As well as the obvious choice in Microsoft Excel, there are other programmes, apps and software for the Mac that you may want to consider depending on your requirements. Weve used all the alternatives to Numbers here, so read on for a break down of the your choices when it comes to keeping the books balanced. Apple Numbers 3. 6. Number Crunching Numbers is a good example of how the best Apple software takes difficult tasks and makes them look easy. FoxPDF/WorkstoPDFConverter/AddWorks1.jpg' alt='Sorting In Microsoft Works Spreadsheet To Pdf' title='Sorting In Microsoft Works Spreadsheet To Pdf' />As soon as you type into a cell, the Inspector palette on the right hand side of the spreadsheet displays a list of available functions, and to help new users get started it even displays explanations and examples of how to use each function. Numbers doesnt have the sheer range of functions that youll find in Excel, or support for advanced features such as pivot tables, but it provides a good basic set of functions that will be useful for home users, education and small businesses. And, of course, Numbers also allows you to import and export spreadsheets in Excel format if you need to. Air Gun Modeling Software Seismic Waves more. Graphs And Charts Apple describes numbers as the most beautiful spreadsheet ever, and it does put a lot of emphasis on its graphics tools. A Numbers spreadsheet is really just a blank page where you can place data tables, text and graphics in any layout that you choose. The program includes tools for quickly creating 2. D and 3. D graphs and charts, and even interactive charts that can include simple animations to illustrate changes in data. Collaboration You can share your spreadsheets online with other people by using the online version of Numbers at www. Read more here How to open Apple Numbers files on a Windows PC. However, you cant track changes made to a spreadsheet, and Numbers lacks the more comprehensive collaboration tools found in Google Sheets and Microsofts Office Online. Pros Free with new Macs, lots of help for new users, simple tools for creating charts and attractive layouts. Cons Fewer functions and analytical tools than Excel, limited collaboration tools. Update 1. 6 September 2. Since our review, Apple has added real time collaboration to its i. Work suite. Were pleased to see an update to the i. Work suite, as real time collaboration will help those working in teams, such as global teams in businesses and even students taking part in university group projects. The new version brings the following collaboration updates among others Edit a spreadsheet with others at the same time in Numbers on Mac, i. Pad, i. Phone, and i. Cloud. com Share your spreadsheet publicly or with specific people. See who else is in a spreadsheet. See participants cursors as theyre editing. You can read all our i. Work reviews here Apple Pages, Keynote Numbers reviews. Further information and alternatives to Apples productivity tools Alternatives to Pages Alternatives to Keynote. Microsoft Excel 2. Number Crunching Excel is the big daddy of spreadsheet software, used by businesses all over the world and with hundreds of functions and features crammed into its Ribbon toolbar. The sheer range of features built into Excel can seem daunting, but it includes dozens of templates to help you get started, including spreadsheets for home and personal use, business budgets, time tracking and invoicing. Sorting In Microsoft Works Spreadsheet To Pdf' title='Sorting In Microsoft Works Spreadsheet To Pdf' />The Formula tab on the Ribbon includes a pull down menu that quickly lists standard functions, along with a Formula Builder for creating your own functions and formulae. A second tab on the Ribbon provides more advanced tools such as pivot tables and linking to external data sources such as Filemaker or corporate databases, and even HTML web pages. Graphs And Charts Even Numbers has to tip its hat to the sheer variety of graphs and charts included in Excel. The Charts tab on the Ribbon includes standard options such as bar, area, pie and scatter charts. However, each type of chart also has a separate pull down menu that includes many additional variations, such as 3. D charts, exploded pie charts, or stacked area charts. Excel also includes a special type of chart, called Sparklines, that can help to highlight trends within dense collections of data. Collaboration There are plenty of ways to collaborate with Excel. The Review tab on the Ribbon allows you to track changes made to a spreadsheet, and to control the level of access that you provide to other users. Larger organisations can set up their own servers for in house collaboration using Microsofts Share. Point software, but you can also upload documents to the One. Drive cloud storage service, or use Microsofts Office Online suite of web apps. Excel 2010 cheat sheet How to find your way around Microsoft Excel 2010 and make the most of its new features Preston Gralla and Rich Ericson October 17, 2011. Help for all Office apps. Set up your Office 365 subscription. Find howto articles and video tutorials. Contact our Answer Techs for assisted support. Pros Unrivalled range of spreadsheet features and functions, comprehensive collaboration tools, attractive graphing tools. Cons Expensive, complicated for beginners. Read Office 2. 01. Mac pricing and buying advice. Number Crunching Google Docs includes a number of great features, including many additional functions and new filter views that allow you to hide certain data in order to focus on just the key data within the spreadsheet. Theres a handy quicksum feature that automatically works out the total of a set of selected cells, along with a range selection mode that helps you to quickly select a set of cells for your formula. However, Google Docs doesnt provide as much help for newcomers as Pages, so you do need to be familiar with spreadsheet work and to know the basic functions that youre likely to need. Graphs And Charts Google Docs doesnt have the eye catching 3. D graphs and charts of Numbers, but it does include a quick and easy Chart Editor. This can create a variety of common charts, including bar charts and pie and scatter charts. There are some useful extras here too, such as the ability to superimpose charts over a map, or to create flowcharts and org charts. Collaboration Online collaboration is a strong point with all of Googles online apps although it helps if the people youre sharing with also have Google accounts of their own. You can display your spreadsheet publicly on the web, just send email invitations to specific people, or set up a Google Group for regular collaborators. You can add comments to your spreadsheet, and theres a Revision History option that lets you view previous versions of your spreadsheet. Pros Free, good features for sharing and collaboration. Cons Full collaboration features require a Google account, not ideal for beginners. Apache Open. Office Calc. Number Crunching Calc is the spreadsheet program within the free Open. Office suite. It looks a bit like a mash up of Numbers and Microsoft Excel, as theres a large side deck palette on the right hand side of the screen that is similar to the Inspector palette in Numbers, along with a densely populated toolbar like the Excel ribbon that runs across the top of each document. That cluttered interface might be a bit intimidating for new users but, like Numbers, it does help you out by providing information about all the available functions in the side deck palette. One useful feature is the Detective option, which helps you to work with complex formulae by showing the relationships linking data cells and formulae.