Fritz

Fritz is a stand-alone Java application that provides spreadsheet analysis, visualization, and evaluation.  Fritz computes advanced structures such as:

  • Partitioned formula groups,
  • Reference-based groups,
  • Computation blocks, and
  • Headers.

More information about the implemented structure analysis process can be found in our IWPD’16 paper ( Static Spreadsheet Analysis)  and in our YouTube video.

Furthermore, Fritz can be used to check if a spreadsheet contains smells. Fritz detects the following smells:

  • Inter-worksheet smells (e.g., Feature Envy),
  • Intra-worksheet smells (e.g., Long Calculation Chain),
  • Input smells (e.g., Pattern Finder), and
  • Structural smells (e.g., Overburdened Worksheet).

The calculated smell metrics can be displayed in the GUI or exported to a CSV file.

Download

Version 1.0 of Fritz can be download here.

The tool was tested on an x64 Windows 10 machine, using JRE 1.8.0_121-b13.

Usage

Fritz can be used as command-line tool. Start it by the command

java -jar fritz.jar

We provide multiple command-line options. For an extensive list, start Fritz with the command

java -jar fritz.jar -help

Fritz also provides a graphical user-interface. This is the  default start option.

GUI

When starting Fritz with GUI, the main application window appears.

Fritz Application Window

The following menus and underlying operations are available:

  • File
    • Open: select a spreadsheet file to open via a file chooser.
    • Exit: ends the application
  • View
    • Indication Options Window: toggles the related GUI window
    • Context Information Window: toggles the related GUI window
    • Value View: toggles between formula- and value view for the display of formulas
    • R1C1 View: toggles between R1C1 and A1 style for the display of formulas
  • Tools
    • Preprocess Corpus: toggles the related GUI window
    • Start Corpus Evaluation: toggles the related GUI window

Fritz provides different application windows to control visualization and initiate advanced operations:

Spreadsheet Visualizer

The main application window serves as visualizer for an opened spreadsheet file. Worksheets of the spreadsheet are displayed in separate windows.

Application window with open spreadsheet

Indication Options

Fritz provides a number of metric- and relation-indication options.

  • Background Indications highlight specific cells in the main application window by applying background colors.
  • Mouse-over Indications enable interactive coloring of cells in the main window based on a chosen relation
  • Tool-Tip indications add specific tool-tips to cells in the main application window
  • Indication Presets apply predefined sets of background, mouse-over, and tool-tip indications.
Indication options window
Application window with active background indication

Context Information

In this window, Fritz provides additional information and a number of calculated metrics for entities (cell, worksheet) related to the currently selected cell in the main application window.

Contextual information window

Corpus Preprocess Settings

This window provides access to various filtering operations that can be applied to a specified spreadsheet corpus.

Corpus preprocess window

Corpus Evaluation Settings

This window provides access to various evaluation operations that can be applied to a specified spreadsheet corpus.

Corpus evaluation window