Can Wasabee export to spreadsheets?

No.

Can you add the ability to export to spreadsheets.

Yes, we can, but we won't.

But I like spreadsheets

They can be a useful tool, yes.

So, why not allow wasabee data to be exported to spreadsheets?

Because wasabee was created to solve the problems that spreadsheets create; exporting to spreadsheets is a major step backwards.

Also, this is an open-source project and your data is your data. It isn't what we allow, but where we will invest our time. You can build the export tool if you want, but I think it is a waste of money, brains, and time.

So, you hate spreadsheets?

No. Spreadsheets are a tool. They are designed to do a particular kind of job. They do that job. But when you use them to do a job for which they weren't designed, bad things happen. You can use pocket knife to do all the prep for a full multi-course dinner. It is possible. Not wise, but possible. A pocket knife is a tool designed for a job, and has certain advantages. I don't carry a 8-inch chef's knife when hiking. I don't use a cleaver to open Amazon boxes. But, if you have a full kitchen with all the tools, why use the pocket knife for cooking a large meal.

Spreadsheets are designed to tabulate numeric data and do so in a quick, ad-hoc way. They are a "solve this thing once, get me a quick answer" tool, they are not a full data analysis tool for long-lived data shared between multiple users. They are not multi-user; they are intended to be used by one person at a time. Yes, with google sheets all that is not as-true as it used to be. Yes, Excel has brilliant graphing features. But the larger point remains that they are not the right tool for this job. Databases, which are designed for production (rather than prototyping) usages, are a much better fit for this kind of use.

But I like to print them out and ....

Stop right there. For most operations, op data is "live" and frequently changes. A printed out spreadsheet is out-of-date before it is off the printer, unless your op is very small. The checklist in the Wasabee-Mobile app is designed to be up-to-date with the server and easy to read. I've never had my phone blow away in the wind, but I did lose several pages of a printed spreadsheet during an operation once. That was one of the moments when I said, "I need to fix this problem." On that op, and several others, agents had out-of-date sheets on their phones and printed out. Someone always forgets to update the version number. Someone always forgets to print out the most recent copy. Why would you choose to live like that when there are better ways of doing things?

Filling in the spreadsheet helps me learn my lanes.

OK. So fill in your spreadsheet so you can learn your lanes. Then delete your spreadsheet and use the live op data on the server. Your study aids are your tools, and might very well be the best tools for the job of helping you study. That doesn't make them the right tools for running an operation.

But we've always done it this way.

• blanks stare *

My super-secret custom spreadsheet does X and wasabee doesn't

Cool. Tell me what X is and we'll get it added to wasabee if it meets our standards. Or, we'll point you to resources so you can write a plugin that does what you want.

As a side note, I've had several cases where X was an intermediate step along the way to feature Z, but wasabee did Z without the need for X and Y and when I pointed that out, the request for X went away. What are you really trying to achieve other than replicating an old workflow? "Don't automate, obliterate" is one of my mantras. What is the final product, rather than the intermediate steps, when we know that, we can really talk about features.