Section 13. Working with Multiple Sheets

Like Excel, Google Spreadsheets lets you work with multiple sheets (Google calls them tabs ) within a single spreadsheet file. Unlike Excel, which always starts with three sheets per spreadsheet, Google defaults to a single sheet. You can then add additional sheets to this first sheet.

Adding New Sheets

To add a new sheet to your spreadsheet, all you have to do is click the Add Sheet button at the bottom of the main spreadsheet window. To switch to a different sheet, just click its link, as shown in Figure 38.

Figure 38. Multiple sheets within a single spreadsheet file.

Renaming Sheets

By default, Google names its sheets Sheet1, Sheet2, Sheet3, and so forth. If you'd like a somewhat more descriptive name for a sheet, follow these steps:

1.	Click a sheet link to make it the active sheet.
2.	Click the tab for the active sheet; this displays a pop-up menu, as shown in Figure 39. Figure 39. Renaming a sheet.
3.	Click Rename.
4.	When prompted, enter a new name for the sheet, and then click OK.

Deleting Sheets

If you add a sheet that you later don't need, it's easy to delete it. Just follow these steps:

1.	Click the sheet link for the sheet you want to delete.
2.	Click the tab for the active sheet; this displays a pop-up menu.
3.	Click Delete.

Section 14. Printing Google Spreadsheets

When you're finished creating your spreadsheet, you might want to print a hard copy. This is a fairly easy, if not overly intuitive, task, as there's no quick and easy "print" button or function. Instead, here's what you need to do:

Click the File button and select Get HTML.

This opens a new browser window that contains just the spreadsheet, no other buttons or controls, as shown in Figure 40. It's this window that you want to print.

Figure 40. Use the Get HTML command to open a new browser window for printing.

Switch to the new browser window, then click the Print button in your web browser.

The contents of the new browser windowthat is, your spreadsheet datawill now print.

Note

Google Spreadsheets doesn't let you automatically print multiple sheets in a spreadsheet file; it only prints one sheet at a time. You must switch to each sheet separately, and then go through the File, Get HTML procedure.

Section 15. Sharing and Collaborating with Google Spreadsheets

The truly unique feature of Google Spreadsheets is the capability to share a spreadsheet with otherseither for viewing or for collaborative editing. The only hitch to this process is that anyone you wish to share with must have their own Google Account to access the Google Spreadsheets site. That said, you can easily invite another users to create his or own new Google Account.

Note

At present, there is no limit to the number of people with whom you can share a spreadsheet. The only requirement is that anyone you invite to share your spreadsheet have their own Google Account.

Sharing a Spreadsheet for Viewing

We'll start with the process of sharing a spreadsheet for viewing only. This lets other users view your spreadsheet but doesn't give them access to add or edit data. (It's a read-only process.)

To share a spreadsheet for viewing, follow these steps:

1.	From a saved spreadsheet, click the Show Sharing Options link; this opens the sharing pane, shown in Figure 41. Figure 41. Getting ready to share a spreadsheet.
2.	In the Invite People to View box, enter the email addresses of the people you want to share the spreadsheet. (Separate multiple addresses with commas.)
3.	Click the Invite People button.

4.	This opens an Invitation window, like the one shown in Figure 42. Enter a personal message if you like, and then click the Send Invitation button. Figure 42. Inviting another user to share a spreadsheet.

Your recipients now receive an invitation via email. The invitation contains a link to the spreadsheet; clicking this link opens the spreadsheet in a new browser window.

Anyone viewing your spreadsheet can not only navigate around the entire file (including multiple sheets within the spreadsheet file), but also save that file to their personal Google Spreadsheets online storage area or as an XLS-format file to their own PC. While viewing, other users will see the current work in progress; as soon as you press Enter when editing a cell, the edited contents will appear on the other users' screens. (They can't see the in-progress contents of the cell while you're editing the cell , however.)

Note

Anyone you invite to view a spreadsheet can, in turn , invite other users to also view the spreadsheet.