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Why Can't Android REALLY Run Excel?

R

recDNA

Android Enthusiast
I've tried docs to go and microsoft office app. Neither can run excel with formulas with more than the simplest functions. I don't need macros but I do need functions like small, average, median, mean etc. I also need formulas that refer to cells in other worksheets. With 3 gb ram and plenty of rom shouldn't my note 3 handle this? My 2 gb windows 8.1 dell venue 8 pro has no problem running my spreadsheets. There is relatively little data. The problem is no app I know of can run the formulas so workbooks are all read only. Useless. I would pay for an excel app that could really WORK. Any suggestions? Anybody find any "trick" to make formulas simple enough to work? I cannot even find a coherent explanation of which functions work and which do not. It's frustrating.

Any ideas? (besides a windows phone - yuck)
 
recDNA said:
I've tried docs to go and microsoft office app. Neither can run excel with formulas with more than the simplest functions. I don't need macros but I do need functions like small, average, median, mean etc. I also need formulas that refer to cells in other worksheets. With 3 gb ram and plenty of rom shouldn't my note 3 handle this? My 2 gb windows 8.1 dell venue 8 pro has no problem running my spreadsheets. There is relatively little data. The problem is no app I know of can run the formulas so workbooks are all read only. Useless. I would pay for an excel app that could really WORK. Any suggestions? Anybody find any "trick" to make formulas simple enough to work? I cannot even find a coherent explanation of which functions work and which do not. It's frustrating.

Any ideas? (besides a windows phone - yuck)
Click to expand...

Windows Phone won't give you any more luck as the excel apps for WP and Android are largely identical. The MS Office app (the free version) is very limited in what it can do.

Have you tried Google Sheets since the recent update? YOu can now open/edit/save/create Excel files with it, as opposed to be forced to convert to Google's format as in the past.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.sheets&hl=en
 
Medion said:
Windows Phone won't give you any more luck as the excel apps for WP and Android are largely identical. The MS Office app (the free version) is very limited in what it can do.

Have you tried Google Sheets since the recent update? YOu can now open/edit/save/create Excel files with it, as opposed to be forced to convert to Google's format as in the past.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.sheets&hl=en
Click to expand...

It looked like a great tip except for 2 things:
The first time I tried it I screwed up some formulas and there was no way to avoid the edits (even though they were mistakes) from ruining original copy in google drive.

Other problem is some cells inexplicably have ####### as a value even though the actual value in the original is fine and set to 2 decimal places.

It's a shame because my original formulas work.

Do you know a way to NOT save edits to original document in google drive if you don't want to save them?autosave sucks
 
Perhaps OfficeSuite Pro

KEY FEATURES:
• Ability to view, create and edit complex Microsoft Office and PDF files and attachments with a single complete feature-rich application...
 
Do any of these (other than google sheets which is too buggy and ruined by autosave) allow arrays? Docs to go doesn't. Doesn't allow median function either.
 
Micro$oft are bringing out a touch-enabled office at some stage. See ... Touch-enabled Microsoft Office coming to Android tablets before Windows 8 ... for one mention of it.

As for the "other" office apps, remember that Office is a completely proprietary application so the interface to the formats it uses must be reverse-engineered. Having the Excel 'format' develop over many years and iterations of office/windows means that it'd be a real pain to get everything perfectly compatible.

Dave
 
Just allow array functionality including lookups is all I ask. They actually work in google sheets but accessing formulas in google sheets is buggy. Double tap often doesn't work and autosave is a horrible idea. If google sheets can edit and save excel docs with arrays microsoft should be able to. Btw, I'm talking about really small arrays so it isn't a memory or processing problem.

It should also be possible to save excel workbooks to my device rather than be forced to use one drive. I don't trust the cloud for sensitive info.
 
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