Spreadsheet Compare Activity
Performs a cell-by-cell comparison of Excel Worksheets.
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Activity for Spreadsheet Compare
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Spreadsheet Compare released /Stable/1.42.0/Spreadsheet_Compare_Setup_v1.42.0.exe
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SteveT posted a comment on discussion Help
I would need to look at my website hosting the update file. I don't use it other than hosting the update file, so there may be an issue there. Need to find a working alternative. Steve On Wednesday, March 18, 2026 at 07:59:28 AM CDT, roxie2401 roxie2401@users.sourceforge.net wrote: Steve, Thanks --- Really appreciate you quick reply! I had wondered about that; even checked to see if "Never" was an option. Just curious, any idea why when I run the update exe, I get "Unable to determine if an update...
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roxie2401 modified a comment on discussion Help
Steve, Thanks --- Really appreciate you quick reply! I had wondered about that; even checked to see if "Never" was an option. Just curious, any idea why when I run the update exe, I get "Unable to determine if an update is available?" (I think I see --- the update ini file has a line http://thefoolonthehill.net that has been deactivated and can't connect?)
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Steve, Thanks --- Really appreciate you quick reply! I had wondered about that; even checked to see if "Never" was an option. Just curious, any idea why when I run the update exe, I get "Unable to determine if an update is available?"
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If you run the Update Program.exe in the install folder (i.e. C:\Program Files (x86)\Spreadsheet Compare), then click on the Options tab, you can set check interval in days. If you put 1000 days, then that should hold it off for a while.
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Occasionally, I'll get a dialog box indicating (I think) the add-on is trying to check for a new version, an failing. Doesn't seem to happen on my desktop (Windows 10) but more when I'm traveling and using laptop connected wifi......the box keeps opening each time I open Excel (v2016). Is there a setting/option somewhere that controls this behavior that I can turn off? Also, how do I determine what version on Spreadsheet Compare that I currently have installed? Thanks - I have been using this add-on...
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Scott Hundley posted a comment on discussion Open Discussion
Steve, Thanks for your support. It's working again. Scott
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Try v.1.41.0 I uploaded last week. I think that fixed the issue.
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Steve, have you had a chance to work on this? Thanks, Scott
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Steve, Thanks for digging into this for me. I tried your suggestion to delete the lines with ref. It allowed me to get further, but when I clicked on "compare", I received an error. I look forward to hearing back from you.
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I have found a colleague who has the same computer I have that has the same issue as you. It seems to be a permissions issue with Excel and the refEdit control that ships with Excel. I was unable to immediately fix his issue, but at least I have a computer with the issue that I work on to resolve this. So give me some time to troubleshoot the issue with him and I will post a solution. One thing you can do is delete the lines with ref... that come up in error as that control is missing. The refedits...
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Steve, thanks for the continued help. I confirmed that RefEdit Control is checked and is at the same location on my PC that it is on yours. What do you mean by "try the installation troubleshooting section for the same file."? Are you referring to the installation troubleshooting for spreadsheet compare or something else? Here is some additional background that may help. For the past 10 years, I've used Spreadsheet Compare on a daily basis for a small business that I run. I've been lucky that it...
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In 'Checking/Correcting References', check that RefEdit Control is checked. If not, browser for it and enable it. For me it is in c:\program files\microsoft office\root\office16\refedit.dll. You can also try the installation troubleshooting section for the same file.
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Steve, thanks for the response. Can you elaborate on your response? In the Troubleshooting section, I followed the instructions for "Checking/Correcting References" and "Checking/Adding Required Controls". Neither of these helped. The other items listed for troubleshooting don't appear to be related to my issue. Can you offer any more suggestions? I also have Win 11 and Excel365(v2511) Thanks, Scott
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Looks like a refEdit (Excel) control issue. Take a look at the help file, there are a number of workarounds for Excel issues in the troubleshooting section. I tried on my pc with Win 11 and Excel 365 (v2511) without issue.
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I have the same error today. Did you solve this? Do you recall how?
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ammammata annonnata posted a comment on discussion Open Discussion
Hello there. Today I got the error in subject, ref. Private Sub chkGenerateReport_Click(), refItemNameColumn.Enabled = True I tried removing and reinstalling (both latest version, 1.40.0) but nothing changed. Windows 11 Pro 23H2, Excel 2021 (vers. 2507 Build 19029.20208) Thank you.
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Hmm. I don't see the same thing. Created two new workbooks (with Sheet1, 2 and 3). Renamed tabs in both, one set with '_Old' added, the other set with '_New' added. Ran compare, no matching tabs found. Clicked Active and only the active sheet from both files was moved. Did compare, no errors.
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Phil Boswell posted a comment on ticket #90
I just got this message when I had two workbooks that had tabs with different names: the tabs correspond but between versions the names were changed. I went to the "select worksheets" step and discovered that no tabs had been added to the compare list, so I clicked "Active" and it added all of them. It seems to be happy comparing them in the order of presentation but it doesn't add them to the list if the names don't match. Hope you don't mind me necroing this ticket, it seemed to make more sense...
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Does this happen in all workbooks or just one/some? If you can reproduce in a pair of files you can post here, I can download and do a compare to identify the problem. Don't upload anything that has personal information or data you don't mind sharing. Steve
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Ana Nathan posted a comment on ticket #90
It is a "Full Compare"
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Error 9 (Subscript out of range) in procedure CompareSetup of Form frmMain
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Have you tried v1.40.0? I think that error was fixed by that version.
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Brenda L Ketchel posted a comment on discussion Help
installed on my Win7 machine still works. I get following error when running Spreadsheet_Compare_Setup_v1.36.0, v1.38.0, or v1.39.0. Excel 2010 installed, not running at the time. Running Windows 10. v1.36.0 Can't get installed on Win 10 machine. Runtime error, Internal error: Unknown custom message name "ExcelNotInstalledExplanation" Thanks, Brenda
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Try v1.40.0 I just uploaded, this should remove the error. Office versioning is weird, so it may complain that Excel is not installed and if so, refer to the help file for manual instructions.
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can not install
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IT Manager posted a comment on ticket #83
Hi, I have O365 installed on my local machine and when I run the exe file, it spits out an error Runtime Error (at 49:267) straightaway before it even starts the installation. Anyone else had this issue or how this can be fixed please? Appreciate your assistance. Thanks!
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Please create this as a new topic. I will look it to mean time. Thanks, Steve
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installed on my Win7 machine still works. I get following error when running Spreadsheet_Compare_Setup_v1.36.0, v1.38.0, or v1.39.0. Excel 2010 installed, not running at the time. Running Windows 10. v1.36.0 Can't get installed on Win 10 machine. Runtime error, Internal error: Unknown custom message name "ExcelNotInstalledExplanation" Thanks, Brenda
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No problem. I like the easy questions.
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Luc Simard posted a comment on discussion Open Discussion
Retried making sure all instances were closed and worked perfectly! Thanks a lot! Sorry I missed that!
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Just to check, did you close all instances of Excel before installing?
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running Windows 11 Enterprise
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Hello Steve I get following error when running the exe v1.39.0 Runtime error, Internal error: Unknown custom message name :ExcellsRunning" Thanks, Luc
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Berk Kılınç posted a comment on ticket #83
i have the same error. Can i have ".xla" for the manual installation?
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Arthur Butler modified a comment on discussion Help
Hi, Thank you for your work on Spreadsheet Compare, and for releasing it freely. I've got a strange issue which seems to be related to Spreadsheet Compare. I've made a macro-enabled spreadsheet which includes a simple user defined function written in VBA which finds the height of a row. That works fine on my computer, but not on any others. For some reason on other computers the text in the cell which should read: =RowHeight(H22) Becomes: ='C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\AddIns\Spreadsheet...
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RowHeight does not appear to be a UDF in Spreadsheet Compare, so the only thing I can think of is that you created your RowHeight UDF in the Spreadsheet Compare VBA project. There is nothing stopping you from doing that, but you do run into the limitation you have found. Sounds like you know what you are doing, but can you track down where you actually placed your UDF and make sure it is not in the Spreadsheet Compare project? I have seen similar to your issue when I copy a UDF from SC and use it...
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Hi, Thank you for your work on Spreadsheet Compare, and for releasing it freely. I've got a strange issue which seems to be related to Spreadsheet Compare. I've made a macro-enabled spreadsheet which includes a simple user defined function written in VBA which finds the height of a row. That works fine on my computer, but not on any others. For some reason on other computers the text in the cell which should read: =RowHeight(H22) Becomes: ='C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\AddIns\Spreadsheet...
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Easiest method would be: 1. Create a folder in your documents folder called XLSTART. 2. Enter that path into the blank textbox you highlighted. 3. Place the Spreadsheet Compare xlam into that folder. You can find the file in the Program Files\Spreadsheet Compare folder. A more complete location is in the help section you included above. It should then start when you next open Excel. If not, check that it is a trusted location in the Excel options.
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Shana Wakenshaw posted a comment on discussion Help
Hi there! I found this add-in via a helpful article on Lifewire... I'm stoked to use this bad boy, but I ended up with a pickle- when giving step 2 a "go" I don't have a the path to copy for "open all files with".... I'm hoping someone out there could please give me some additional guidance. I've included screenshots of my version of Excel, the HTML Help section for this Add-In, & the General Section located in the Advanced tab of Excel's Options
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Mike Renna posted a comment on discussion Open Discussion
Aw! Thanks for the reply! I don't know the first thing about vba : ) so if it's good enough for you, it's fine for me!! Thanks!!! Have a great weekend!
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Thanks. I don't believe Microsoft have provided any compare tools until the most recent versions and I don't use these recent ones because mine does everything I want. There is no setting for worksheet format compare, only data compare as you have found. Trouble with that is that there are many properties of a cell or range that can change, of which value is just one, so to compare all the properties would be a big undertaking which most people would not utliize. If there are specific things you...
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Thanks for this great add in!!! Would you know? Was there a spreadsheetcompare.exe that microsoft included in older versions of Office / Excel? I had a copy but it couldn't deal with my mult sheet workbooks. Your add in worked great and fast! Any idea why microsoft doesn't include something like this in Excel? seems so important. 500+ this week this was downloaded!? Mind if I ask a couple more questions? Does the add in have settings for things like find differences in cell formatting? I had an issue...
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Stamati Stamatiou created ticket #24
Req: Ignore protected cells
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ElrondPA posted a comment on discussion Open Discussion
I installed v1.39.0, and it's working properly. Thanks!
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I don't get the error in Excel x86 or x64. I think this is an Excel 2007 issue. I will make the change that I think needs to be made and you can report back if it fixes it. Steve
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I downloaded v1.37.0 yesterday, and v1.38.0 today, and with both of them. I'm getting the error "User-defined type not defined" at the line Function RegQueryStringValue64(ByVal hKey As LongPtr, ByVal strValueName As String) As String in module mdlRegistry. My system setup is Windows 10 Pro, 64-bit, Excel 2007. I don't get this error with v1.36.0.
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I will double the width of the combobox dropdown, which should be enough. That way you do not need to click in the box. Also will update tooltip to the current selection. Create a new thread next time to avoid original poster receiving updates unrelated to the original post.
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This change has an unfortunate consequence. I compare lots of pairs of spreadsheets with long names where the difference is at the end of the name to show which build of our software produced which file. For example, I might compare "Output of our software with a really long name - build 4763" with "Output of our software with a really long name - build 4875". Whereas before I could click into the combo boxes to confirm that I had the correct versions lined up in the desired order, I can't do that...
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Sorry, forgot to add to the folder. Updated now. Rev 1.37.0 - 16 July 22 Added: Support for Excel x64. Changed: Spreadsheet selection combo boxes to be uneditable.
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Harold Steger posted a comment on discussion Open Discussion
I received a message when I opened Excel today that a newer version of Spreadsheet Compare is available (v1.37.00). But when I check SourceForge. version 1.36.0 is the latest version avaiable. Is 1.37.0 actually available and what has changed in that version? Thanks, Hal
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Excel 2007 VB script opening error after compare tool installed
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previous session remains despite uninstall/reinstall
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Can't compare files when using namespace prefix in sheet xml file(s)
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Three buttons on the ribbon, Full, Quick and Range. Range compares the selected ranges, meant for a quick range check, for example a simple table where you can see all the data without scrolling. This is the most basic. Quick compares the current sheet and assumes that there are not too many differences and you just want to visually see the changes. This has more features than range, but quicker than Full. Full gives the option of different output reports and stopping on error and other stuff and...
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bill arvidson posted a comment on ticket #89
attachment 4
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attachment 3
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attachment 2
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posting indicates it will allow you to " Add attachments" but then only allows you to add one. here is what was to be #1
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I have tried range compare. help file does not indicate how to fill in the fields. i do not know how to get the window that specifies to "stop on any miscompare". or how to continue / abort after finding a miscompare. when i tried the quick compare, it ran to completion but then left you with no way to find the first or any other miscompare. my file has anywhere from 28 thousand lines to 66 thousand. there should be a way to ask the tool to step to the first or Nth miscompare. I will attach a few...
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Do other workbooks compare okay? Is the issue on all worksheets within the workbook? If you getting an error during a compare, you can send me the files, or if it is private info, then narrow down where the error is by removing sheets that don't give an error, rows/columns that don't give an error until a small range that is of issue can be sent. Steve
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Great, thanks. I have successfully done a compare. Database Compare Compare Completed. Took 9793.391 Secs. 4 cell(s) out of a total of 924437 cell(s) have changed (0%). got another error/warning while doing the above compare. Microsoft Excel Error 1004 (application-defined or object-defined error) in procedure CompareWorkbooks of form frmMain the compare tracking bar stopped around 47% - don't know if it is related. regards Bill
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Got it. I see the error you are seeing now. You are typing in the combobox and as soon as you click away, it generates an error because what you typed in is not an active workbook name. I don't recall why those are comboboxes instead of read only dropdown boxes, but I will look and change if I can. Thanks, Steve
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I am sorry for all the trouble. After reading the help file again and looking into the compare section, I realized I needed to independently open the 2 files to compare then invoke the full compare add on. i no longer get the invalid property value error. and it appears to be comparing. it is only 11% done - update later when done. thank you for all your help Bill
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tried to put 2 attachments, but only 2nd one was sent. here is the 1st.
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sorry i did not see this sooner. i will try. Bill made two xlsx files. tried to compare. get same error. I include the 2 files.
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Try comparing two new blank workbooks and to see if it is something in the workbooks you are comparing. You can put some data in cell A1 to compare. You can also send me the workbooks as well if you want. Steve
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performed reinstall as requested. can open test file new-220517a.xlsx without any errors. selected full compare in Add-ins on this file. when i change the "Second/After file" to my 2nd file to be compared by specifying: new-220517b.xlsx it reports the error microsoft forms invalid property value. unable to do anything else. regards Bill
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also when i select Add-ins and i enter a file name such as lowell_inv-new_stuff_220517b.xlsx it reports microsoft forms invalid property value. Bill
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Preference would be to go to FILE > OPTIONS > ADVANCED > GENERAL and locate the 'At startup open all file in' folder. Place the .xlam there and there only (remove all others). If you still get the error, uninstall and reinstall and UNCHECK the option to register and activate the file. You will then have to manually copy as you have done.
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thanks. I ended up having to copy the .xlam file to C:\Users\barvi\AppDate\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART the only other XLSTART was in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16 and it would not let me deposit anything in that directory until after a reboot. I now have Developer in excel. However when I launch excel it sends me 2 error messages: After another reboot believe excel is using root\Office16. Same 2 error messages: Sorry, Excel can't open two workbooks with the same name at the...
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You can try these. Show developer tab: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/show-the-developer-tab-e1192344-5e56-4d45-931b-e5fd9bea2d45 Change macro settings: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/change-macro-security-settings-in-excel-a97c09d2-c082-46b8-b19f-e8621e8fe373 Steve
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the developer option is not available. so i can not set any macro security settings. Bill
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There is a section in the help file that is installed in the install folder. It has workarounds for a number of issues, so try that first. Steve
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can not install
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If you look in the help file that is installed, there is some information on troubleshooting, basically all the information gained from every other issue that has come up to date. The xlam is also placed in the installation folder. Double clicking to open it in Excel may work if Excel is not opening it by default.
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Corey Baldwin created ticket #88
Not working with Win10 Version 20H2 and 32 bit Office 365 Excel
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It works. I would not recommend Office x64. You can install without registering and access the manual/help from the Start Menu. It provides information on most known issues.
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Abdulelah Aljohani created ticket #23
Spreadsheet Compare Not working in win10 - Excel 2016
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If you want a workaround, the xlam is just a renamed zip file. If you make a back in another folder, rename the file extension, open the zip file, you can edit the 'customUI\customUI14.xml' file. Change <tab idMso="TabAddIns" > <group to <tab id="Tab2" insertBeforeMso="TabDeveloper" label="Compare"> <group Zip up again and rename back to original. This will then load the group into a tab 'Compare'.
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Steve --- I hate to bother you but I am totally confused with Add-ons. The two that I have (one xla and one xlam) are in the User Addon's folder correctly and when I go to Options/Add-ons I can activate them ---- but they never show up. When I start Excel I see them loading when they are set to active but they never appear on any tab that I can find. When I go to Customize the ribbon, they aren't in the command list but they do appear in the Macro list. And, I can add the Macros to the custom group...
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Steve, too bad. I was hoping it was an easy fix to make Spreadsheet Compare behave the same as Essential. I have notice that Excel 2016 will not put even the older xla in the Add-ins tab. I found that deactivating and activating would pop one into the tab but closing and reopening Excel 2016 it was gone again. So, that Add-ins tab sure does have strange behavior, even for the older xla and newer xlam files. Just not very stable to use on a regular basis. I know I could use the Quick access toolbar...
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Originally Essential was under Add-in, but grew so big that I had to move it to a separate tab. 'Add-ins' is a bit special in that any pre-2017 add-ins (before the ribbon UI) will automatically be applied to the default 'Add-ins' tab. So Excel has some knowledge of this tab and this might explain why it works differently. So in my Excel, there are other add-ins that are shown in the add-ins tab as well, some that are xla (pre-2017 add-ins) and some xlam (2017+) that I wrote. It is more useful to...
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Steve -- Light bulb came on --- I agree with what you said --- it would not make sense for me to put my other add-ins in the tab that Spreadsheet Compare is using. And the other add-ins are typically one command macros (Clear excess format; Resize comments) so adding them to a Custom Group works. But I have a question. I installed "Essential Excel Add-in" and it installs in the User/Apps correct folder for Microsoft Addins. But it behaves differently from Spreadsheet compare. When I toggle it from...
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I think this is functionality by Excel. I have not seen any option that would prevent adding a group. I have seen that Excel is very particular about the control of tabs. For example, in my other Add-in where I am moving some of the code from VBA to C#, Excel creates two tabs called 'Add-in' because even though they both refer to the same tab name, because they are different code bases, Excel won't let them share the same tab, so I end up with two tabs of the same name. I imagine in your case that...
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Addins Tab allow New Group
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Yes, it sounds good, I tested it and works fine. Maybe in a next release the user should be enabled to select HOW to highlight the changed cells: i.e. in my case I'd rather not touch the FILL color, I prefer a FONT color change (since I already use fill color to highlight some important data)
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The color all changes option on the second tab should do what you need. It colors all the cells that have changed in both files. You can then turn off the Merged Diffs option. If you don't want to color the original, just make a copy of the Excel file. The diffs will be colored rather than underlined.
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