Today, Bill looks at Excel on the iPhone.
Transcript of the video:
MrExcel podcast is sponsored by Easy-XL.
Learn Excel from MrExcel episode 1744.
Excel on the iPhone.
Hey, welcome back to the MrExcel netcast.
I'm Bill Jelen.
Today something a little bit different I want to talk about the new office app on the iPhone.
Now, this is July 4th 2013 this is just the first rev of office on the iPhone.
Let's talk about the the bad things.
Office on the iPhone like it's free but when you download it you have to sign in to your office 365 account.
Now, if you don't have office 365, you're gonna have to go out and spend 99 bucks to get a subscription.
It doesn't matter if you've already given Microsoft the $399 for Office ProPlus, or office pro or if you own 17 PC's, where you've already paid for office.
It doesn't matter you have to go get an office 365 account.
Now, if you've already rented office 365 well then you're good to go this is free, but most people are still buying the DVD Microsoft doesn't want people to buy the DVD they want people to rent the software and this is a clear stake in the ground that hey, we don't care if you've already given us $400, you're not going to get to use Excel on the iPhone and less you're giving us money every month.
All right! So, we have office you open it up you're gonna associate it with your SkyDrive account.
SkyDrive or SharePoint or email yourself the documents that's really the only viable way to get documents here.
You're not gonna want to create an Excel document on the phone.
They'll let you create a new Excel document on the phone, but boy it is just so, so limited.
So, here is the excel screen.
All right, we have we can see 18 rows by 5 columns there are more rows in that 16384 rows, 255 columns out to column IV, just like in the old days back in Excel 97 or 2003.
Well, that's the number of columns you'd have to go back to I think Excel 5 before you get to 16384.
So, you know you have your, you have your Excel document you can enter text you can enter numbers.
If you want to enter a formula click up in the formula bar, and then the here's another thing it's a little frustrating this you know it's a hassle because you start out with the alpha keyboard on the on the iPhone and you then click the number keyboard and then click the symbol keyboard before you get to the equal sign even start the formula, so several clicks there, but you know the formulas I've entered I've entered a VLOOKUP formula it worked here 2 raised to the 20th it accepts that formula will go down a page you see that would press return there and we get our answer.
The keyboard stays up until you click done.
All right! So, that's you know not a big problem.
I think that the real limitation that we have is the lack of commands there are so few commands here let's go I'm gonna go page up a few more times so we get back this is the menu bar right here.
So, on back goes back to the screen we can choose recent files this is essentially file, essentially edit and view.
So, you have three little icons there to use and we'll go through each one of those file is share that send via email save or save as.
So, you can give something a new name to make that file menu go away you click the down button.
If you decide that you don't want anything there, on editing tools we have format and I'll show you the format submenu in a minute redo, undo, create chart, clear, there was one more that was off the screen that was AutoSum.
All right! So, I mean okay don't think about what's here think about what's not here.
There's so, many things that we just cannot do on the iPhone.
Like for example, here's the format cell. So, we can do bold, italic, underline, that's great no double underline date, currency with two decimal places, percentage or toggle between text and numbers, no custom number formats, no increase decimal, decrease decimal for colors they give you four colors black, green, yellow or red and that's the text and the fill color.
So, I suppose if you really wanted to get down to it, you could have four combinations of font with three combinations of fill.
So, you know twelve different formats just really limited.
Now, if you create the Excel document on the desktop on the computer, and download it here.
Well, yeah and you more colors, but to actually create cells here and color those cells.
It's just not an option on the iPhone under Viewing Tools that's the little eye icon.
We have Outlined, Sort, Apply Filter and Find.
Certainly no pivot tables, certainly no VBA.
So, you know here's a chart that we created using the create chart although this wasn't created using Create chart because create chart would not let me add a chart title there's just no way to customize the chart I had it create the chart here take it back up to the desktop add the title and go back.
So, we are incredibly, incredibly limited, drawbacks you have to buy a new subscription.
So, it's essentially a $99 app.
Which in the world of the iPhone is kind of ridiculous it needs a better iPhone, iPhone 4 or newer and it doesn't work with the original generation iPad.
I'm not sure about the second generation iPad it it will give you this message that says hey, we can't work with this because we did an auto-focus camera he said well, why do we need an auto-focus camera with office?
It's not the auto-focus camera, it's some rule that Apple has that they can't specify that you need a certain device, but they can specifies you need a certain feature.
Microsoft felt that there wasn't enough power on the original iPad and it would just crash a lot so, rather than have you crashed and have a bad experience they gave you the experience of no you can't use your original iPad.
The big limiting thing, I think about all the things you do in Excel control this, control that all the special keys the F4 key to lock it a formula down we don't have any of that the complete set of commands is here this this is it.
So, think about all the things you do in Excel that just will not be there.
Now, there are some positives, yes you can create a full range of Excel formulas.
You can enter a formula.
That's a lot of calculation power that you wouldn't otherwise have.
So, I've had it now for a week and a half can I find a use well here's the use that I that I found that I actually like on my desktop computer I perpetually have a to-do, list the 60 things I have to do today and if I have to run out, run some errands I print that portion of the list I take that to the store cross things off as I go, go to the next door cross things off as I go.
We were down in Florida working on the new house and I put that to-do list on the SkyDrive open it in Excel on the iPhone and I didn't have to print the list.
Now, normally I use control five to strike through, but there is no control five on the iPhone.
So, I had to come up with something up a little X in column A.
So, the task can be X and A's. I finished things and that allowed me to mark things off it was nice I saved when I got back to the desktop open it from the SkyDrive and my list was up to date.
Of course I'm so, OCD I had to go through and use control five to strike through all the things that I had X'ed before was it cool to have Excel in my pocket.
Yes, yes it was would it have been worth $99.
Well, you know hey, I could have done the same thing with OneNote or Evernote and sync to the computer.
So, hard to say there's also little tiny versions of Word and PowerPoint that I'm sure are just as limited.
I can't imagine showing anyone a PowerPoint presentation on your phone.
Of course PowerPoint people probably can't imagine using doing anything useful in Excel did I hey look I did a vlookup I was on an airplane at 30,000 feet I did a vlookup on my iPhone yeah that was cool.
What I really pay $99 for that not sure, the other thing to remember this is their first attempt this is version one it's gonna get better it's not like we're gonna have to wait three years for a new version probably every four months they're gonna rev this and they're gonna keep adding new features.
So, someday it might get there if for some weird reason you already have an office 365 subscription, then hey it's free go ahead and get it, but if you've purchased office or you're still an office 2010 or office 2007, then yeah I'm not sure I would go out and give Microsoft more money for this subscription. Just so, you can try this tiny, tiny little version of Excel on the iPhone.
Hey, I wanna thank you for stopping by.
We'll see you next time for another netcast from MrExcel.
Learn Excel from MrExcel episode 1744.
Excel on the iPhone.
Hey, welcome back to the MrExcel netcast.
I'm Bill Jelen.
Today something a little bit different I want to talk about the new office app on the iPhone.
Now, this is July 4th 2013 this is just the first rev of office on the iPhone.
Let's talk about the the bad things.
Office on the iPhone like it's free but when you download it you have to sign in to your office 365 account.
Now, if you don't have office 365, you're gonna have to go out and spend 99 bucks to get a subscription.
It doesn't matter if you've already given Microsoft the $399 for Office ProPlus, or office pro or if you own 17 PC's, where you've already paid for office.
It doesn't matter you have to go get an office 365 account.
Now, if you've already rented office 365 well then you're good to go this is free, but most people are still buying the DVD Microsoft doesn't want people to buy the DVD they want people to rent the software and this is a clear stake in the ground that hey, we don't care if you've already given us $400, you're not going to get to use Excel on the iPhone and less you're giving us money every month.
All right! So, we have office you open it up you're gonna associate it with your SkyDrive account.
SkyDrive or SharePoint or email yourself the documents that's really the only viable way to get documents here.
You're not gonna want to create an Excel document on the phone.
They'll let you create a new Excel document on the phone, but boy it is just so, so limited.
So, here is the excel screen.
All right, we have we can see 18 rows by 5 columns there are more rows in that 16384 rows, 255 columns out to column IV, just like in the old days back in Excel 97 or 2003.
Well, that's the number of columns you'd have to go back to I think Excel 5 before you get to 16384.
So, you know you have your, you have your Excel document you can enter text you can enter numbers.
If you want to enter a formula click up in the formula bar, and then the here's another thing it's a little frustrating this you know it's a hassle because you start out with the alpha keyboard on the on the iPhone and you then click the number keyboard and then click the symbol keyboard before you get to the equal sign even start the formula, so several clicks there, but you know the formulas I've entered I've entered a VLOOKUP formula it worked here 2 raised to the 20th it accepts that formula will go down a page you see that would press return there and we get our answer.
The keyboard stays up until you click done.
All right! So, that's you know not a big problem.
I think that the real limitation that we have is the lack of commands there are so few commands here let's go I'm gonna go page up a few more times so we get back this is the menu bar right here.
So, on back goes back to the screen we can choose recent files this is essentially file, essentially edit and view.
So, you have three little icons there to use and we'll go through each one of those file is share that send via email save or save as.
So, you can give something a new name to make that file menu go away you click the down button.
If you decide that you don't want anything there, on editing tools we have format and I'll show you the format submenu in a minute redo, undo, create chart, clear, there was one more that was off the screen that was AutoSum.
All right! So, I mean okay don't think about what's here think about what's not here.
There's so, many things that we just cannot do on the iPhone.
Like for example, here's the format cell. So, we can do bold, italic, underline, that's great no double underline date, currency with two decimal places, percentage or toggle between text and numbers, no custom number formats, no increase decimal, decrease decimal for colors they give you four colors black, green, yellow or red and that's the text and the fill color.
So, I suppose if you really wanted to get down to it, you could have four combinations of font with three combinations of fill.
So, you know twelve different formats just really limited.
Now, if you create the Excel document on the desktop on the computer, and download it here.
Well, yeah and you more colors, but to actually create cells here and color those cells.
It's just not an option on the iPhone under Viewing Tools that's the little eye icon.
We have Outlined, Sort, Apply Filter and Find.
Certainly no pivot tables, certainly no VBA.
So, you know here's a chart that we created using the create chart although this wasn't created using Create chart because create chart would not let me add a chart title there's just no way to customize the chart I had it create the chart here take it back up to the desktop add the title and go back.
So, we are incredibly, incredibly limited, drawbacks you have to buy a new subscription.
So, it's essentially a $99 app.
Which in the world of the iPhone is kind of ridiculous it needs a better iPhone, iPhone 4 or newer and it doesn't work with the original generation iPad.
I'm not sure about the second generation iPad it it will give you this message that says hey, we can't work with this because we did an auto-focus camera he said well, why do we need an auto-focus camera with office?
It's not the auto-focus camera, it's some rule that Apple has that they can't specify that you need a certain device, but they can specifies you need a certain feature.
Microsoft felt that there wasn't enough power on the original iPad and it would just crash a lot so, rather than have you crashed and have a bad experience they gave you the experience of no you can't use your original iPad.
The big limiting thing, I think about all the things you do in Excel control this, control that all the special keys the F4 key to lock it a formula down we don't have any of that the complete set of commands is here this this is it.
So, think about all the things you do in Excel that just will not be there.
Now, there are some positives, yes you can create a full range of Excel formulas.
You can enter a formula.
That's a lot of calculation power that you wouldn't otherwise have.
So, I've had it now for a week and a half can I find a use well here's the use that I that I found that I actually like on my desktop computer I perpetually have a to-do, list the 60 things I have to do today and if I have to run out, run some errands I print that portion of the list I take that to the store cross things off as I go, go to the next door cross things off as I go.
We were down in Florida working on the new house and I put that to-do list on the SkyDrive open it in Excel on the iPhone and I didn't have to print the list.
Now, normally I use control five to strike through, but there is no control five on the iPhone.
So, I had to come up with something up a little X in column A.
So, the task can be X and A's. I finished things and that allowed me to mark things off it was nice I saved when I got back to the desktop open it from the SkyDrive and my list was up to date.
Of course I'm so, OCD I had to go through and use control five to strike through all the things that I had X'ed before was it cool to have Excel in my pocket.
Yes, yes it was would it have been worth $99.
Well, you know hey, I could have done the same thing with OneNote or Evernote and sync to the computer.
So, hard to say there's also little tiny versions of Word and PowerPoint that I'm sure are just as limited.
I can't imagine showing anyone a PowerPoint presentation on your phone.
Of course PowerPoint people probably can't imagine using doing anything useful in Excel did I hey look I did a vlookup I was on an airplane at 30,000 feet I did a vlookup on my iPhone yeah that was cool.
What I really pay $99 for that not sure, the other thing to remember this is their first attempt this is version one it's gonna get better it's not like we're gonna have to wait three years for a new version probably every four months they're gonna rev this and they're gonna keep adding new features.
So, someday it might get there if for some weird reason you already have an office 365 subscription, then hey it's free go ahead and get it, but if you've purchased office or you're still an office 2010 or office 2007, then yeah I'm not sure I would go out and give Microsoft more money for this subscription. Just so, you can try this tiny, tiny little version of Excel on the iPhone.
Hey, I wanna thank you for stopping by.
We'll see you next time for another netcast from MrExcel.
