Version 5 is in beta test

September 14, 2009: SpreadsheetConverter version 5 adds many new user interface features like calendars, sliders and ratings. We have improved the charts considerably, not to mention the enhanced submit process with support for hidden and required fields, built-in spam protection and much more.

• New graphical widgets: For many kinds of information, there’s always the risk of errors when entering something into a form. This is why we’ve always supported graphical user interface things like dropdown lists and checkboxes. In version 5 you can create an even better user experience, e.g. by using radio buttons when you have just a few alternatives, list boxes when there are a lot of alternatives, calendars to select dates, stars to set ratings and sliders to vary data in real-time.
• Enhanced charting: For long, we’ve been really proud over our dynamic charts that automatically update as you modify a spreadsheet. In version 5 we introduce new chart types like stacked bar and line charts, more formatting options and support for charts with Excel 2007.
• Improved handling of multiple worksheets: If your workbook has more than one sheet, SpreadsheetConverter can create a tab for each sheet, or you can use a panel or “accordion”-style layout that hides all worksheets except the ones you’re currently working with.
• Data entry wizard: Sometimes it’s useful to move through a complex web form one step at a time. The new data entry wizard uses Next and Previous buttons to allow the visitor to advance step-by-step through the form, completing one section after the other. Each sheet in the workbook becomes a separate step in the wizard. To make it easier to navigate within the wizard, small “breadcrumbs” link to the next and preceding step.
• Enhancements to the Professional Edition: The Professional Edition allows you to redistribute your webpage outside your own organization. It supports conversion of additional Excel functions, extra chart types and bigger workbooks, and remembers the unique conversion options for each sheet. A six-month license for the Advanced Submit Service is included in the price of the Pro edition. Read more about the differences between the Standard and Professional editions in the Standard vs Pro feature comparison.
• Advanced options for form submission: When a spreadsheet is used as a web form, it can also be submitted through our free submit service, sending each completed form as an e-mail to your Inbox. Version 5 makes it possible to make form fields mandatory, i.e. the form cannot be submitted as long as the required fields are empty. The new version also adds support for hidden cells that can be used to convey background information like session or user identities, network addresses or timestamps to a background forms processing script. Finally, SpreadsheetConverter now comes with built-in spam protection, preventing spammers from submitting irrelevant forms automatically.
• Updated Advanced Submit Service: The fee-based Advanced Submit Service allows you to store submitted forms on our server until you download them all at once in the file format of your choice. With the Advanced Submit Service, we send you not only the plain contents of a form, but the whole form exactly as it looked on the server when the visitor entered data into it.

Read more about the new version in the version 5 feature summary.

Published on September 14, 2009.