How To Compare And Merge Excel Files Effectively

COMPARE.EDU.VN is dedicated to providing clear, comprehensive comparisons to help you make informed decisions. Figuring out How To Compare And Merge Excel Files can be a daunting task, but it’s essential for data accuracy and collaboration. This guide will provide you with several methods to effectively compare Excel files, identify differences, and merge data when needed, ensuring you can maintain accurate and consistent information. Explore streamlined methods, data consolidation, and version control with ease.

1. Viewing Excel Files Side By Side for Comparison

For those who need a straightforward visual approach, viewing Excel files side by side is a quick and easy method to compare data. This is particularly useful when dealing with relatively small workbooks and requires a keen eye for detail. This method involves using Excel’s “View Side by Side” mode, which allows you to arrange two Excel windows on your screen simultaneously.

1.1. Comparing Two Excel Workbooks

Let’s say you have two sales reports for different months and you want to see them side-by-side to quickly understand which products performed better in each month.

Here’s how to open two Excel files side by side:

Open the workbooks: Start by opening both Excel files that you want to compare.
Navigate to the View tab: In either workbook, go to the View tab on the Excel ribbon.
Click View Side by Side: In the Window group, click the View Side by Side button. Excel will automatically arrange the two open workbooks side by side.

By default, Excel displays the windows horizontally. If you prefer a vertical arrangement:

Click the Arrange All button in the Window group.
Select Vertical in the Arrange Windows dialog box.

With the windows arranged side by side, you can easily compare the data in each workbook.

1.2. Synchronous Scrolling

To enhance your comparison, use synchronous scrolling:

Ensure that the Synchronous Scrolling option is turned on. This option is usually activated automatically when you enable View Side by Side mode.
If it’s not on, you can find it on the View tab, in the Window group, right under the View Side by Side button.

When synchronous scrolling is enabled, scrolling in one worksheet will automatically scroll the other, allowing you to compare data row by row.

1.3. Arranging Multiple Excel Windows Side By Side

Excel also allows you to view more than two files simultaneously. To do this:

Open all the workbooks you want to compare.
Click the View Side by Side button. The Compare Side by Side dialog box will appear.
Select the files you want to display together with the active workbook.

If you want to view all open Excel files at once, you can use the Arrange All button:

Click the Arrange All button on the View tab, in the Window group.
Choose your preferred arrangement: tiled, horizontal, vertical, or cascade.

This flexibility allows you to manage and compare multiple Excel files efficiently.

1.4. Comparing Two Sheets in the Same Workbook

Sometimes, the two sheets you want to compare reside in the same workbook. Here’s how to view them side by side:

Open your Excel file.
Go to the View tab and click the New Window button in the Window group. This will open the same Excel file in a new window.
Enable View Side by Side mode by clicking the corresponding button on the ribbon.
Select the first sheet in one window and the second sheet in the other window.

This method makes it easy to compare different sheets within the same workbook without switching back and forth.

2. Using Formulas to Compare Data in Excel

When you need to identify specific cells with different values, using Excel formulas is a simple and effective approach. This method results in a difference report in a new worksheet, clearly showing where discrepancies occur.

2.1. Creating a Difference Report

To compare two Excel worksheets for differences, follow these steps:

Open a new sheet: Start by opening a new, empty sheet in your Excel workbook.
Enter the comparison formula: In cell A1 of the new sheet, enter the following formula:

=IF(Sheet1!A1 <> Sheet2!A1, "Sheet1:"&Sheet1!A1&" vs Sheet2:"&Sheet2!A1, "")
Copy the formula: Copy this formula down and to the right by dragging the fill handle (the small square at the bottom-right of the cell). This will extend the formula to cover the range of cells you want to compare.

This formula compares the value in cell A1 of Sheet1 with the value in cell A1 of Sheet2. If the values are different, the formula displays the values from both sheets. If they are the same, the cell remains blank. Because relative cell references are used, the formula adjusts as you copy it to other cells. For example, the formula in cell B1 will compare cell B1 in both sheets, and so on.

2.2. Understanding the Limitations

While this method is useful, it has some limitations:

Value Comparison Only: It only finds differences in values and cannot compare formulas or cell formatting.
Impact of Added or Deleted Rows/Columns: If you add or delete a row or column in one sheet, all subsequent rows or columns will be marked as differences, even if they are identical.
Sheet-Level Operation: It works at the sheet level and cannot detect structural differences such as sheet additions and deletions.
Date Representation: Dates may be displayed as serial numbers rather than actual dates, making it less convenient for analyzing date-related differences.

3. Highlighting Differences with Conditional Formatting

Conditional formatting provides a visual way to highlight cells with different values between two sheets. This method is particularly useful for quickly identifying discrepancies.

3.1. Applying Conditional Formatting

Follow these steps to highlight cells with different values:

Select the Used Cells: In the worksheet where you want to highlight the differences, select all the used cells. Start by clicking the upper-left cell of the used range (usually A1), then press Ctrl + Shift + End to extend the selection to the last used cell.
Create a New Rule: On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Conditional Formatting > New Rule.
Use a Formula: In the New Formatting Rule dialog box, select “Use a formula to determine which cells to format.”
Enter the Formula: Enter the following formula:

=A1<>Sheet2!A1

Replace Sheet2 with the name of the other sheet you are comparing.
Set the Format: Click the Format button and choose the formatting style you want to apply to the cells with different values, such as a fill color or font style.
Apply the Rule: Click OK to close the Format Cells dialog box, then click OK again to create the rule.

As a result, cells with different values will be highlighted with the color you selected, making it easy to spot discrepancies.

3.2. Limitations of Conditional Formatting

Like using formulas, conditional formatting has limitations:

Value Comparison Only: It only highlights differences in values and does not compare formulas or cell formatting.
Impact of Added or Deleted Rows/Columns: Similar to the formula method, adding or deleting rows/columns can cause misidentification of differences.
Sheet-Level Operation: It operates at the sheet level and does not identify workbook-level structural differences.

4. Compare and Merge Shared Excel Workbooks

Excel’s “Compare and Merge” feature is useful when multiple users collaborate on the same Excel workbook. It allows you to view changes and comments from all users at once, ensuring a streamlined collaboration process.

4.1. Preparing the Workbooks

Before using the “Compare and Merge” feature, ensure the following:

Share the Workbook: The Excel workbook must be shared before it is made available to other users.
- To share a workbook, go to the Review tab, in the Changes group, and click the Share Workbook button.
- Select the Allow Changes by More Than One User… box and click OK. Allow Excel to save the workbook if prompted.
- Turning on the Track Changes feature automatically shares the workbook.
Save Copies with Unique Names: Each person editing the shared workbook must save a copy (.xls or .xlsx file) using a unique file name.

4.2. Enabling the Compare and Merge Workbooks Feature

The “Compare and Merge Workbooks” feature is available in Excel 2010 through Excel 365, but it is not displayed by default. To add it to the Quick Access Toolbar:

Open Excel Options: Click the Quick Access drop-down menu and select More Commands.
Choose Commands: In the Excel Options dialog box, select All Commands under Choose commands from.
Add the Command: Scroll down to Compare and Merge Workbooks, select it, and click the Add button to move it to the right-hand section.
Click OK: This adds the command to your Quick Access Toolbar.

4.3. Comparing and Merging Workbooks

Once the preparations are complete, you can merge the copies of the shared workbook:

Open the Primary Version: Open the original, shared workbook.
Click the Command: Click the Compare and Merge Workbooks command on the Quick Access Toolbar.
Select Copies to Merge: In the dialog box that appears, select the copies of the shared workbook you want to merge. To select multiple copies, hold the Shift key while clicking the file names, and then click OK.

Excel will merge the changes from each copy into a single workbook.

4.4. Reviewing the Changes

To review all edits by different users:

Highlight Changes: Go to the Review tab > Changes group and click Track Changes > Highlight Changes.
Set Highlighting Options: In the Highlight Changes dialog, select All in the When box, Everyone in the Who box, clear the Where box, select the Highlight changes on screen box, and click OK.

Excel highlights the column letters and row numbers with differences in a dark red color. Edits from different users are marked with different colors at the cell level. Hovering over a cell will show who made the specific change.

4.5. Important Note

The Compare and Merge Workbooks command will be grayed out if you are trying to combine different Excel files that were not originally shared. This feature only works for copies of the same shared workbook.

5. Third-Party Tools for Advanced Excel Comparison

While Excel provides built-in features for comparing data, they may not be sufficient for comprehensive comparisons involving values, formulas, or formatting. Third-party tools offer advanced capabilities designed specifically for comparing, updating, and merging Excel sheets and workbooks.

5.1. Synkronizer Excel Compare: A Comprehensive Tool

The Synkronizer Excel Compare add-in is a powerful tool for comparing, merging, and updating Excel files. It saves time by automating the search for differences and providing detailed reports.

5.1.1. Key Features

Identifying Differences: Quickly identify differences between two Excel sheets or workbooks.
Combining Files: Merge multiple Excel files into a single version without creating unwanted duplicates.
Highlighting: Highlight differences in both sheets for easy identification.
Filtering: Show only the differences relevant to your task.
Merging and Updating: Efficiently merge and update sheets with selected changes.
Reporting: Generate detailed and easy-to-read difference reports.

5.1.2. Comparing Two Excel Files for Differences with Synkronizer

Consider a scenario where you are organizing an event and have two versions of an Excel file containing participant information.

To compare these two sheets using Synkronizer:

Run Synkronizer: Go to the Add-ins tab in Excel and click the Synkronizer icon.
Select Workbooks: In the Synkronizer pane, select the two workbooks you want to compare.
Select Sheets: Select the sheets you want to compare. If the workbooks have sheets with the same names, they will be automatically matched and selected. You can also manually select worksheets or match sheets by other criteria, such as worksheet type (all, protected, or hidden).
Choose Comparison Options: Select one of the following comparison options:
- Compare as normal worksheets: Works in most cases.
- Compare with link options: Suitable if sheets do not contain new or deleted rows and columns.
- Compare as database: Recommended for sheets with a database structure.
- Compare selected ranges: Define specific ranges to compare instead of the entire sheets.
Choose Content Types: On the Select tab, in the Compare group, select the content types relevant to your task, such as comments, names, formats (alignment, fill, font, border), and filters to ignore case, spaces, formulas, hidden rows, and columns.
Start the Comparison: Click the big red Start button on the ribbon to begin the comparison.

5.1.3. Visualizing and Analyzing Differences

Synkronizer provides two summary reports on the Results tab:

Summary Report: Shows all difference types at a glance, including changes in columns, rows, cells, comments, formats, and names.
Detailed Difference Report: View a specific difference type by clicking on the summary report.

Clicking on a difference in the detailed report will select the corresponding cells on both sheets.

Additionally, you can create a difference report in a separate workbook, either standard or hyperlinked, to easily navigate to specific differences.

5.1.4. Comparing All Sheets in Two Workbooks

If you are comparing two Excel files with multiple sheets, Synkronizer presents all matching worksheet pairs in the summary report.

5.1.5. Highlighting Differences

By default, Synkronizer highlights all found differences:

Yellow: Differences in cell values.
Lilac: Differences in cell formats.
Green: Inserted rows.

To highlight only the relevant differences, click the Outline button on the Results tab and select the required options.

5.1.6. Updating and Merging Sheets

The merge function allows you to transfer individual cells or move different columns/rows from the source to the target sheet.

To update one or more differences, select them in the Synkronizer pane and click one of the four update buttons. The first and last buttons update all differences, while the second and third buttons update only selected differences, with arrows indicating the transfer direction.

5.2. Ablebits Compare Sheets for Excel

Ablebits Compare Sheets for Excel is designed to make the comparison process intuitive and user-friendly. This tool is included in the Ultimate Suite.

5.2.1. Key Features

Step-by-Step Wizard: Guides you through the process and helps configure different options.
Comparison Algorithms: Choose the algorithm best suited for your data sets.
Review Differences Mode: Compared sheets are displayed in this mode, allowing you to view all differences at a glance and manage them one by one.

5.2.2. Comparing Sheets with Ablebits

To use Ablebits Compare Sheets for Excel:

Click Compare Sheets: Click the Compare Sheets button on the Ablebits Data tab, in the Merge group.
Select Worksheets: The wizard will ask you to select the two worksheets you want to compare. By default, the entire sheets are selected, but you can also select the current table or a specific range.
Select Comparison Algorithm: Choose the appropriate comparison algorithm:
- No key columns: Works best for sheet-based documents like invoices or contracts.
- By key columns: Suitable for column-organized sheets with unique identifiers like order numbers or product IDs.
- Cell-by-cell: Best for comparing spreadsheets with the same layout and size, such as balance sheets or year-to-year reports.
Specify Match Type:
- First match: Compares a row in Sheet 1 to the first found row in Sheet 2 that has at least one matching cell.
- Best match: Compares a row in Sheet 1 to the row in Sheet 2 that has the maximum number of matching cells.
- Full match only: Finds rows in both sheets that have exactly the same values in all the cells and marks all other rows as different.
Specify Differences to Highlight: Choose which differences to highlight and ignore, and how to mark the differences.
Click Compare: Click the Compare button to process your data and create backup copies.

5.2.3. Reviewing and Merging Differences

Once the worksheets are processed, they are opened side-by-side in the Review Differences mode, with the first difference selected.

The differences are highlighted with the following default colors:

Blue rows: Rows that exist only in Sheet 1.
Red rows: Rows that exist only in Sheet 2.
Green cells: Different cells in partially matching rows.

Use the vertical toolbar to navigate through the found differences one by one and decide whether to merge or ignore them.

When the last difference is dealt with, you will be prompted to save the workbooks and exit the Review Differences mode.

5.3. xlCompare: Comprehensive Comparison and Merging

The xlCompare utility allows you to compare Excel files, worksheets, names, and VBA Projects. It identifies added, deleted, and changed data and allows you to quickly merge differences.

5.3.1. Key Features

Duplicate Record Removal: Find and remove duplicate records between two worksheets.
Record Updating: Update existing records in one sheet with values from another sheet.
Unique Data Addition: Add unique (new) rows and columns from one sheet to another.
Merge Updated Records: Merge all updated records from one workbook to another.
Data Sorting: Sort data on the sheets by the key column.
Comparison Filtering: Filter the comparison results to display differences or identical records.
Highlighting: Highlight comparison results with colors.

5.4. Change pro for Excel: Comparison on Desktop and Mobile

Change pro for Excel allows you to compare two sheets in desktop Excel as well as on mobile devices with optional server-based comparison.

5.4.1. Key Features

Formula and Value Comparison: Find differences in formulas and values.
Layout Change Identification: Identify layout changes, including added/deleted rows and columns.
Embedded Object Recognition: Recognize embedded objects such as charts, graphs, and images.
Difference Reports: Create and print difference reports of formula, value, and layout differences.
Filtering and Sorting: Filter, sort, and search the difference report on key changes.
Integration: Compare files directly from Outlook or document management systems.
Language Support: Support for all languages, including multi-byte.

6. Online Services for Quick Excel Comparison

For quick comparisons without installing software, online services provide a convenient option. While security may be a concern for sensitive data, these services can be useful for non-confidential Excel files.

6.1. Example: CloudyExcel

With CloudyExcel you can upload two Excel workbooks and click the Find Difference button. The differences in the two active sheets will be highlighted with different colors.

7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is the best way to compare two Excel files for differences?
A: The best method depends on your specific needs. For a quick visual comparison, viewing files side by side works well. For identifying specific cell differences, use formulas or conditional formatting. For comprehensive comparisons, consider third-party tools like Synkronizer or Ablebits Compare Sheets.

Q2: Can I compare two Excel sheets in the same workbook?
A: Yes, you can open a new window for the same workbook and use the “View Side by Side” feature to compare two sheets.

Q3: How can I highlight the differences between two Excel sheets?
A: Use conditional formatting with a formula like =A1<>Sheet2!A1 to highlight cells with different values.

Q4: Is there a way to merge changes from multiple users in Excel?
A: Yes, use the “Compare and Merge Workbooks” feature, but ensure the workbook is shared and each user saves a copy with a unique name.

Q5: Are there any limitations to using Excel’s built-in comparison features?
A: Yes, they primarily compare values and may not handle structural differences well, such as added or deleted rows/columns.

Q6: What are the benefits of using third-party tools for Excel comparison?
A: Third-party tools offer more comprehensive comparisons, including formulas, formatting, and structural differences. They often provide detailed reports and efficient merging capabilities.

Q7: Is it safe to use online services to compare Excel files?
A: Online services can be convenient, but exercise caution and avoid uploading files with sensitive information due to potential security risks.

Q8: Can I compare Excel files on mobile devices?
A: Yes, tools like Change pro for Excel offer mobile device support, allowing you to compare sheets on the go.

Q9: What should I do if the “Compare and Merge Workbooks” command is grayed out?
A: Ensure you are trying to merge copies of the same shared workbook. The feature does not work for comparing different Excel files.

Q10: How do I ensure data accuracy when merging Excel files?
A: Always review the changes highlighted by the comparison tool and carefully consider each merge decision to avoid overwriting or losing important data.

8. Conclusion

Effectively comparing and merging Excel files is essential for maintaining data accuracy, ensuring consistency, and streamlining collaboration. While Excel’s built-in features provide basic comparison capabilities, third-party tools like Synkronizer Excel Compare and Ablebits Compare Sheets offer advanced functionalities for more comprehensive analysis and merging. Online services provide a quick solution for non-sensitive data. The choice of method depends on your specific needs and the complexity of the files you are working with.

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