You can easily access all of these things from your iPad with a set of simple-to-use apps, and where those don’t work, you can actually control your computer—mouse and all—from your iPad.

Send an email containing the Excel file to an account that you can access on your iPad. If you already have an email with an Excel file attached in your email box, skip this step.

Google Docs and Google's Cloud Connect toolbar for Microsoft Office combine to let you do simple editing of Word and Excel files on an iPad without having to pay for a separate app.