Question 1

Can I edit the spreadsheet here?

Accepted Answer

No. This is a viewer: it reads the file and never changes it. Saving as CSV gives you the data to edit in another program, but formatting, charts and formulas do not carry over into a CSV.

Question 2

Why does a formula show a value but not recalculate?

Accepted Answer

The value shown is the one the spreadsheet saved the last time it was calculated. The viewer reads formulas and shows them, but does not run them, so a file saved before its inputs changed shows the old result - exactly as Excel would before recalculating.

Question 3

Can it open a password-protected workbook?

Accepted Answer

No. A workbook with an open password is encrypted, and this reader cannot decrypt it. It says so rather than showing nothing. A workbook that is only protected against editing opens normally.

Question 4

Are charts, pictures and colours shown?

Accepted Answer

No - only the cells: their values, formats and formulas. Merged cells show their value in the top-left cell of the range, and the page tells you how many merged ranges a sheet has.

Question 5

How big a file can it open?

Accepted Answer

The whole workbook is read into the browser's memory, so a file of tens of megabytes is comfortable on a laptop and very large ones can be slow. A sheet shows 100 rows a page, and at most 200 columns.

Question 6

What about Apple Numbers files?

Accepted Answer

Use the Pages, Numbers & Keynote viewer, which reads .numbers files and can save their tables as Excel or CSV.

Free Excel viewer