How to compare two versions of an excel workbook

How to compare two versions of an excel workbook

If you have mounds of data in two spreadsheets and you need to find differences, then let me help you with that.

Add Inquire to your Excel command ribbon

• Open any excel spreadsheet
• Click File > Options > Add-Ins.
• Select COM Add-ins in the Manage box, and click Go.

• Check the box next to Inquiry Add-in when the COM Add-Ins box is selected. The Inquire tab in Excel will appear after the add-in has been turned on.

NB:  You need to have Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 or above installed on your computer because it won’t be available if not.  If you do have the correct version, then speak to your Company system administrator to make it available.

Compare Spreadsheets

• Open the spreadsheets you want to compare
• At the Inquire tab (in the ribbon) select compare files

• Compare the earlier file to the later file

Understanding the results

In the side-by-side grid, cells with “entered values” (non-formula cells) are formatted with a green fill color, and in the pane result list with green font so this is easier to read. The lower-left pane is a legend that shows what the colours mean.

You can select what you want to see by clicking the Enable button.

Export the results at Home > Export Results to create an excel spreadsheet that shows the old and new values