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Spreadsheet Professional provides a number of tools that helps you to understand and test spreadsheets. These tools include:
Maps are fundamental to understanding and testing excel spreadsheets. As you can see, we had a spreadsheet here, and when we generate a map, it generates this sheet. A L means that in that same cell on the other spreadsheet there is a label or text, a N means there is a number, a F means there is a formula, this less than sign ( < ) means that this cell is an exact copy of the cell to the left. So as you can see the whole structure looks quiet nice but we have a formula here that is different. So if we go to cell H9 in the original spreadsheet. You can see that we have a formula here and someone has added plus 10 which is incorrect in terms of the other cells next to it. So with a map you can quickly identify some typical and common errors.
Spreadsheet Professional's calculation tests highlight cells that appear to be risky based on a number of tests. These tests include things like looking for unused input values, so a value that is in the Spreadsheet but not used in any calculation. The question is should it be there or is it an error. Blank cells referenced, so formulas that refer to blank cells, numbers sitting in formula. VLOOKUP functions, NPV functions. These tests will help prioritise where you need to look to identify and find the errors.
The Spreadsheet Professional comparison tool allows you to compare 2 spreadsheets to compare differences in either inputs, formulas or the results. In this way you can quickly identify these differences, it will tell you the cell, what the formula looks like in one spreadsheet and what it looks like in another spreadsheet. YOu can quickly see whether these make sense or whether there is an error in here somewhere.
The Spreadsheet Formula tracer gives you a better understanding of what makes up a cells formula. So for example, if we click on this cell here and activate the Spreadsheet Formula Tracer we get a visual diagram of what is happening in that cell and what it will do is try and convert it into English, give you the english name (Capital Amount), give you the number and the calculation. You can then, to get a better understanding of what is happening in this Excel spreadsheet drill deeper to understand the cells and there interaction better all the way until you get to the red cells which is where the inputs are