Index

All 42 entries

Six parts of seven. Every entry states the version and platform it was established on.

Teams applying the checks in this entry can also compare operational tools for employee time tracking app, keeping time and review ownership outside the calculation file itself.

Part 1

How a sheet lies quietly

1.1A spreadsheet does not fail, it produces a plausible wrong answer 1.2The row limit, and the data that disappeared past it 1.3A range that shifted when it was copied 1.4Dividing by a sum where an average was meant 1.5Floating point in a sheet, and money 1.6Autocorrection that changed the data 1.7Why there are no tests, no review and no history

Part 2

What the function actually does

2.1The lookup family, and what changes between its members 2.2Approximate match by default: the most expensive argument 2.3Dynamic arrays, and what became of the old array formulas 2.4References: relative, absolute, and what the dollar sign does 2.5Volatile functions, and files that recalculate for ever 2.6Circular references and iterative calculation 2.7LET and LAMBDA: when a formula becomes a program

Part 3

How data is damaged on the way in

3.1A comma-separated file is a convention, not a format 3.2Dates, and what the locale decides for you 3.3Leading zeros, long numbers, and everything a sheet treats as a number 3.4Encodings, and the question marks in an export 3.5Separators, quoting, and line breaks inside a field 3.6When an import becomes a process 3.7Stacking exports, and what happens when the columns disagree

Part 4

A file that survives a year

4.1One table to a sheet 4.2Separating input, calculation and output 4.3Named ranges and structured references 4.4Constants inside formulas, and why they belong in a cell 4.5Merged cells, and what they break 4.6Formatting is not data: the colour of a cell means nothing 4.7What to write in the file so that somebody else can read it

Part 5

Working together, and versions

5.1final_v3: the copy as a version control system 5.2Editing at the same time, and where the two products differ 5.3Permissions, and who can see what you hid 5.4Hidden sheets and filters, and what travels with the file 5.5Links between files, and why they break 5.6Comments, notes, and the discussion that disappears 5.7When to send a report instead of the file

Part 6

Establishing that it is not lying

6.1Tracing where a number came from 6.2Cross-footing and reconciliation 6.3Validation at the point of entry 6.4The inconsistent formula in the middle of a row 6.5Reviewing somebody else’s sheet, and in what order 6.6Auditing tools, and what they do not find 6.7When the work should leave the spreadsheet

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For further context, see RFC 4180 on CSV conventions.