Google spreadsheet annoyance

[undyingking]

It seems to be impossible to build a selection from a non-contiguous block, eg. I want to make a chart from the data that would in Excel be a1:a6,c1:c6, but Google just interprets that as a1:c6. Which is a bit of a pain. Surely that's not too abstruse a requirement? I can understand them not letting me build a non-contiguous selection by using ctrl-click as in Excel, but not to be able even to type one seems a bit harsh.

I would like to be able to use Google Docs generally for more stuff, but it often seems that once you get beyond the very simplest of operations, it's still somewhat lacking.

[Poll #1674584]

Comments

[rotwang.livejournal.com]

Try Lotus Symphony 3?

[ninthcouncil.livejournal.com]

You must be as old as I am!

[ninthcouncil.livejournal.com]

Dear God, I didn't realise there was a "modern" version of this. I thought youu were referring to the DOS incarnation....

No, no...

[rotwang.livejournal.com]

not SmartSuite!

Symphony is a new, free, Open-Office-based set of applications: http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/home.nsf/home

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Is that 'in the cloud' hosted? I'm happy to use Excel on my own desktop, but I use Google Docs for things that I want to be easily shareable-collaboratable.

[rotwang.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see - no, not so much. That would be more in the LotusLive space and I think that is only for pay.

[gbsteve.livejournal.com]

No problem doing this in Excel but I've not used Google Docs.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Other: I think this is a reasonable thing to want to do with a spreadsheet and it's reasonable to want to use spreadsheets but I'm not convinced that advanced functions in general are within the remit of Google Docs.

I know some tech commentators like to talk in terms of Google vs Microsoft, but from my perspective there's little crossover between the typical usage scenarios of Docs and Office. I like Docs because it means I never have to use Office, but that says more about me as a user than it does about Office.

As I see it, Office occupies that awkward space between professional tools (Adobe, Quark etc.) and lightweight apps. But if you happen to want to do moderately complex things without investing too much money it can be the right call. (Although then you get to have a separate bunfight about whether StarOffice or OpenOffice have replaced MS Office...)

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Mm, that is very much my view of Office too. I use Excel more intensively than the other components, because I don't own a corresponding professional tool in that area.

I'm happy for advanced functions in general not to be included in Google Docs, but I suppose I don't consider selecting cells that aren't en bloc as being an advanced function -- compared with some of the other stuff that they have decided to include.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

The reason I consider it an advanced feature is because if you want some function of a set of non-contiguous columns you can always, if necessary, build that function up in stages by using intermediate cells. (Which in this case leaves you with something very similar to sea_of_flame's suggested workaround.)

That said, it does seem like the kind of thing it would make sense for Docs to include on the basis that it's a relatively simple feature to implement which will be invisible to anyone not trying to use it, but very welcome for users accustomed to Excel.

[sea-of-flame.livejournal.com]

Yuck, charts?

I've been using Excel for...um...about half my life. I still have to figure out charts from scratch every time I want them, because it happens so rarely ;)

I think I'd just tend to either rearrange my data so the bits I wanted WERE contiguous - or if that was inconvenient because of other requirements on the data, have a separate worksheet of source data for that chart, which was pulling the relevant data from my master sheet - but that makes my databasey brain cry because of unnecessary repetition of data.

I think you /may/ be able to cheat by just selecting the whole block A1:C6 and then not making any use of the data in 'B'...but it's been such a long time since I've played with charts that I could be going mad ;)

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

You can do that in Excel, but in Google Docs, you don't get the option to not use data from within your selection -- it all gets automatically munched.

I will end up doing as you suggest to get round it, but I resent having to... Well, I'm not paying for it I suppose.