Collaborate with Real-time Sync, HTML flavor

Use Real-time sync to share a live calculator or smart web form with other users, when the calculator has been converted for the web with the HTML flavor.

SpreadsheetConverter Real-time Sync lets you collaborate on a spreadsheet on the web. Multiple users can update the same electronic form or live calculator at the same time to make the work more efficient. In this help page, we will show you how to create a session and invite other users from a web page created with the HTML flavor of SpreadsheetConverter. There is a similar page describing Real-time Sync in the iPhone/Android flavor.

To create a session, you define a secret key for your calculator web page, then send it to your colleagues in an invitation to join the collaboration session.

Enable Real-time Sync

In Excel, use the Workbook tab on the SpreadsheetConverter task pane to ensure that Real-time Sync is turned on for the calculator after conversion.

Screenshot of the Enable Real-time Sync setting on the Workbook tab of the task pane

Convert the spreadsheet

Open your spreadsheet in Excel. Select the HTML flavor in the SpreadsheetConverter ribbon. Convert the spreadsheet by pressing the Convert button.

Screenshot of the Convert section of the version 10 ribbon

Upload the spreadsheet to a web server

Before you start collaborating on a spreadsheet, you must upload it to a web server. SpreadsheetConverter provides built-in web publishing of forms and calculators.

Open the web calculator in a web browser

To start a collaboration session, you must first open the converted web page on the web in your web browser.

Start Real-time Sync

Click on the Real-time Sync button in the bottom toolbar of the converted web page.

Screenshot of the Real-time Sync button in the toolbar

Enter a Secret key, which should be unique for each session, for your collaboration team (see the screenshot below). Use seven characters or more, preferably using a combination of letters, digits and certain special characters. For more detail, read more about the Real-time Sync security concerns.

Enter your name or e-mail address to identify you during the session. This name will be shown to the others in the session when you change field contents.

Press Connect to create the Real-time Sync session.

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Obtain a link to the session

Click Get Real-time Sync link. When the window to the right appears, copy the link with Ctrl + C.

step4      ste_4

Invite other users to the session

Share the copied link among your colleagues, e.g. by e-mail or chat.

When users enter the session, they provide the name or e-mail address they wish to use during the session.

For your convenience, the secret key is included in the link. If you wish to provide this separately, you should remove it from the link before you share it with others, by removing ?k= and all the text afterward.

Screenshot of the secret key for Real-time Sync at the end of the link

Verify that other users are connected

Use the Real-time Sync button in the bottom toolbar to see all participants in this Real-time Sync session.

participantstryout

 

Start making changes

As connected users make changes to the spreadsheet, a colored arrow appears with their name.

Real-time Sync snapshot

The results are always saved

Each collaboration session is automatically saved after each change. The next time you connect to the session using the same secret key, the calculator or form will contain the values from the last time you used it.

Real-time Sync in action

(Click the image to enlarge the video)

participantstryout1

Shared web pages with saved content

There are many ways to collaborate on an online spreadsheet. Of course, you could just use a screen-sharing program. But only Real-time Sync makes any web spreadsheet persistent, permanent, perpetual – the cloud spreadsheet is saved after every change. If you open the same spreadsheet with the same key two years later, the information you last typed into it is still there.

Screenshot of the signup list on the web

There is a detailed explanation of how you can save data in a cloud spreadsheet in the sign-up list tutorial.

Limitations

Real-time Sync is gradually being added to SpreadsheetConverter. There are currently a few minor limitations. We hope to remove these limitations in the near future.

  1. SpreadsheetConverter Real-time Sync is supported in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer 10 and above.
  2. The spreadsheet must have at least one calculation or formula for Real-time Sync to work.
  3. The spreadsheet must have at least one button in the Toolbar.
  4. The Real-time Sync button can only be added to the bottom toolbar.