Slate

Slate

Making Spreadsheets Understandable.

2 followers

Launch tags:
Tech
Launch Team

What do you think? …

Fraser Atkins
@jtriest at the moment, no. We are focussing initially on Excel for windows as it's by far the biggest market but have developed it so it is pretty flexible regardless of spreadsheet application. Stay tuned!
Adam Sigel
@jtriest It's not nearly as elegant or fully-formed as Slate, but you can do this in any version of Excel by going to Tools > Auditing > Trace Precedents. It's more for finding squeaky wheels than visualizing source data.
Fraser Atkins
@adamsigel Hi Adam, in a way you can consider this version of Slate as a "turbocharged trace precedents". However, unlike trace precedents, we display the *logic* of the calculations and show cells from different worksheets and workbooks!
Calvin Liu
I was formerly an i-banker/consultant which means I lived in complex spreadsheets. Can't believe this only exists in 2014.5. I'm on OSX so can't try it now but on the surface it looks like an awesome and much needed tool.
Fraser Atkins
@cjl49 Thanks for your comments - sounds like you would certainly have benefitted from Slate! If you are able to get hold of a Windows computer or boot up a virtual machine, it would be great to hear any other feedback you have.
Calvin Liu
@fraseratkins I'm happy to try, though it may take me a few days :) actually I'll share Slate with a couple current bankers/consultants and see if they have any thoughts.
Fraser Atkins
@cjl49 Excellent :) Please do share and feel free to pass on my email (fraser@useslate.com) too if that helps.
Kevin William David
If you use spreadsheets a lot like me, this is a great add-on.It takes your existing spreadsheet and visualizes it as a logical interactive flowchart.Select a cell and see its formula visually in a flowchart. Expanding each level in the visualization allows you to follow the trail of calculations. Helps document and explain the logic of your own spreadsheets and easily understand other people's spreadsheets!