I'm considering using some free web file space hosting service. Do you have any experience with them? I would particularly like to share Excel files, so people will be able to work on them simultaneously.
You can suggest any service that:
- offers free hosting (even with limited storage size)
- allows me to work with it as seamlessly as possible (without installing additional software if possible)
- that will support Excel worksheet sharing/collaboration
I was thinking of checking out several services (hopefully you'll comment on these):
- Google spreadsheets -
no support for in-cell dropdowns to select from a NamedRange valuesis nowadays one of the superbly working alternative to Microsoft Excel which surpases it in simultaneous collaboration/editing EditGrid spreadsheets- same problem as with Google Spreadsheets - no dropdownsBox.net- doesn't seem to support WebDAV or is not working for me and requires separate installationmyDisk.se- keep getting file disconnected errorsgetDropBox.com- requires separate installation not just mapping of network driveiDrive.com- probably more backup than sharing
EDIT
I would also like to point out, that I'm considering only those services that allow me to open the same file (shared workbook) on different machines at the same time and work on them. I'm not just talking about a repository, that you download your file and work on the local copy and then publish it back. I want the capability of a network drive.
(Pre)Final Decision
WebDAV doesn't support concurrent work on Excel files. It does work as single user write access, others read-only which isn't sufficient since users are forced to frequently close/re-open the file. The only way to do this is by sharing files on a network share. I don't think there's a service on the internet that provides this capability in any way shape or form. Am I wrong?
Final Decision
It seems that Google Drive Sheets are the best possible tool to replace Excel. It supports
- in-cell dropdowns,
- vast selection of formulas,
- since 2014 it's very very fast even on large sheets,
- since 2014 (with changed and upgraded interface that also supports text styling in 2015) supports formulas in cell formatting
- has superb live collaboration capabilities
- not to even mention sharing, privacy and publishing
I admit I tried to stay away from Microsoft's Office package for the last 3 years or so and I must gladly admit that I really don't need it. For all that Google Drive offers I'm covered. I don't do complex documents, drawings or presentations so their capabilities are more than sufficient. But I do very complex spreadsheets and I'm particularly pleased with how Sheets evolved over the years and are now a very very mature product.
Note: I've changed accepted answer in 2015 as Google's product really offers everything I require in a very intuitive and performant product.