Array Formulas without Ctrl-Shift-Enter

Posted by: John Danaher, Engineer - Google spreadsheets

If you're an expert spreadsheet user, you might be familiar with the powerful and obscure feature known as array formulas. They're powerful because they let you replace an entire column of formulas with a single array formula that does all the calculations in one place. And they're obscure because you've always had to hit Ctrl-Shift-Enter to create one, and, well, who's ever going to discover that on their own?

It's now a lot simpler to create an array formula in Google Spreadsheets. If you want to create a multiple-output formula (like TRANSPOSE or MMULT), just enter the formula normally and hit enter. As if by magic, the entire output of the formula will appear. And if you want a multiple-input formula, wrap the whole formula in the ARRAYFORMULA function, like so: =ARRAYFORMULA(SUM(IF(A1:A10>B1:B10, A1:A10, B1:B10))).

And if you've never heard of array formulas but we've piqued your interest, take a look at our array formulas help page that explains them in a little more detail.

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Want spreadsheet filtering? Try this.

Posted by: Alex Komoroske, Intern - Google Docs & Spreadsheets team

When I joined the Google spreadsheets team in New York City as a Product Manager intern this summer, I let on to the fact that I loved to do programming on the side. My manager's eyes lit up and before I knew it he introduced me to the Google Spreadsheets API. He showed me a quick and (very) dirty javascript program he had written that would allow spreadsheet users to filter their view of a spreadsheet--that is, to view only rows that met some simple criteria. His code wasn't quite bloggable, so he invited me to make a 'real' spreadsheet filter application.

The API gave me access to practically all my spreadsheet data, so I had the flexibility to do whatever I had in mind. Within a few hours, I had a pretty powerful little application that could filter using easy dropdowns on each column. But I wasn't done -- I wanted more control over filtering. I added an expression parser that understands "fuzzy" filters -- things like "contains North or New" -- just as well as it understands more precise (but intimidating) traditional expressions.

I clearly went a little overboard with my spreadsheet application, but the point is that the API puts a lot of power into my hands--and yours. If you've got any kind of programming experience, why don't you give it a try ?

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An entirely new way to stay organized

Posted by: Ron Schneider, Technical Lead, Google Docs & Spreadsheets

Today we introduced some exciting changes to Google Docs & Spreadsheets.

Here's what's new:

• Looking pretty - The entire document list has been given a complete visual overhaul - new icons, more content, and better organizational controls. We know users spend a lot of time here and we aim to make it feel more like home.
• Getting organized - Almost from the day we launched people have been clamoring for folders. They're here! Even cooler, our new folders continue to work like the tags they've replaced - your old tags are automatically converted to folders and documents can live in more than one folder at a time. Organizing your documents is as easy as dragging and dropping a document to a folder. We've also included special controls for seeing only those documents created by you or shared with a particular person.
  
• Search that thinks ahead - If you've ever tried Google Suggest, you know how cool it is when a search engine offer suggestions as you type. Google Docs & Spreadsheets now works the same way - we offer dynamically filtered results from your document list as you type, saving you time and getting you to your documents more quickly.

We hope you like what you see. As always, we welcome your feedback in our help group.

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Changes are afoot

Posted by: Ken Norton, Product Manager, Google Docs & Spreadsheets

Tomorrow we're going to release a new version of Docs & Spreadsheets, so keep your eyes peeled. We wanted to give you a bit of advance notice since things will look different when you log in.

People have really come to rely on Docs & Spreadsheets since we launched last October, and lots of you have offered suggestions for ways we could improve the experience for both new and power users. Tomorrow's update is a direct response to this feedback, and includes new ways to keep your docs organized, and find your old docs too.

We can hardly wait to show you, and we hope you'll like what you see. If you have questions or feedback, it's always welcome in our help group.

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See shared docs & spreadsheets before logging in

Posted by: Jonathan Rochelle, Product Manager

When someone invites you to a view or edit a shared document or spreadsheet, you expect to be able to see it without having to jump over any walls (like a sign-in page or registration). We know this because you told us.

So now, if you invite someone who doesn't have a Google Account (or who does, but isn't logged in) to share a document or spreadsheet, he or she will be able to immediately view it. To edit, however, it's still necessary to first sign in or to create a Google account. Syd & Regina explained this in our Group.

To enable this feature, check the option on the "Share" tab called "Invitations may be used by anyone" - which will also allow people to forward your invitation email to others, so those people may gain access. You can always uncheck the box to limit access to those people you specifically invite. (They'll still need to be logged in to their Google account to create and edit documents and spreadsheets.)

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Integrating visual tools with spreadsheet data

Posted by: Jonathan Rochelle, Product Manager

If you are looking for new ways to visualize data from your spreadsheets, or if you're looking for methods to integrate your own products or programming ideas with collaborative spreadsheet data - please check out this blog post on our Google Data APIs blog. It describes how two particular companies integrated Google Docs & Spreadsheets as data sources into their data visualization tools.

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The more the merrier

Posted by: Michelle Lee, Docs & Spreadsheets User Experience Designer

Last week, I volunteered at the public library with my buddy Clark. We were cataloging donated books, so I shared a spreadsheet with him at clark.kent@notsuper.com. Little did I know, he was already into Docs & Spreadsheets, but typically used his other email address, superman@collaborativehero.com, to log in. Luckily, with the new invitation system, it worked seamlessly. He could see the book sale spreadsheet right next to the documents he'd already been working with.

Many of you shared your concerns about the old invitation system: needing to invite people on a mailing list, or having problems inviting users who had multiple addresses and multiple Google Accounts. So we've simplified our invitations to work better in those cases. Now, if you set the "Invitations may be used by anyone" option, the people you invite can get into the doc from whichever Google account they prefer - even if they aren't trying to hide a secret identity ;)

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