It’s a common scenario: you’re working with Excel, and multiple versions of a crucial spreadsheet are floating around. Maybe colleagues have made edits, or you’ve iterated on a report over time. The big question then becomes, “What exactly changed?” Manually sifting through rows and columns is tedious and error-prone. Fortunately, Microsoft’s Spreadsheet Compare tool provides a robust solution to quickly pinpoint the differences between two Excel workbooks, highlighting everything from content changes to formatting modifications. This guide will walk you through the process of using Spreadsheet Compare to efficiently identify what’s changed in your Excel sheets.
Step-by-Step Guide to Comparing Excel Sheets
Spreadsheet Compare, a powerful utility, is your go-to for detailed Excel workbook comparisons. Here’s how to use it effectively:
1. Open Spreadsheet Compare
First things first, launch the Spreadsheet Compare application. It’s important to note that Spreadsheet Compare is included with specific versions of Microsoft Office, namely Office Professional Plus 2013, Office Professional Plus 2016, Office Professional Plus 2019, and Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. If you have one of these versions, you should find Spreadsheet Compare readily available in your Office suite.
2. Select Comparison Options
Once Spreadsheet Compare is open, take a look at the pane located in the lower-left corner. Here, you’ll find a range of options to customize your comparison. You can choose to include specific elements in your analysis, such as:
- Formulas: Essential for understanding changes in calculations.
- Cell Formatting: Highlights alterations in visual presentation, like colors and fonts.
- Macros: Crucial for tracking changes in automated processes.
For a comprehensive comparison, simply click “Select All” to include all available options. This ensures that no change, big or small, goes unnoticed.
3. Choose Files to Compare
Now, it’s time to select the Excel files you want to compare. On the “Home” tab in Spreadsheet Compare, click “Compare Files“. This action opens the “Compare Files” dialog box, prompting you to specify the two workbooks for comparison.
In the “Compare” row, browse to locate the earlier version of your Excel workbook. You can select files from your local computer, a network drive, or even input a web address if your workbooks are stored online.
Alt text: Browse button in Spreadsheet Compare dialog box, used to select the older Excel file for comparison.
Next, in the “To” row, browse and select the more recent version of the workbook that you want to compare against the earlier one. Remember, you can compare two files even if they have the same name, as long as they are saved in different folders.
Alt text: Browse button in the ‘To’ row of Spreadsheet Compare dialog, used to select the newer Excel file for comparison.
4. Run the Comparison
Once you have selected both the “Compare” and “To” files, click “OK” to initiate the comparison process. Spreadsheet Compare will then analyze the two workbooks based on the options you selected.
Note: If you encounter an “Unable to open workbook” message, it’s likely that one or both of the Excel files are password protected. Click “OK” in the message box, and you will be prompted to enter the password to proceed with the comparison.
Understanding the Comparison Results
After running the comparison, the results are displayed in a clear, two-pane grid. The workbook you selected in the “Compare” row is shown on the left, and the workbook from the “To” row is on the right. Below the grids, a detailed pane provides specific information about the detected changes.
- Side-by-Side Grid: Spreadsheet Compare compares worksheets from each file starting from the leftmost sheet. Even hidden worksheets are included in the comparison and displayed.
- Color-Coded Highlights: Differences are visually highlighted using colors. The type of change determines the color used. For instance, cells containing “entered values” (non-formula cells) are typically marked with a green fill color in the grid and a green font in the results list.
- Legend: The lower-left pane serves as a legend, clearly explaining what each color-coding signifies, making it easy to interpret the types of changes identified.
- Resize Cells: If cell content is truncated due to narrow columns, click “Resize Cells to Fit“. This ensures you can view the complete content of each cell for accurate comparison.
Alt text: ‘Resize Cells to Fit’ button in Spreadsheet Compare, allowing users to expand column widths to view full cell contents for comparison.
Other Ways to Work with the Comparison Results
Spreadsheet Compare provides options to further utilize and share your comparison results:
- Export Results: To save the comparison results for record-keeping or further analysis, you can export them to an easy-to-read Excel file. Simply click “Home > Export Results“.
- Copy Results to Clipboard: For incorporating the results into other documents or programs like Microsoft Word, use “Home > Copy Results to Clipboard“. This allows you to paste the comparison details elsewhere.
- Show Workbook Colors: If you need to see the cell formatting as it appears in Excel, click “Home > Show Workbook Colors“. This provides a high-fidelity view of each worksheet, including original cell formatting.
Why Compare Excel Workbooks?
Comparing Excel workbooks is not just about identifying changes; it’s about maintaining data integrity and ensuring accuracy. Here are a few key reasons why workbook comparison is invaluable:
- Audit Trails: For organizations undergoing audits, tracking changes in critical workbooks month over month or year over year is essential. Spreadsheet Compare provides a clear trail, helping you identify and rectify errors before auditors discover them.
- Error Prevention: By regularly comparing workbook versions, you can proactively catch unintended changes or errors introduced during collaborative editing or version updates.
- VBA Code Comparison: Beyond worksheet content, Spreadsheet Compare can also check for differences in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) code within workbooks. The results are presented in a side-by-side window, making code change analysis straightforward.
In conclusion, Microsoft Spreadsheet Compare is an indispensable tool for anyone working with Excel workbooks, especially in collaborative environments or when managing multiple versions of important spreadsheets. It simplifies the often complex task of identifying changes, ensuring data accuracy and saving significant time and effort compared to manual comparison methods.
