How can I compare the contents of two Excel files?

[Guest]

I have received an updated version of an Excel data file, and I would like to
compare the new file to the old to see where changes have been made. How can
I compare the contents of the two Excel files and detect differences?

 

[Guest]

I use the following to compare a block of cells on two sheets. Maybe you can
adapt it to compare two files?

Sub auditIt()
'
'this routine compares the first 50 rows/columns of sheet "Original"
'to the same range in sheet "Updated" and marks changed cells in yellow/bold.
'A summary is recorded in sheet "Audit" with the location of changed cells
and the before/after values
k = 1
For i = 1 To 50
For j = 1 To 50
Sheets("Original").Select
o = Cells(i, j)
Sheets("Updated").Select
u = Cells(i, j)
If o <> u Then
Cells(i, j).Select
With Selection.Interior
.ColorIndex = 6
.Pattern = xlSolid
End With
Selection.Font.Bold = True
Sheets("Audit").Select
Cells(k, 1) = i
Cells(k, 2) = j
Cells(k, 3) = o
Cells(k, 4) = u
k = k + 1
End If
Next j
Next i
End Sub

 

[Dave Peterson]

Saved from a previous post...

If the changes do not include removing rows or columns (or inserting rows or
columns), then you could use a program written by Myrna Larson and Bill
Manville.

You can find a copy on Chip Pearson's site:
http://www.cpearson.com/excel/whatsnew.htm
look for compare.xla

But remember this does a cell-by-cell comparison against two worksheets--not
workbooks. A1 compares to A1, x99 to x99, etc. (So if you insert/delete a
row/column, the comparison goes south very quickly.)

Another option could be to save the worksheets (not workbooks) as a couple .CSV
files. Then use some text comparison file to find the difference. (MSWord has
this ability.)

But this compares text (current values of formulas). Not the formulas
themselves.

And if you have a single unique key in each worksheet that should be compared,
you could have a program that looks for matching keys and if found, does a
comparison between the cells on those rows. (Or adds it as a new key--or marks
it as a deleted record.)