Conversion settings: from spreadsheet to HTML

Appizy is a code generator. It writes the equivalent of your spreadsheet into an HTML document. The style is written in CSS. The formulas and functions are written in JavaScript. These 3 languages together create a dynamic web form or web calculator.

All converter settings are explained below in detail. They are presented in the same order they appear in the interface.

Commands

Upload

Appizy supports Office Open XML used by Microsoft Office Excel (.xlsx extension) and OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods extension) used by LibreOffice or OpenOffice. Upload your spreadsheet file here.

We prepared some sample files in case you wish to test the software before. These spreadsheets are tailored to show usages of all conversion options. Do not hesitate to play with them to get a better feeling of the settings. You can also use these files as starting templates for your app.

Convert

Hit the convert button to start the conversion process. Within a few seconds, our algorithm transforms the spreadsheet file into an interactive web tool. This calculator is written in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Download

Plans: BASIC, PRO & PLUS. Accessible with sample files.

The download button is active once you logged into the converter with a valid license. If you are converting a sample file, you will be able to download the code freely. This way you can have a better understanding of the code and how to integrate it later on your website.

The license validity is meant for conversion usage. It will not impact your web-application once downloaded. This one will continue to run without time limitation.

With some basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, you can adjust the generated code.

Mobile preview switch

Activate the switch to reduce the size of the preview window. This setting does not influence the conversion process. It is there to give you a better understanding of how your app will look like on a mobile device.

Content & layout

Plans: PRO & PLUS. Accessible with sample files.

Layouts

Fixed (default): this layout mimics the display of the spreadsheet in a desktop application. If the application is larger than the container a scroll bar appears at the bottom.

Auto: this is very close to Fixed layout. If the application is larger than the container, the width of each column is reduced to keep all the content displayed.

Fluid: with this layout, the content of the application expends to 100% of the containing parents. This is perfect for a 2-columns organization in a mobile application.

Layouts and chart position

The layouts Fluid and Auto are there to create mobile-friendly web applications. When you select one of these layouts, the charts are moved bellow the content of the current tab and taking 100% of container width.

Tabs

In all spreadsheet tools, the tabs are shown below the content. Appizy provides different ways to convert these tabs depending on how you want the user experience to be.

As tab (default): the dynamic tab is the default option. It mimics the behavior of a spreadsheet, but above the application for better accessibility. Tab names stay the same. The end-user can click on each tab to switch from one to another.

List: tab names are listed on top of the page as a table of content. All tab content is listed on a single page. The user can click on the tab name and the page scrolls directly to the concerned tab on the page. This is especially interesting if you have a lot to tabs and want to display all of them on one single page.

None: tabs are simply not exposed in the final web application. This is indented for single sheet application, where you do not want to display an additional empty tab on top of your calculator.

Currency format

A web application has only one currency linked to locale settings. By default, it is US Dollar (with a “.” as decimal separator and “,” as thousands separator).

Use the dropdown to select the currency of the final application. It will also apply the separator for decimal and thousands according to the locale of the currency.

Clear zero inputs

For compatibility reasons with JavaScript, we recommend filling all numeric inputs with a default value. This is especially true with “0” which is commonly left as an empty cell.

On the other hand, you might find that all these “0” overload the interface for nothing. By checking the box, Appizy removes all displayed “0” while keeping the high compatibility between the original spreadsheet and the JavaScript language.

Integration

Plans: PRO & PLUS. Accessible with sample files.

Application title

Title of the application in the <title> ... </title> markup of the HTML file.

Toolbar

Save locally button

This will add the two buttons below the application. The user can click on Save to download his/her data set, and Load re-upload on a later visit.

The file name will use the application title as a prefix for saving the user data. For example, if the application name is “Meal calculator” and, the visitor saves her/his data on August 24th, 2020 then the file will be named: “Meal calculator 2020-08-24.json”.

Calculate button

This will add a Calculate button bellow the application. Instead of updating results when a field is blurred, the end user has to click on it to run the calculations.

Send data button

Click this option if you want to collect data from your application. This is the case if you want to create a contact form or a quotation tool for your website.

Form endpoint (mandatory additional field):

This is the URL of the form endpoint provider you chose (Basin, GetForm).

Selecting this setting will add an additional button below your application, so that your user can choose to print the data from your application (paper print or PDF depending on the settings chosen by your user).

Package

Plans: PLUS. Accessible with sample files.

Package type

One single file (default): this is the default setting. All the code (HTML, JS, CSS) of the application in a single .html file.

Split: the application code is split by language: one file for the HTML markup, one for JavaScript and finally one for the CSS.

NodeJs (beta): the calculations are ready to run on a backend server with NodeJs and Express.

Include vendors

A web app created by Appizy relies on JavaScript libraries delivered by public third-party servers. These are called Content Delivery Network or CDN. These third-party providers are chosen for their reliability.

For various reasons, you might want to be independent of these CDN. It could be the case if you want your app to work offline. In this case, tick the box and convert it again. The JS libraries will be packed within the archive of your file.