FAQ

What do we do?
We convert your local stand-alone Spreadsheet into a multi-user web application with centralized data storage and optional data consolidation features.

Who needs it?
Everybody who wants to instantly collect, aggregate and analyze data from multiple users and multiple locations in no time and with no hassle.

How does it work?
It is simple. You create a spreadsheet and upload it on the server. Than you use the Web Browser to run the spreadsheet application.

What does multi-user mean?
Each application is capable of handling data from multiple users. The data generated by each user is stored separately, but can optionally be aggregated by others as needed.

What do we mean by consolidation features?
The Worksheet Server™ enables you to define arbitrary reporting entities (for example regions, cost centers or product groups) in a hierarchical manner. The server then accepts one set of data for each reporting entity and allows the aggregation of data according to the predefined entity hierarchy.

Do I need a license for Microsoft Excel?
No. Only to initially create the spreadsheet you need one (!) copy of your favourite spreadsheet application

Which Spreadsheet-Formats are supported?
We support Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice.org Calc, Star Office Calc and Lotus 123.

Where is the data stored?
We convert your local stand-alone Spreadsheet into a multi-user web application with centralized data storage and optional data consolidation features.

What do we do?
We convert your local stand-alone Spreadsheet into a multi-user web application with centralized data storage and optional data consolidation features.

Spreadsheets are perfect as long as you are the only one person who enters the data. If you want to collect and analyze data from multiple users, you will most probably send the spreadsheet via email to the intended recipients and wait for the information to return by email. You will end up with multiple copies of the spreadsheet, each containing parts of the overall data.

To consolidate the data you will either cut-and-paste all incoming spreadsheets manually or you will have to write some macro program, to do the work for you. Either way, it will be difficult to maintain data consistency. Furthermore, storing important data as a collection of loosely connected spreadsheets is certainly not something which will impresses your IT-Department.

Also, keep in mind that transporting confidential figures by standard email exposes the inner secrets of your company to a high security risk.

The Worksheet Server™ offers a far more elegant solution. All data is stored in an encrypted format on a central server. Users can enter or read data through a secure Internet or intranet connection. Since all data is stored centrally, data query, data consolidation and data backups can be done quickly and easily, from any location.

And your IT-Department will love it! Especially if you tell them that they don't even have to install a spreadsheet or office application on the client's machine. Any current web browser will do!

Who needs it?

Everybody who wants to instantly collect, aggregate and analyze data from multiple users and multiple locations in no time and with no hassle.

A corporate sales manager can easily collect sales data from regional sales managers or local sales people within seconds. A corporate controller will quickly get financial data from all national and international subsidiaries.

Employees of a consulting company can enter the chargeable hours that they did for a certain client. Seconds later, the management has the overall amount of all chargeable hours for all their consultants worldwide.

A corporate bank or an insurance company can create standardized applications for risk analysis, financial statements or other client data and easily deliver the applications to hundreds of work places.

With the enormous flexibility of spreadsheets in mind, it is easy to conceive other uses for the Worksheet Server™. And it is all done within minutes.

How does it works?

You create a spreadsheet as usual. Then you upload the spreadsheet file to the Worksheet-Server. A hyperlink is generated, which launches the application in any current Web Browser. Now, you can instantly begin to enter data and watch the application recalculate all its formulas and links. No Office Application needs to be installed on the machine and you do not have to worry about downloading or installing Applets or ActiveX Controllers.

The Browser only receives standard HTML and a few lines of Javascript. All the rest is done by the Worksheet Server™. Since it is HTML, it is easy to integrate Worksheet Server™ Applications with existing intranet or internet portals. You can even change the appearance of the application by defining your own application skins.

Today's spreadsheet applications are typically Single-User applications. If several people need to enter data in the same spreadsheet template, each of them will have to save his own copy of the spreadsheet on his workspace. You end up with a collection of spreadsheets distributed over several locations. It is very difficult to maintain or consolidate this data.

The Worksheet Server™ stores the data of all users at one central location. This make it easy to keep the data consistent and do all kinds of aggregations or queries. In addition, the complete database can be downloaded in CSV- or XML-Format to be processed in subsequent applications. Of course, since the data provided by all users is kept together, it is also possible to easily backup everything onto a single file.

Image you have 4 sales regions named North, South, East and West. Usually you would create one worksheet for each of the regions and one additional sheet for the sum of all regions. Then you would have to create links and formulas to get the consolidated figures of all four sales regions.

Using the Worksheet Server™ you would only define one worksheet. Then you would simply define a hierachical structure of reporting entities as follows:

Total
- North
- West
- South
- East

In this case, the Worksheet Server™ automatically creates one set of data for each of the four base reporting entities. If you want to see the consolidated figures, you would simply select the reporting entity 'Total' and the Worksheet Server™ would automatically add up the data of the four entities.

Do I need a license for Microsoft Excel?
No. Only to initially create the spreadsheet you need one (!) copy of your favourite spreadsheet application. All clients that run the application through the browser do not require a spreadsheet program to be installed on their machines and subsequently do not need a license.

The only requirement on the client is a current Internet-Browser like Netscape, Opera or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Which Spreadsheet-Formats are supported?

We support Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice.org Calc, Star Office Calc and Lotus 123.

Please note that there are some things to keep in mind when creating a worksheet for the Worksheet Server™. There are also some limitions. Please read the 'Step-by-Step', 'Tips & Tricks' and 'Restrictions' pages thoroughly before submitting any worksheets to the server.

Where is the data stored?
The data is physically stored on the Worksheet Server™ in a highly encrypted format. It can only be accessed through a secure (128-bit SSL) Internet connection.

If you are worried about server admins that might look at your data directly on the server you can additionally activate a so-called 'Crypto-Key'. The Crypto-Key is used further encrypt your data on the server. The phrase is not stored on the server, so we don't know it and no admin can ever look at your data.

There is a downside to the Crypto-Key: If you forget the Crypto-Key, your data is gone forever.