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Google vs. Microsoft Office? Yay! Google Spreadsheets gets charts
Google vs. Microsoft? Horay! Google Spreadsheets Gets Charts
![donna-bogatin.jpg](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/640c4a45b1ca9c78490d7a6379188ab2bd9e31f8/2014/07/22/c0f3e6cb-1174-11e4-9732-00505685119a/donna-bogatin.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&frame=1&height=192&width=192)
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After all, how serious a contender can he be if it is BIG news eight months out of the Google Apps gate “How to make a pie” (in Googley kitsch). In down to earth speak: “Google Spreadsheets gets charts.” Hooray!
Here are the new spreadsheet features touted by a Google software engineer, straight from Tel Aviv:
- Named ranges: you can define a name for a range of cells, and use this name in formulas to refer to cells, for example write =sum(expenses) instead of =sum(c12:e17). This helps make calculation logic clearer to write and understand. Check it out under the "Formulas" tab.
- Cell comments: Attach comments to individual cells, great for additional information or for collaboration on a single cell.
- Bi-directional text: The ability to properly view and edit text in right-to-left languages like Hebrew. This is very important for our local community here in Israel.
- A quick way to duplicate a sheet.
- A new right-click option to search the web for the text in a cell.
Phew! None of that pesky feature bloat Microsoft Office is always being accused of.
ALSO: Google Office enterprise security snafu and Microsoft vs. Google: Will MSN, Windows Live compete?