Manage Projects, Make Complex Lists with Blist
Despite what the dude who invented VisiCalc intended, most of us use spreadsheets to make glorified lists. We enter, arrange, organize, and sort data, and every once in a while we might use the Autosum tool to add up a bunch of numbers. So stop using a spreadsheet and try a tool designed for this sort of task. Blist is a list generator on steroids -- it lets you build complex lists in a spreadsheet-like environment. The twist? You can embed flags, ratings, documents, photos, and even multi-row mini-lists within any cell.
Imagine you're building a database intended to capture critical information about all the projects your team is working on. Each row represents a project. One column might include a flag to represent the project's status. Another column has five sub-rows containing the names and phone numbers of the project team. Then there's a column that includes the entire project spec in Word form. That's right -- this single list even includes the specs, without any need to link over to a SharePoint folder. Of course, this blist can be shared online, and there are myriad ways to query and sort the results.
Blist is free and thoroughly documented. When you create an account, you even get a quick-start PDF in your welcome email. Oh, Blist, where have you been all my life? [via Office Tweaks]
