Computer Skills

Beginner

60 mins

Teacher/Student led

+80 XP

What you need:
Chromebook/Laptop/PC or iPad/Tablet

Saving, File Formats & Versioning

Learn to save spreadsheets in the right format for each reader, export to .xlsx, .csv and .pdf, and use version history to recover from mistakes without losing work.

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1 Introduction
2 Key Concepts
3 Step-by-step: Break and Restore a Sample Sheet
4 Common Issues
5 Independent Practice: Save and Version Your Project Budget
6 Reflection
7 Lesson Summary
Quiz

1 - Introduction

Welcome

Your project budget is only useful if the right person can open it on their device and know which numbers are the latest. Today you'll learn the three spreadsheet formats people actually send each other, and how the cloud quietly saves every version of your work so a mistake is never permanent. These are small habits that save you real time when someone says the numbers don't match, or when you hit delete on the wrong row.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Save a spreadsheet as .xlsx and export it as .csv and .pdf, and pick the right format for the reader
Use version history in a cloud spreadsheet to find and preview older versions
Roll a spreadsheet back to a prior version to recover from a mistake

Warm-up

Imagine you email your project budget to someone at a work placement. They open it on their phone and the columns run off the screen, numbers are unreadable. Which format would have shown them a clean, printable copy? Why didn't the .xlsx behave the same way?

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+5 XP

2 - Key Concepts

Four ideas sit behind every save, export, and rollback you'll do in this lesson. Read through the table and notice the third column, which shows where each one lands in your own project.

Concept	Why it matters	Example
.xlsx — the native spreadsheet format. Keeps formulas, multiple sheets, formatting, and column widths.	If the reader might want to change a number and see totals update, they need the live formulas.	You send {{code:05_project_budget.xlsx}} to your placement supervisor so they can try a different price and see the total change.
.csv — a plain-text file: one row per line, values separated by commas. No formulas, no formatting, no multiple sheets.	Most databases, accounting tools, and import screens only accept CSV, because it's the simplest possible data format.	A local charity's donation tracker only accepts CSV uploads, so you export your contact list as .csv before uploading.
.pdf — a fixed-layout file that looks identical on every device and isn't easily edited.	Useful when you want someone to read your work without changing it, like a finished proposal or a report.	—
Version history — a running log the cloud keeps of every significant save, with timestamps.	Lets you recover from a mistake without a separate backup file and without saving v1, v2, v3 copies everywhere.	—

Change log (one extra habit)

A change log is one or two visible lines at the top of your sheet saying what changed and when, so whoever opens it can tell instantly whether they're looking at the latest numbers. You'll add one to your own budget later in this lesson. A usable entry looks like: 2025-02-14 — added transport cost (€45), updated total. Keep it one line. Keep it at the top of Sheet1 so nobody has to hunt for it.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+10 XP

3 - Step-by-step: Break and Restore a Sample Sheet

You'll build a small sample spreadsheet, delete something important on purpose, and use version history to bring it back. Then you'll export the fixed sheet in all three formats. Practising on a sample sheet first means you're not risking your real project budget.

Teacher Notes

Students practise version history on a disposable sample sheet, not their own budget, so a rollback failure is harmless.

+15 XP

4 - Common Issues

Common Issues

Issue	Solution
I can't find Version History	Excel Online: {{menu:File -> Info -> Version History}}, or click the filename at the top of the window. Google Sheets: {{menu:File -> Version history -> See version history}}. A pane must open on the right. If nothing happens, check you're signed in and the file is saved to the cloud, not on your computer.
I restored the wrong version and now the SUM is missing again	Open version history again. Your "wrong restore" is now itself a version in the list, so you can jump back past it to a version from before the deletion. You cannot permanently lose a good version by restoring.
The .csv looks wrong, numbers are in odd places or formulas have vanished	This is expected. CSV is plain text with no formulas and no multiple sheets. Only the currently active sheet is exported, and every formula is replaced by its computed value.
The .pdf cuts off the right-hand columns	Before exporting, change the page to landscape or "Fit to width". Excel Online: {{menu:File -> Print -> Page setup}}. Google Sheets: the export dialog has a Landscape option and a "Fit to width" toggle.

+10 XP

5 - Independent Practice: Save and Version Your Project Budget

Independent Practice

Your goal: Turn your real project budget into a properly saved, properly shareable file: one editable copy, one clean read-only copy, one data-only copy, so whoever you send it to can open it on their device and see what changed.

Time: ~15 minutes

Task: Open your {{code:05_project_budget}} from your {{code:Digital_Portfolio}} folder. Insert a new row at the very top of Sheet1 and add a one-line change log entry with today's date and what you last changed, like the sample in Key Concepts. Then export the budget three times back into the same folder: a downloaded .xlsx copy, a .pdf copy, and a .csv copy. These are the three formats you'll actually send to different people during your Something Real project.

Success criteria:

Your budget has a visible one-line change log at the top of Sheet1 showing today's date and what changed
Three exports land in your {{code:Digital_Portfolio}} folder: one .xlsx, one .pdf, one .csv
Opening the .pdf shows your budget laid out like a printed page with nothing cut off the right edge
Opening the .csv in a text editor shows only the data, with no formulas or formatting

Teacher Notes

Students download the three exports to their computer and then either upload them into their Digital_Portfolio folder or save directly into it. Either path is acceptable.

+15 XP

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This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2025. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.

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