To view more than 2 Excel files at a time, open all the workbooks you want to compare, and click the View Side by Side button. Arrange multiple Excel windows side by side This option resides on the View tab, in the Window group, right under the View Side by Side button, and is usually turned on automatically as soon as you activate View Side by Side mode.įor more information about using this Excel feature, please see View Excel workbooks side by side. If you want to scroll through both worksheets simultaneously to compare data row-by-row, make sure the Synchronous Scrolling option it turned on. To split Excel windows vertically, click Arrange All button and select Vertical:Īs the result, two separate Excel windows will be arranged side by side, like in the below screenshot. That's it!īy default, two separate Excel windows are displayed horizontally.

Go to the View tab, Window group, and click the View Side by Side button.

Open the workbooks you want to compare.To open two Excel files side by side, do the following: Let's say you have sales reports for two months and you want to view both of them simultaneously to understand which products performed better this month and which did better last month.

You can use this method to visually compare two workbooks or two sheets in the same workbook. I am talking about View Side by Side mode that lets you arrange two Excel windows side by side. If you have relatively small workbooks and a sharp eye for detail, this quick and easy way to compare Excel files might work well for you. How to compare two Excel files by viewing them side by side Online services to compare two Excel sheets.Specialized tools to compare files in Excel.Compare and merge copies of a shared workbook.Highlight differences between 2 sheets with conditional formatting.

Compare two Excel sheets for differences using formulas.

Compare two Excel files by viewing them side-by-side.

So, let's have a closer look at various methods to compare two Excel sheets or entire workbooks and identify differences between them. In addition, workbook comparison can help you spot potential problems like broken links, duplicate records, inconsistent formulas or wrong formatting.

When you have two similar Excel workbooks, or better say two versions of the same workbook, what's the first thing you usually want to do with them? Right, compare those files for differences, and then probably merge them into a single file. See how to open two Excel windows side by side, how to use Excel formulas to create a difference report, highlight differences with conditional formatting, and more. In this tutorial, you will learn a variety of methods to compare Excel files and identify differences between them.

File comparison tool s