Excel Comparing Current Report to Prior

1,133 Views | 3 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by The Dog Lord
The Dog Lord
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I want to ask you all about the approach that might work best to compare the current version of a report to a prior version (refreshed data). Basically I just want to see which values in certain columns changed for each row. For instance, for event ID #1, did the meeting time change, did the meeting location change, etc.

Each item has a unique ID number that can be used to easily identify which items are on both reports. I know how to insert the data from the prior report using Index-Match in new columns on my current report, but it seems like PowerQuery does this a bit more efficiently.

From there though, do I have to then create helper columns to compare the prior and current value columns? That is what ChatGPT recommended.

I'd like to avoid having to do the helper columns if possible, but using PQ may have at least let me skip the Index-Match steps. Is there an easier way to approach this? I'm just starting to learn PowerQuery.
Diggity
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Seems like SmartSheet (or something similar) would be a lot better for this use case.
CapCity12thMan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
have you tried using the Spreadsheet Compare feature of Excel?
The Dog Lord
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
CapCity12thMan said:

have you tried using the Spreadsheet Compare feature of Excel?
Never used it before. Not sure the output is exactly what I'm looking for, but I will explore it a bit more. It seemed to correctly flag some of the changes but may not be flagging entirely new entries based on those unique ID numbers. I just did a quick compare though, so I'll have to see if I could refine something to have it flag those too.

I did end up doing the PowerQuery option and inserting a few columns with If statements for the main columns I was interested in comparing. It definitely saved me time getting the data merged for an easy comparison.
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.