Update to Google’s online spreadsheet app brings much needed speed and other features.

Google on Wednesday plans to introduce a brand new version of Google Sheets, its online spreadsheet.

Part of the Google Apps suite, Sheets has long stood within the shadow of Microsoft Excel, one of many pillars of that company’s battered but still vital Office empire.

Through a tremendous rewrite in 2010 and the new integration of QuickOffice, Google has managed to make Docs, another a part of Google Apps, right into a viable alternative to Microsoft Word, at the least for creating content and sharing it online. But its spreadsheet still doesn’t get much respect, particularly when used to import files that originated in Excel.

In February, a computer World comparison found “Microsoft’s Excel Web App is superior to Google Spreadsheets,” to claim nothing in regards to the capabilities of the desktop version of Excel. And in a March column, CNET’s Stephen Shankland characterized Sheet’s import capabilities as inferior. “In relation to importing and editing files from the incumbent power, Microsoft Office, Google seriously isn’t meeting even my low-end needs,” he wrote.

The re-creation of Sheets should improve its standing, though it won’t provide complete parity with Excel. But then Google isn’t attempting to clone Excel online. Rather, it seeks to supply a functional alternative that provides unique collaboration capabilities at a more cost-effective price point.

With this latest update, Google has made Sheets faster, removed old size limits, and added the flexibility to create and edit Sheets offline, a feature already found in Docs and Slides. The fidelity of imported files has also been improved through revised text wrapping code, expanded number formatting options, and insect fixes.

[Google’s Web-to-TV media device has also been updated. See Google Chromecast Adds 10 Apps.]

The revised Sheets features a feature called Filter Views that permits users to create custom views of information without altering how data is gifted to others with shared access to the file. This function may be accessed from the information menu.

There are new formulas, like SUMIFS, and a brand new inline help experience, backed by links to online support articles.

Speed have been enhanced significantly, something that’s particularly noticeable when scrolling through large, complex spreadsheets.

Perhaps the foremost meaningful change is the power to create and edit Sheets offline. Folks that have already manage Docs or Slides to work offline can expect Sheets to work offline without doing anything. Other users must install the Google Drive Chrome Web app — the offline functionality for Google Apps is obtainable only to Chrome users.

Sheets also adds the flexibility to create spreadsheet tabs with different colors for less complicated visual identification. It truly is available initially on an opt-in basis so Google can collect feedback and make changes if necessary. To apply the hot software, select the Setting menu item in Google Drive, choose the Editing tab, and click on the “Try the brand new Google Sheets” checkbox.

Thomas Claburn is editor-at-large for InformationWeek. He have been writing about business and technology since 1996, for publications along with New Architect, PC Computing, InformationWeek, Salon, Wired, and Ziff Davis Smart Business. Before that, he worked in film and tv. He’s the writer of a science fiction novel, Reflecting Fires, and his mobile game Blocfall Free is on the market for iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire.

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