1. What is EditGrid?

EditGrid is an online spreadsheet service with real-time-update (RTU) and extensive collaboration features.

2. Why use EditGrid?

In addition to the everyday spreadsheet functionality you'll ever need, EditGrid solves the spreadsheet collaboration problem by allowing concurrent viewing and editing by multiple users in real-time, and enable powerful features made possible by the web. Spreadsheets hosted on EditGrid are easy to share, and always accessible anytime, anywhere with an Internet connection.

3. What is difference between EditGrid and other spreadsheet applications and online spreadsheets?

EditGrid offers a real-time spreadsheet collaboration for our users. The fundamental differences between EditGrid and desktop spreadsheet applications includes its real-time-update (RTU) and collaboration capabilities. To compare EditGrid with Excel or other online spreadsheets, here is a spreadsheet comparison matrix.

4. How do I get started?

Getting started is easy. To sign up for EditGrid, simply click here and follow the on-screen instruction. If you would like to learn more about EditGrid, this online tutorial is an excellent place for you to start experiencing our service.

5. What is an online spreadsheet?

An online spreadsheet is an online application that allows users to create, edit and share spreadsheets on the web.

6. Will you do other office apps?

In the first place, we keep our focus on spreadsheet market. In the next step, we will endeavour to make our spreadsheet better.

7. What is the benefit of EditGrid over Excel in shared mode, where multiple people can edit the sheet?

EditGrid provides a more intuitive solution to facilitate collaboration over Excel in shared mode in four aspects:

1. Accessibility: EditGrid stores your online spreadsheets on the web, accessible any time, any place. In comparison, Excel needs a physical disk-drive, using either Windows' shared folder or a file server.
2. Collaboration: EditGrid's Real-Time-Update(RTU) feature enables concurrent editing, saving and reflecting updates simultaneously. On the other hand, changes to Excel's shared spreadsheets would only be updated after a duration of at least 5 minutes for its autosave function.
3. Functionality: All EditGrid features are usable when multiple users are editing the collaborative spreadsheets at the same time. But for Excel in shared mode, important features, like charting, are disabled.
4. Fine-Grained Privileges: Each EditGrid spreadsheet is specified with privileges for viewing and editing, while the relay of an Excel file defined in the file system restricts a user to view all changes in real-time even in a shared mode.

1. How can my company or product be your partner?

No matter whether you are a developer of the next killer-app, a system integrator or a channel distributor, we look forward to partner with you. Write us at partnership@editgrid.com if you are interested.

1. Do I need to install or download any software to use EditGrid?

No. To use EditGrid, all you need is simply a web browser that supports JavaScript (most modern web browsers do that). For a list of all supported browsers, please refer to the supported browser list.

2. What is RTU? What would happen if two users work on the same spreadsheet?

RTU means "Real-Time Update", which is a core capability of EditGrid. RTU enables multiple users to work on the same spreadsheet simultaneously, with changes made by one user automatically updated to the other's working copy in real time.

3. Is EditGrid available in other languages besides English?

In addition to the English version, EditGrid is available in eight other languages: German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, largely thanks to the community who contributed in the EditGrid localisation project.

4. What spreadsheets features are missing in EditGrid?

We are continuously improving EditGrid. Notable missing features for the time being include:

• macro
• pivot table
• auto-filter
• data validation
• cell merge

1. Is EditGrid secure?

In one word, yes. Your spreadsheets are published to public or readable by another user only if you have given express permission. Your data are stored on our servers whose security is guaranteed by world-class data centre service. All traffic of login and password are SSL-encrypted. Our organisation users would further enjoy SSL-encryption for all traffic after logged in.

2. Are our data backed up in case of emergencies?

Yes. Spreadsheets hosted on EditGrid are backed up on two levels:

1. Past revisions are automatically saved. You can readily view and roll back to a past revision on the History tab.
2. All spreadsheet data are stored in a database management system on our server farm, which is equipped with a local instant redundancy site and both local and off-shore daily backups. In case of emergencies, we are able to recover spreadsheet data either from the local redundancy site or, in the worst case, a daily backup either on-site or off-shore.

1. How does the 30-day free trial work?

When you sign up for a free trial, you can use EditGrid for 30 days free-of-charge. The trial account is fully functional, i.e. it behaves exactly the same as a paid account. At the end of the free-trial period, if you would like to continue using EditGrid you can subscribe via PayPal. Your data will be retained for an additional 7-day payment grace period after the free-trial period ends, so that you will have ample space and time to decide whether to continue using EditGrid or not.

2. What are the differences between organisation account and personal account?

The fundamental differences between organisation account and personal account are:

1. SSL-encrypted traffic throughout the session;
2. enterprise user account management; and
3. multiple shared workspaces.

3. How much does EditGrid cost?

EditGrid is free-of-charge for personal users. For organisation users we charge US$5 per user per month. Academic and non-profit-making organisations are entitled to a discounted price at US$2.5 per user per month. For a fuller comparison of different account types, please refer to the Services & Pricing page.

4. Is EditGrid free? Will EditGrid always be free?

EditGrid's personal accounts are free, and will always be free. Personal accounts provide most, if not all, of the spreadsheet features, which should be sufficient for personal users. Personal accounts, however, are not entitled to SSL-encrypted traffic, shared workspaces, user account management and other advanced features reserved for organisation accounts. For more information on account types and fees, please refer to the Services & Pricing page.

5. Do you have special pricing for non-profit, universities or other groups in need?

A special price of US$2.5 per user per month is available for all academic and non-profit-making organisations.

6. What is the process for ordering your EditGrid product?

Here's an outline of the subscription process:

1. All organisation accounts are entitled to a 30-day free-trial period upon sign-up. You can choose to upgrade to subscription service any time before the end of the free-trial period.
2. To upgrade, you must first log in as an organisation administrator account.
3. Upon login, click |Organisation|, then go to the |Subscription| tab.
4. Click the button [Sign Up Now!].
5. Follow the on-screen instruction to complete the subscription process. In particular, pay attention to the number of user licenses to subscribe. You can set it to any number not smaller than the number of user accounts already under your organisation. We will charge you on a monthly basis calculated by the number of user licenses subscribed at each billing date. You can increase or decrease the number of user licenses subscribed at any time after you have upgraded to subscription service.
6. Once you've filled in the necessary fields and click [Upgrade Now!], it will bring you to the PayPal page. PayPal is a global online payment system through which you can send money for goods and services online in a secure manner. You may need to first sign up for an PayPal account at http://www.paypal.com/ and verify your credit card information there before proceeding to sign up at EditGrid.
7. Once you've signed up for an PayPal account, logged in there and authorised the payment, you will be redirected back to EditGrid and you shall see that your subscription is confirmed and successful.

7. Which payment methods are accepted, and what are your payment terms?

We accept payment via PayPal, which is a global online payment system through which you can send money for goods and services online in a secure manner. PayPal supports all major credit cards and bank transfers.

Subscription fee is automatically charged at your PayPal account every month. For late payment, due to insufficient funds or other reason, we allow a 7-day payment grace period. Once the grace period is over and the payment is still not cleared, your account will be disabled.

8. What is your refund policy or is there any acceptance period offered?

We accept payment by PayPal and we bill subscribers on a monthly basis in advance in accordance with the number of user licenses subscribed at the time of billing and the applicable rate of subscription fee per user per month. For subscription payments, we do not charge any subscription fees more than one month in advance, and you are free to increase, decrease or cancel your subscription of user licenses at any time. When you do so, any implication to your monthly subscription fee will take effect only at your next bill -- no subscription fee will be charged retrospectively for any user license that has been subscribed but not paid for, and no refunds or credits will be provided for any user license that have been paid for but is subsequently unused or unsubscribed.

For details, please refer to the Terms of Subscription.

9. Do you accept advanced payment for one year instead of charging my PayPal account on a monthly basis?

Yes. If you would like to arrange advanced payment, please contact one of our staff by sending an email to cs@editgrid.com for further arrangements.

1. How does EditGrid Standard License work?

EditGrid is available to be installed on your own private server with different pricing plans. Each new license entitles you to use EditGrid permanently, and it also include first year's software maintenance (support and updates), commencing from the date of purchase. After the first year, it is entirely optional for you to renew software maintenance at an affordable price.

2. Do you offer free trial for EditGrid Standard License?

Yes. We offer 30-day free trial for EditGrid Standard License with full features to be installed on your server. If you are interested in trying out the EditGrid software on your private server, please fill in the free trial order form .

3. What is the ordering process of purchasing EditGrid Standard License?

Order would begin from the 30-day free trial, in order to ensure you have tried the system out thoroughly before proceeding to use it as production tool. The ordering process should follow these steps:

1. Fill in the free trial order form with an email address to be the main contact point to sign up for the 30-day free trial
2. One of the EditGrid Sales Representatives will contact you via the email address that you have verified with an EditGrid Evaluation Agreement for your to agree and sign on
3. Once we have received your signed copy of the EditGrid Evaluation Agreement, we will release the trial version of EditGrid Software, together with an installation guide to assist you with the progress
4. Your free trial license key will also be released for you to complete the installation of EditGrid, to ensure that you can run EditGrid fully for 30-days
5. We will remind you for the expiry of your free trial version, once you have decided to purchase
6. If you have decided to purchase the EditGrid software, we will release an invoice for you to settle the bill
7. When payment is received, we will release an EditGrid softare update to upgrade to the full version, and a new license key for using EditGrid permanently.

4. How many user licenses do I need?

The number of user licenses needed depends on the scale of your organisation and the number of user accounts needed for using EditGrid. We offer different pricing plans to suit different organisation needs, there is a minimum of 25 user licenses upon purchase.

If you have many users and that one node is not enough to bear the work load, then you should considering purchasing an Additional Node Licenses to have multiple copies of EditGrid to run as a single connected cluster.

5. What is a user?

A user in this context means an active user account under the organisation account at the time of billing (de-activated accounts do not count).

6. What is the difference between the services on EditGrid.com and EditGrid Standard License?

Services on EditGrid.com are hosting on our servers, whilst EditGrid Standard License would be installed and hosted on your own server. The functionality are basically the same, that all the features available on EditGrid.com are also available on the Standard License version, however some beta products may not be supported on EditGrid Standard License version.

Note that remote data and exporting in pdf and open document formats would be missing in the EditGrid Software installed on your server.

Account management is slightly different from EditGrid.com too. All the personal accounts will be disabled, once the installation of the EditGrid Software is completed, you are asked to create one single organisation acount. All the users created in the system would be under the same organisation account. All users are asked to login in the default organisation login page at http://www.yourdomainname.com/orgname .

7. How much does EditGrid Standard License cost?

We provide different price plans to best suit different organisations at different sizes from a minimum of 25 Users to unlimited users. Please visit here for the price list. Each new license comes with the first year's software maintenance (support and updates) commencing from the date of purchase, and entitles for permanent use.

After the first year, it is entirely option but highly recommanded for you to renew software maintenance for another year. The price for renewing software maintenance can be found here.

If your organisation is academic or non-profit, we offer a 50% discount for all the packages. If you have would like to have further information, please contact one of the EditGrid Sales Representative at sales@editgrid.com.

8. How do I customise the looks of EditGrid to be more representative to our organisation?

You can customise the logo and organisation name for the login page. Customisation for the look-and-feel is limited at the moment but we hope to provide more flexibility on this issue in the near future.

9. Do I get help on installation?

Installation instructions are provided once the purchase or free-trial order is confirmed, our service team technicians will guide you through the installation process if needed.

However, our technicians can also remoately access to your server to install EditGrid for you at an additional cost (on-site installation not supported). Please contact our sales team at sales@editgrid.com for further arrangements.

10. How secure will my data be under EditGrid Standard License?

EditGrid Standard License is installed on your own server, so it is up to you to configure the security level on the server to ensure each transaction is safe and that no undesired access would be granted.

The EditGrid Software automatically generates a self-cooked SSL certificate if one is not present before the installation process. You can also buy an SSL certificate from any trusted certificate authority in place of the self-cooked one for better trustworthiness. A "wildcard certificate" may be required in some cases (the domain for the certificate would look like "*.yourdomain.com" for a wildcard certificate).

If your organisation has its own Certificate Authority such that you managed to manually trust it on all browsers you use, you can generate your own wildcard certificate at no cost.

If you need any guidance on installing SSL certificate, please contact the EditGrid Service Team at service@editgrid.com .

11. Is software updates and technical support provided with EditGrid Standard License?

Yes. Each EditGrid Standard License package has already include software updates and technical support for the purchased year. Our dedicated Service Team is always here to help you to solve the problems that you have encountered with EditGrid.

If you would need engineering support, that is, if you would require our Service Team members to actually fix the tasks/problems for you by remote accessing to your server, we could also provide such service at cost, please contact one of the EditGrid Sales Representatives at sales@editgrid.com for more information.

12. Do I get technical support and how does your support services work?

Our dedicated service team will provide technical support within the software maintenance period.

Technical support for problems encountered during installation, upgrade or maintenance of EditGrid is provided in both English and Chinese via email to the EditGrid Service Team at service@editgrid.com. All the emails will be answered within 1 working day.

Phone contact is available for emergencies only. Emergency calls will reach our on-call technicians immediately.

Engineering support is also available at cost. Since technical support only provides ways to resolve your issues, engineering support would have our service team technicians to have the problem fixed for you. For example you may want us to remotely access your server to install or update EditGrid to a newer version for you, or if there is any maintenance job that you would like us to perform on your behalf then these kind of services are counted as engineering support (on-site support not included).

For more information on how to order engineering support, please email to sales@editgrid.com.

13. Does EditGrid Standard License support LDAP as basis for user management?

Yes. Note that each user created by LDAP would need to login once before his/her account is activated. In other words, before you can do actions like share a spreadsheet to a user, the target user must be logged in at least once in order to do so.

14. Can I try EditGrid Standard License before I make a purchase?

Sure, we offer 30-day evaluation copy of EditGrid Standard License for free, simply fill in the free trial order form or contact one of the EditGrid Sales Representatives at sales@editgrid.com and we are happy to assist you to complete the evaluation process to start using EditGrid on your server.

15. Can I migrate my organisation account data from EditGrid.com to the EditGrid installed on my own server?

Migration from EditGrid.com to your version of EditGrid is possible but it is only available at cost. It will usually take 5 working days to have the migration process completed.

It can be a very complicated and costly progress, so if you are considering trial running EditGrid but you are targeting to run it on your server at the end, please let us know and we would arrange trial version for you to install on your server, instead of trying it on EditGrid.com.

If you would like to perform the migration from EditGrid.com to the EditGrid on your server and would like to learn more about the costs and other related issues, please contact one of the Sales Representatives at sales@editgrid.com .

16. What is the technical requirements for EditGrid Standard Licensing?

Ubuntu 6.06 (Long Term Support) Server Edition installed on an Intel or AMD machine with the following configuration:

• Pentium 4 minimum, Dual Core processor recommended.
• Memory: 1 GB minimum, 2 GB recommended.
• Hard drive: 40 GB minimum, 160 GB or above recommended.

17. Can EditGrid be installed on something other than Ubuntu 6.06 Server Edition?

No. At the moment, EditGrid can only be installed on Ubuntu 6.06 Server Edition. However, we are investigating the possibility of installing EditGrid onto other operating systems, like the Red Head Enterprise Linux.

If you cannot managed to get your machine to run Ubuntu, perhaps you could consider installing VM running Ubuntu on your RHEL because some of our customers do it this way.

18. Who is responsible for the backup for the data stored on EditGrid Standard Licensing?

You are responsible for backup of the database data. Standard backup procedure for MySQL systems using InnoDB engine applies. You can also opt to install the database on separate hardware (running MySQL 5.1.51+ on any operating system you prefer) to facilitate your backup need.

1. Where can I find the documentation of EditGrid?

EditGrid documentation is available on the EditGrid Wiki. Besides wiki, the EditGrid Forum and EditGrid Blog also provide you useful tips and example uses of EditGrid.

2. Where can I find support from you?

Our user forum opens to all users, so whether you have encountered any problem with using EditGrid, or you would like to report a bug, or you have any feature requests, you are free to use the forum. Our forum uses a separate login system, so before you can make use of it, you need to sign up for an account there.

Organisation users can enjoy email support by writing an email to cs@editgrid.com, one of our support staff will reply you within 1 business day for dedicated help and support.

3. Can I request a feature or report a bug?

If you want to request a feature or report a bug, please go to our user forum. Or if you have encountered any problem you would like to contact our team directly, you may also send us email at cs@editgrid.com .