Excel Mobile Windows Mobile 6.5 Charts and Formulas

Microsoft Excel Mobile for Windows Mobile 6.5 brought core desktop spreadsheet capabilities to smartphones and PDAs, enabling users to perform calculations and visualize data on the go. While optimized for smaller screens and touch or stylus interaction, the application provided robust support for formulas and a dedicated chart generation tool, allowing users to create, view, and edit standard spreadsheet components without a desktop computer.

Formula Support and Implementation

Excel Mobile included a substantial subset of standard Microsoft Excel functions, supporting over 100 mathematical, logical, statistical, financial, and text-based formulas. Essential functions such as SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, IF, VLOOKUP, and PMT were fully functional.

Users could insert formulas in two primary ways:

  • Manual Entry: By tapping the formula bar, users could type equations manually using the onscreen keyboard or physical keypad, starting with the standard equals sign (=). The interface supported both standard relative references (e.g., A1) and absolute references (e.g., $A$1).
  • The Function Wizard: For faster entry without memorizing syntax, users could tap the fx button (or navigate via the Insert menu to Function). This opened a categorized list of functions—including Financial, Date & Time, Math & Trig, Statistical, and Lookup & Reference. Selecting a function presented input fields for each argument, helping to prevent syntax errors on a mobile screen.

Cell ranges could be defined manually or by tapping and dragging across cells using a stylus or directional pad.

Chart Creation and Management

Excel Mobile in Windows Mobile 6.5 allowed users to generate visual charts directly from table data, making mobile data analysis straightforward.

To create a chart:

  1. Select Data: The user highlighted the desired cell range containing numeric values along with optional column or row labels.
  2. Insert Chart: Through the menu bar, the user tapped Insert and selected Chart.
  3. Configure Chart Type: A wizard allowed the user to select from several standard chart types, including:
    • Column (2D and 3D styles)
    • Bar
    • Line
    • Pie
    • Scatter (XY)
    • Area
  4. Customize Details: Users could specify whether data series were arranged in rows or columns, add a chart title, and toggle visual elements like legends, gridlines, and data labels.

Once created, the chart was placed onto a separate chart sheet within the workbook to maximize visibility on low-resolution mobile screens. Users could zoom in and out or switch between the underlying data sheet and the chart view via sheet tabs.

Desktop Compatibility

Excel Mobile preserved chart and formula integrity when transferring files between the mobile device and a PC via ActiveSync or Windows Mobile Device Center. Formulas created on the device updated automatically when data changed. When opening workbooks created on desktop versions of Excel, existing charts—even complex ones not native to the mobile wizard—were accurately rendered, and desktop-defined formulas remained intact.