Download and backup · البرمجة مع مارتن

Drive is not the only copy

Google Drive is the main home of the workbook. Sometimes you need a file on the computer disk — a USB, email to a teacher without internet, print. Or a PDF, so nobody changes a cell.

A download is a copy. The original on Drive stays. When you download and at home edit the .xlsx, Drive does not update itself. You must upload it back — or keep working online.

💡

File → Download in Sheets. Formats: Microsoft Excel (.xlsx), PDF, CSV (only one sheet). In Excel on a computer: File → Save as. We download from the cloud.

Download as Excel

Open Tables with Martin.
Menu File → Download → Microsoft Excel (.xlsx).
The browser saves the file to Downloads. The name like the workbook.
Open the downloaded file in Excel (if you have it). Sheets Grades and ملاحظةs are there.

At school without Excel you will not open the downloaded .xlsx. Then rather PDF or sharing a link.

Download as PDF

PDF is a “photo of the spreadsheet”. You cannot change a cell in it. It is good for handing in “view only”.

File → Download → PDF.
In the dialog leave Entire workbook or pick one sheet (for example Grades).
Download. Open the PDF — you see the grid like on the screen.

⚠️

A PDF does not count. When you change a grade in Sheets, the PDF stays old. You must download a new one. The online workbook recalculates itself.

Backup = a second copy on Drive

Downloading to Downloads is one backup. Better is a copy on Drive, which you leave next to the original.

Go to drive.google.com. Find the workbook.
Right-click → Make a copy.
Rename the copy: Tables with Martin backup 2026-08.
Leave the original open for the course. Open the backup when you want to risk a big experiment.

When to use what

You need	Solution
Keep working online	Drive, no download
إرسال a teacher “do not change this”	PDF or Share view only
Open in Excel offline	Download .xlsx
A safety net before deleting	A copy on Drive

🏫 Grade average

One sheet, two columns: subject and grade. At the bottom a sum and an average.

💰 Pocket money

Rows = days, columns = income / spend / left.

📊 Class survey

One question, answers in one column, later a chart.

🏆 Mini dashboard

Three numbers at the top and one chart. Numbers as a link, not copied by hand.

Now you 💪

With a parent or alone, if you have the rights:

Download sheet Grades as a PDF (or the whole workbook). The file is in Downloads.
On Drive there is a copy of the workbook with the word backup in the name — or you know you will make it before a big experiment.
You know that a downloaded Excel is not automatically linked to Drive.
The original Tables with Martin still runs online.

✅

Check: You can download a PDF or Excel and make a backup on Drive. You know which version is “live”.

What to take from this lesson

Download = a copy off Drive. The original stays online.
PDF is for print and handing in without edits.
.xlsx opens in Excel. At school it may not be there.
A copy on Drive is the simplest backup. الاسم it at once.
The live version is the one on Drive, not the file in Downloads.