The Num Sum FAQ
- What is Num Sum?
- What's a social spreadsheet?
- I like my existing spreadsheet program.
How is Num Sum or social spreadsheets different or better than my desktop spreadsheet software? - Will Num Sum always be free?
- What's in the paid subscription and how do I get it?
- So how does Num Sum make money?
- Who created Num Sum?
- What are the browser requirements?
- Where can I see other people's spreadsheets?
- What are Tags?
- Are spreadsheets always public?
- Wait, can't someone mess up my Public spreadsheets, then?
- How do I allow my friends (or crewmates or co-workers) to edit my spreadsheet?
- What if more than one of my crew is editing the spreadsheet at the same time?
- Can anyone comment on my spreadsheets?
- Can I post a spreadsheet to my blog?
- When I view a spreadsheet, what's that little orange image that says XML? It looks like:
- What does "Publish As an RSS feed" mean?
- How do I get my existing spreadsheet data into Num Sum?
- How do get data out of Num Sum?
- Can I cut, copy and paste styles and formulas?
- Can I bring more data from Excel into my existing Num Sum spreadsheet?
- Can I resize a column or row?
- Can I make the work area bigger?
- What does Num Sum mean?
- I like the icons on your site. Where can I get them?
- That's it? Got any more docs or online help?
What is Num Sum?
We're a web site that brings you online, simple, sharable web spreadsheets. In other words, you can now create social spreadsheets.
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All you need to join in is a modern web browser.What's a social spreadsheet?
They're spreadsheets that are easily shared with your friends, relatives and co-workers.
And, because they're social, it's also easy to find like-minded people working on the same kinds of spreadsheets and information as you.
go to topI like my existing spreadsheet program.
How is Num Sum or social spreadsheets different or better than my desktop spreadsheet software?Traditional desktop spreadsheet programs have thousands of features, to the point where software companies have run out of good features to add. Instead, they sometimes just give you annoying dancing paper clips. It's reached the point where none of us care anymore if the software companies release yet another upgrade to their spreadsheet programs.
Most of us, too, only use 15 or so features of our spreadsheets.
And, it turns out that spreadsheets are the world's most popular and easiest to use database software.
Yes, that's right. We often use spreadsheets just for keeping track of lists. Lists of names, addresses, customers, DVD's, ski trip rosters, etc.
Traditional spreadsheets are also really bad in one area -- sharability. Emailing spreadsheets is a pain and leads to differing copies of the data. Have you ever tried to merge and consolidate 6 different copies of a spreadsheet that you emailed to your team? Ugh.
Num Sum was built to address those problems.
You and your crew can use easily share Num Sum spreadsheets, as long as y'all have web browsers (and who doesn't?).
go to topWill Num Sum always be free?
Yes, there will always be a free, basic version of Num Sum. It'll be limited in certain ways, but you'll be able to get more when we enable paid subscriptions.
go to topWhat's in the paid subscription and how do I get it?
Gosh, hate to admit this to you right now (and turn away your money), but we're still working on that. In the meantime, please do enjoy your free Num Sum accounts.
go to topSo how does Num Sum make money?
Just like everyone else. Text-based advertising (yes, it's coming), and the aforementioned paid subscriptions.
go to topWho created Num Sum?
The folks behind Num Sum are TrimPath. Which was started by Steve Yen... Aloha!
go to topWhat are the browser requirements?
Firefox 1.5+ and Internet Explorer 6.x. Other web browsers may work, but we haven't tested them.
go to topWhere can I see other people's spreadsheets?
Please click on Everyone's Spreadsheets in the top-right corner. Or, on Tags to see some categorizations.
go to topWhat are Tags?
Tags are just like keywords or categories, except they're shared. So, if you tag your own spreadsheets, you and other folks can easily find your spreadsheets and vice-versa. Tags were popularized by del.icio.us and Flickr, and you can use them here in the same way to categorize and find spreadsheets.
go to topAre spreadsheets always public?
Nope, you can always mark your spreadsheets as Private. To do this, when editing your spreadsheet, click on the Share link, which you'll find below your spreadsheet on the right hand side. A dialog will appear where you can mark your spreadsheet as Private or as Public. Don't forget to Save your sharing changes. By default, new spreadsheets are marked Public instead of Private. Public spreadsheets are viewable by anyone.
go to topWait, can't someone mess up my Public spreadsheets, then?
Nope. Even though everybody can see your Public spreadsheets, only you and your friends (your invited editors) can Save the spreadsheet.
How do I allow my friends (or crewmates or co-workers) to edit my spreadsheet?
When editing your spreadsheet, please click on the Share link, which you'll find below your spreadsheet on the right hand side. A dialog will appear where you can type in the email addresses or Num Sum usernames of your friends (make these comma separated, please). The folks you list here will be allowed to edit your spreadsheet.
Also, in the second textarea, you can write a personal message that we'll email to your friends as you invite them to co-edit your spreadsheet. Your friends will all need to have their own accounts on Num Sum to be able to edit the shared spreadsheet. And don't forget to Save your property changes.
If your friends are already Num Sum members, a link to your spreadsheet will be included in the invitation email. If they are not yet members, or if your spreadsheet is private, they will receive a link to Num Sum asking them to sign up.
You can also share a spreadsheet with emails contained in another spreadsheet. For example, you can create a spreadsheet with your friends' contact info including their email addresses. They can be anywhere in the spreadsheet as long as it's a valid email. After you create another spreadsheet, click on the "Share" link and you can select the contact list spreadsheet you first created from the spreadsheet dropdown. Currently, emails will not be sent to the users in this list, but we are working on a feature that allows you to email them yourself directly! Hint: if there are emails in the contact list spreadsheet that you don't want the spreadsheet shared to, you can prepend the email address with a string like "--abc@123.com".
go to topWhat if more than one of my crew is editing the spreadsheet at the same time?
Ahhh. Conflict resolution. Last one wins. That is, the last person who saves their spreadsheet will have their version kept.
go to topCan anyone comment on my spreadsheets?
Yes, although you have the power to delete any comment on your spreadsheets.
go to topCan I post a spreadsheet to my blog?
Yes, when you're viewing a spreadsheet that you like, just click "Post spreadsheet to my blog". It'll show you a snippet of HTML code that you can copy-and-paste to your blog or other web site.
go to topWhen I view a spreadsheet, what's that little orange image that says XML? It looks like:
The image links to a URL you can use to publish your spreadsheet as an RSS feed. When you click it, if you have a valid RSS-enabled spreadsheet, a page listing the XML content of your spreadsheet will be loaded. Please see 'What does "Publish As an RSS feed" mean?' for more info on publishing a spreadsheet as an RSS feed.
go to topWhat does "Publish As an RSS feed" mean?
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It is a means to easily publish your spreadsheet content to others. In order to make a spreadsheet publishable by RSS, a spreadsheet will need a "Title" and/or "Description" header row. The content in the rows beneath the header will be the items published in the RSS feed. In addition to the Title and Description fields, you can also have columns with "Publish Date", "Category", and "Author" as headers. The author column should contain valid email addresses.
You can see a sample RSS spreadsheet.
For more information on RSS, here's a tutorial.
go to topHow do I get my existing spreadsheet data into Num Sum?
After you login into your Num Sum account, just click on the "Import Data" link. You can then select and copy a range of data from Excel or Open Office Calc and then paste it into the textarea to start a new spreadsheet with pre-populated data.
go to topHow do get data out of Num Sum?
When viewing a spreadsheet, just click on the "Export" link (which you'll find when you click on File button on the top left corner of the spreadsheet). You'll see a list of choices to get the spreadsheet cell data, including CSV and HTML formats.
go to topCan I cut, copy and paste styles and formulas?
Sure. Just drag to select or highlight a range of cells that you'd like to copy.
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Hit Control-C.
Click once on the cell where you'd like to paste the range.
Hit Control-V.
That's it. By the way, any relative cell references in the formulas in the range that you copied should be rewritten and adjusted automatically.
You can also cut cells in the same manner.
Hit Control-X.
Hit Control-V.
Can I bring more data from Excel into my existing Num Sum spreadsheet?
Yes, you can copy and paste data from Excel into your (pre-existing) Num Sum spreadsheet.
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Select the range of data in Excel you want to copy over.
Hit Control-C.
Double-click on the cell where you'd like to paste the data.
Hit Control-V.
And, finally, hit Enter.
By the way, only data is copied, not styles or formulas. We're still figuring out how to get that pasted from Excel.
Can I resize a column or row?
Yep, just click on the lines between columns (or between rows) and drag to resize.
go to topCan I make the work area bigger?
Sure, just click and drag on the bottom edge of the spreadsheet to resize the viewable area.
go to topWhat does Num Sum mean?
It's short for Number Summation. We also think that Num Sum is also evocative of Dim Sum, the light Chinese brunch or meal eaten with family or friends. It also turns out that the SUM() function is the top-most used spreadsheet function (and nobody really knows what the other fancy spreadsheet functions do).
go to topI like the icons on your site. Where can I get them?
Many of our icons were designed in-house. Some we got for free from FamFamFam.
go to topThat's it? Got any more docs or online help?
That's all folks... Until later. By the way, here's a spreadsheet on functions supported by Num Sum. And, there's the same spreadsheet published or exported as a nice looking web page. Also, check out the Num Sum user forum.
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