Google Drive spreadsheet (http://drive.google.com) is a popular choice for a cloud
solution because of the many features common to desktop solutions and the
ability to share collaborative editing.
Google Drive is available for the Window OS X, Mac OS X, iPad, and
Android mobile devices. An alternative cloud spreadsheet solution,
SkyDrive, is available for users who have Microsoft Office desktop or Microsoft
Office 365, a cloud solution. SkyDrive
is available for Mac and Windows mobile devices. However, for the purpose of this blog, discussion
of cloud-based spreadsheet software is limited to Google Drive because of its
non-commercial nature, popularity and robust features.
Google Drive users get 5 GB of free storage for all Google
Doc files, including spreadsheets). Google Drive is also a downloadable app for Windows
and Mac computers, as well as Apple and Android mobile devices. The app allows users to sync Google Doc files with
either a Mac or Windows PC, providing a backup solution. Google Drive files can be organized using
folders and users have
the ability to search for files and preview them.
The menu for a Google Drive spreadsheet is similar to other
spreadsheet software (figure1).
Figure1 Google Drive Spreadsheet
The Google Spreadsheet app includes text and number editing features. The Functions menu is used to create formulas
and use common formula functions, such
as sum, average, count, max, and min. The functions menu is available from the
the Insert menu and also the sum symbol on the toolbar (figure 2).
Figure 2 Formula Menu with Common Formula Functions
Information on additional functions is available online at https://support.google.com/drive/bin/static.py?hl=en&topic=25273&page=table.cs
