FAQ

What are the limitations?

Appizy does convert pivot tables nor macros. Conditional formatting is not ported to the web application.

Why a cell is not converted as an input field?

For Appizy a cell is an input only if it is referred to by a formula in another cell. If your cell is not editable after conversion it either not used anywhere or it contains a formula. In Excel you can trace dependents of a cell. Appizy will render an input field if your cell has at least one dependent.

A cell with 3 dependents. It will be converted into an input field.

Same holds true for a cell with data validation. Appizy will render a dropdown menu only if another formula uses this cell as an input.

What is the biggest file size Appizy can convert?

We recommended a spreadsheet size below 1Mb.

The limit is quite empiric. A normal app displays a couple of hundred cells and manages a few thousand in the background for calculations. The more cell you have, the slower the app will be for the end-user. Large files usually contain lots of data. Is this case, your app might require a database. Appizy is not able to create such apps.

Based on our experience large files are spreadsheet tools that have been developed in a long time frame. At some point, you want to convert with Appizy but it turns out to be not working. Another approach can be: knowing you can use Excel with Appizy to develop a web application, how can you re-build a spreadsheet that will become a great web app.

Here is how to quickly get your first app working :

  1. Start from a simple file (maybe one of the sample applications),
  2. Read the best practices to organize the elements of your app,
  3. Import the minimum logic from your existing tool into the newly created file,
  4. Convert your file to a web app (test different settings, layouts, tabs),
  5. Download the code and add it your website,
  6. Get feedback from other users.

At step 6, you have already a minimum application running. You can now iterate over steps 3 to 6 to continue the development of your web app in an Agile way. You might also create multiple small apps instead of a big one. Remember less is more! Small apps are easy to understand for the end-user and faster to load.