I want to Compare two Excel Spreadsheets to highlight the changes that have
been made between one and the other.

Unfortunately the "Compare and Merge Workbooks" function in the Tools menu
is greyed-out. It's not an Add-In, and I've tried installing the
functionality from the CD, but can't find anything.

any ideas?

thanks

Paul Wilson

Hi Paul,

I'm sorry to hear that you're having trouble with the Compare and Merge Workbooks function in Excel. There could be a few reasons why this function is greyed-out and not working for you. Here are some possible solutions:

1. Check if both workbooks are open: The Compare and Merge Workbooks function requires that both workbooks are open in Excel. If one of the workbooks is closed, the function will be greyed-out. So, make sure that both workbooks are open before trying to use the function.
   
2. Check if the workbooks have the same structu The Compare and Merge Workbooks function only works if the two workbooks have the same structure. This means that they should have the same number of sheets, and the sheets should have the same names. If the workbooks have a different structure, the function will be greyed-out.
   
3. Check if the workbooks are protected: If one or both of the workbooks are protected, the Compare and Merge Workbooks function will be disabled. So, make sure that the workbooks are not protected before trying to use the function.
   
4. Check if the add-in is installed: The Compare and Merge Workbooks function is not a built-in feature of Excel. It is an add-in that needs to be installed separately. To check if the add-in is installed, go to the File menu, click Options, and then click Add-Ins. Look for the Compare and Merge Workbooks add-in in the list of installed add-ins. If it's not there, you'll need to install it.
   
5. Try repairing or reinstalling Excel: If none of the above solutions work, there may be a problem with your Excel installation. Try repairing or reinstalling Excel to see if that fixes the issue.

I hope one of these solutions works for you.

Compare and Merge is only available after sending out a shared file with
track changes switched on that Excel tracks and knows what is in both files

It places markers in both files and when the second file is returned, it
knows that they are linked and the function becomes active so you can then
merge the changes

--
Saruman

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"Paul Wilson" <Paul wrote in message
...
I want to Compare two Excel Spreadsheets to highlight the changes that
have
been made between one and the other.

Unfortunately the "Compare and Merge Workbooks" function in the Tools menu
is greyed-out. It's not an Add-In, and I've tried installing the
functionality from the CD, but can't find anything.

any ideas?

thanks

Paul Wilson

Okay - thanks! That works, but is a little complicated because I have to now
make sure that all documents that I email to people for comments have been
"shared" first.
Isn't there a way of just comparing two documents that haven't been
"shared"? It would be nice to be able to do this in the same way that you
can in Word.

Paul

"Saruman" wrote:

Compare and Merge is only available after sending out a shared file with
track changes switched on that Excel tracks and knows what is in both files

It places markers in both files and when the second file is returned, it
knows that they are linked and the function becomes active so you can then
merge the changes

--
Saruman

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Outgoing Mail Scanned By Norton Antivirus 2003
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Paul Wilson" <Paul wrote in message
...
I want to Compare two Excel Spreadsheets to highlight the changes that
have
been made between one and the other.

Unfortunately the "Compare and Merge Workbooks" function in the Tools menu
is greyed-out. It's not an Add-In, and I've tried installing the
functionality from the CD, but can't find anything.

any ideas?

thanks

Paul Wilson