadsheets.

For Excel tips and tutorials, please visit my Contextures website.

Functions

This paper is definitely not for most Excel users, but you might find it interesting. It’s from 2003, and the authors wanted Microsoft to add worksheet-based User Defined Functions in Excel. See the screen shots on pages 4 and 7, for examples.
This article has spreadsheet tips for journalists, but it’s an interesting read for people in other professions too. The formula for % difference is correct, but the explanation is confusing

Spreadsheet History

Excel was launched on September 30, 1985. Earlier that year (May 2nd), Bill Gates unveiled Excel at a conference, and you can see the details in InfoWorld (pages 28-33). Wow, 50% of Lotus users created macros! What’s your guess on the Excel %?
Without the Great Calculator Race of the 1970s we wouldn’t have iPhones. Or spreadsheets – Dan Bricklin competed with calculators when he built VisiCalc (video 3:10 mark). And have you tried Excel’s built-in calculator/converter?
You’ll see familiar items in Ariel Fischman’s spreadsheet collection. He’s got VisiCalc, Multiplan, beta copies of Excel, and much more. He can’t find Excel 2001 for the Mac though, if you have a copy of that.
Did you ever have to work with paper ledgers? The BBC looks back at VisiCalc – computing’s first “killer app”.

Interesting Projects

Do you like baseball? And statistics? A Cleveland fan analyzed the team’s performance, and you can download an Excel version of the file, to see how it works
If you get tired of doing financial things in Excel, Kat Boogaard shows 21 different uses for Excel. Number 6 is my old seating plan workbook, and there’s a newer version now.
Larry Carpenter is a full-time engineer, and part-time brewmaster. Even if you’re not interested in beer, his brewing spreadsheet is worth a look. It’s free, with no macros, and a video explains how it works.
Can a spreadsheet help you make decisions? This Decision Matrix Template is a Google Sheet, but you can download a copy in Excel format, if you prefer. The article explains how to use it, and there’s an example sheet in the workbook.
How many things do you keep track of in a spreadsheet? Angela Lashbrook shares her Google Sheets that help her stay organized, and you could set up similar files in other programs
Spreadsheets have many uses, but Keith McNulty says that spreadsheets are slowing our progress in data analysis. Are you using Power BI and other tools now?

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