Open the two Excel files you want to compare.

The Inquire tab includes a number of potentially useful features, but as an editor I care mainly about the one in the middle, Compare Files:

Check the box next to Inquire and click OK.

Next to Manage, select COM Add-ins and click Go.

If your version of Excel does support it, here’s how to add the Inquire tab to your ribbon: You never know what the future may bring (or what Microsoft may decide to offer).

If you don’t have these, you may want to read on anyway. The feature I’m about to describe currently requires either Microsoft 365 “enterprise” edition or Office Professional Plus. Adding Inquireįirst, an important caveat. In Excel, those things don’t compute.Įnter Inquire, a Microsoft add-in that includes a Compare Files feature. So don’t expect things like spelling on the fly or in-line deletion and insertion tracking. And all it does anyway is generate a bunch of practically invisible comments.*īesides, Excel is for data entry. There is a Track Changes feature if you look for it, but it’s now deprecated (as in no longer actively supported by Microsoft). What I don’t like is that there’s no useful equivalent of Track Changes for Excel, Microsoft’s spreadsheet app. Copyeditors may be asked to spruce these up from time to time. They’re favored by everyone from publishers to programmers to keep track of complex data sets. Some of us use spreadsheets to track content across a bunch of related projects, or to record style preferences. Word’s Compare feature can save you hours of work. Every editor knows what it’s like to get (surprise!) a new version of chapter 8 after you’ve already finished editing it. Word will also step in when you’ve forgotten to track your changes, or when you need to pinpoint the differences between two versions of the same document. (I prefer strikethrough and underscore for deletions and insertions, respectively, with comments and queries in the margins.) Set the display options to your liking, and additions and deletions will be handled on the fly marked up as you go in a way that can’t be missed.

If you edit in Microsoft Word, it’s all about Track Changes.

If you’re a copyeditor like me, you probably rely on the ability to track your changes, not only so others can see precisely what you’ve changed, but so you can keep track of where you’ve been.

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