1 - Introduction ~5 mins
Welcome
Your Something Real budget is starting to matter: costs, categories, and notes you will lean on later. Something Real is your course project; the exports you make today can count toward Key Assignment evidence your teacher banks.
Today has two jobs: choose the right format for the person who needs your numbers, and learn how to undo a mistake with cloud version history so a bad edit is not the end of the story.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Save an editable spreadsheet export and a PDF when each format is useful
- Use cloud version history to roll back to a prior version
- Keep a simple change log for project budget work
- Finish with {{code:05_project_budget}} in the cloud showing a dated change log, plus portfolio copies of an editable workbook and a PDF
Warm-up
Think of the last time you sent someone a file. Did they need to edit the numbers, or only read them? That single question decides whether you send an editable workbook or a PDF snapshot.
Before you start: You will need {{code:05_project_budget}} in your Project Portfolio {{code:05_budget}} folder. No file yet? Tell the teacher — you will copy a neighbour’s structure or build a quick 5-row budget before the downloads.
2 - Key Concepts ~6 mins
Before you touch menus, lock in when the main formats earn their keep. For Something Real and Work Experience, you almost always choose between a live editable file and a PDF snapshot.
| Concept | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Editable workbook — the live spreadsheet you keep changing (cloud file or .xlsx download) | This is your working file for the Something Real budget. Without it, you cannot keep updating costs and totals as plans change. | You tweak stall hire from €40 to €55; totals can update later only in the editable file |
| PDF export — a fixed snapshot that looks the same on any device and is hard to edit by accident | Ideal when someone needs to read or print your numbers, not rewrite them (teachers, supervisors, sponsors). | You email a one-page budget PDF to a Work Experience supervisor so they see costs without opening Excel or Sheets |
| Version history — automatic cloud snapshots of earlier saves you can restore | One wrong delete or paste does not wreck weeks of work if the file lives in OneDrive or Google Drive. | You wipe the Cost column by mistake, open version history, and restore the version from ten minutes earlier |
| Change log — a short dated note at the top of the sheet describing what changed | Future-you (and your teacher checking KA evidence) can see what this version is for without guessing. | 12 Mar — Added travel costs for placement week; total now €186.50 |
At the top of your sheet you will keep two lines like this (use today’s date and your own words later):
Last updated: 12 March 2026
Change log: Added stall hire and packaging; checked total still under €200.
3 - Step-by-step: Change Log and Exports ~16 mins
Teacher shows the PDF download path once on the board machine, then you mirror. First locate {{code:05_project_budget}}, add a short change log, then download an editable copy and a PDF and put both back into your Project Portfolio {{code:05_budget}} folder beside the live file. Pair up if the rename and upload steps feel slow.
Locate check: Open Project Portfolio → {{code:05_budget}}. No folder or file? Tell the teacher before you continue — you will create the folder and move or rebuild a minimal budget first.
Bankable evidence: a download left only in this device’s Downloads folder does not count. After each download, rename and upload into {{code:05_budget}} beside the live file.
4 - Step-by-step: Version History ~9 mins
Stay in the online {{code:05_project_budget}}. You will make one deliberate test edit, wait for autosave, then restore an earlier version so you know how to recover a mistake.
Before the test edit: After you type {{code:TEST EDIT - undo me}}, wait until you see {{btn:Saved}} / {{btn:All changes saved in Drive}} before you open history. If restore removes your change log, re-type the two lines only — that still counts. Do not re-download your exports.
Whole-class cue: your teacher will count about ten seconds after the test edit so everyone waits for autosave together.
5 - Common Issues ~3 mins
Common Issues
Use this table if you get stuck. Your teacher will spotlight the two rows that bite most often (empty history; exports only in Downloads) before independent practice.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| I cannot find Download or Version history | In Excel Online start from {{menu:File -> Download}} for exports. For history, click the file name in the title bar then {{btn:Version History}}. If that control is missing, try {{menu:File -> Info -> Version History}}. In Google Sheets use {{menu:File -> Download}} and {{menu:File -> Version history -> See version history}}. Menus can look slightly different on a narrow screen: widen the browser window. |
| My PDF cuts off columns or looks tiny | Open the PDF and check whether wide columns were clipped. For now, hide unused columns or narrow column widths, then export again. Full print-area and landscape setup comes in a later spreadsheet lesson. |
| Google Sheets opened a print panel instead of a file | That is normal. Leave the defaults (or choose Landscape if needed), then click {{btn:Export}} or {{btn:Download}} in that panel to finish the PDF. |
| Version history is empty or the test edit is still there | Wait for autosave ({{btn:Saved}} / {{btn:All changes saved in Drive}}), refresh the page, then reopen history. Make sure you restored a version from before the test edit, not the newest one. |
| My exports only exist in Downloads | Rename them to {{code:05_project_budget_editable}} and {{code:05_project_budget_pdf}}, then upload both into Project Portfolio → {{code:05_budget}} beside the live file. On a shared school machine, delete spare test downloads at the end of class if your teacher asks you to. |
| CSV looks plain / includes my change-log lines | CSV is plain text rows and columns with no formatting and no live formulas. Useful later if another system only accepts a data upload (for example a club stock list). It is not your polished hand-in. A full-sheet CSV will include change-log rows; for a clean data hand-off export only the item table. Keep the online workbook as your real working budget. |
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