A lot of the information we come across just doesn't line up neatly
into rows and columns. Intuition tells us we can't put our records
into spreadsheets. Practice, on the other hand, has shown that
putting our records into rows and columns is great for two reasons:
(1) it helps us see what's missing, and (2) it helps us understand
what's there! Most people have a spreadsheet programs on their
computers, and it's time to put these programs to work on our family
history mysteries.
What Is It?
Spreadsheets are not new. We've had them as long as we've had ledger
paper. I remember using four-, 10-, and 20-column paper. It was a
useful tool for lining up numbers, but it couldn't automatically
update the ledger when I changed one of the numbers.
Electronic spreadsheets simulate ledger paper. They contain words,
numbers, and formulas—arranged in rows and columns. Typically, a
spreadsheet is a list of similar items, with each row representing a
particular item and each column representing some particular
characteristic of those items.
For example, if your family history program can export a report to a
spreadsheet, you might make a list of names, birth dates,
birthplaces, death dates, and death places. The spreadsheet would lay
the information out so that each row represented a person in your
report and each column represented, say, the person's name, birth
date, or death information. If your data is like mine, some entries
are missing.
Name Two of Them
There are three popular electronic spreadsheets: Microsoft Excel,
Lotus 1-2-3, and Corel's Quattro Pro. They can all read each other's
files, and they perform the same basic functions. I'm partial to
Excel, because I use Microsoft Access a lot, and Excel works well
with Access.
When It Works, What Does It Do?
As I mentioned above, spreadsheets can be really useful in several
ways. I want to focus on the basics at this time. In each cell of a
worksheet, you will find a word, a number, or a formula. Formulas
give worksheets power because they can easily be copied to produce
effective lists of numbers. Then, when the information has been
entered, it can be sorted in ways that make it easier to spot missing
data and clean up data that is clearly wrong, such as two-digit
numbers in a column that is supposed to hold years.
What's the Downside?
I don't see a down side to improving one's skills with spreadsheets,
but there are a couple of things to warn you about. One is that you
should learn the "Save" and "Save As" functions first. I really don't
like to hear that people have lost an hour's worth of work because
they did not save their file. I also don't like it when I change a
worksheet and then save it over the original accidentally. You won't
need to make these mistakes many times before you master these two
processes.
Another is learning how to copy formulas. If you learn a few of the
basics, you can avoid having to retype formulas—you can simply copy
them like the wind (but be careful not to ruin a trailer home).
How Do I Know If It's Not Working?
I sometimes get the dreaded #NAME# as a formula result. That's almost
always a sign that I've attempted to perform an arithmetic function
on a word. This is especially tricky when the value in the cell is a
number, but it has a space or two in front of it and looks like a
word. Spreadsheets see such entries as words and don't perform
arithmetic functions on them well.
What If I Change Computers?
As a rule, you'll want to reinstall the software and copy your data.
You can easily copy your worksheets to a floppy disk or CD. Be sure
to make copies so you can use them. And one caveat: If you make
formulas that link to other worksheets, they will only work if the
folder names and paths on the new computer are the same as on the old
one (such as C:\My Documents\My Genealogy).
What's the Genealogy Tie-in?
Spreadsheets are excellent tools for tracking census information for
a family across a number of censuses. They can also help you spot
hidden patterns in some historical lists, if you gather information
from multiple sources of records, such as church records, immigration
records, and "old country" records.
Link Me Up (More stars is better)
What Else?
Spreadsheets are the "baking soda" of computer programs; people put
them to a variety of uses. Some people use them for graphics
programs, some people use them for databases, and some people use
them for electronic forms.
One of my favorite capabilities is called "conditional formatting."
This is a feature that changes the format of a particular cell based
on its content, or the relationship between the content and some
other cell. With this function, it is possible, for example, to
average a column of numbers and to display the numbers above the
average in red and the numbers below the average in blue.
Beau Sharbrough is the president of GENTECH, the founder of the GENTECH and FGS Web sites, and a founder of the Lexicon Working Group. He would like to hear from you at beau@sharbrough.net, but due to the volume of e-mail received, he is unable to answer every e-mail message received. Please note that he cannot assist you with your individual computer problems. Visit Beau's Web site for information about speaking engagements. Beau is the father of two college-age girls and is another insufferable graduate of Texas A&M University.
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