How to Compare Two Columns in Excel and Highlight Differences with VBA

Описание: Discover how to efficiently compare data in two columns of an Excel sheet using VBA. This guide will help you highlight discrepancies and manage duplicate entries seamlessly!
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/64037915/ asked by the user 'Tomas Perlecky' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/12277781/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/64038072/ provided by the user 'Tim Williams' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/478884/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Compare Two Columns in Excel Using VBA

In Excel, managing data can often become a daunting task, especially when dealing with duplicates and discrepancies across columns. If you've ever found yourself struggling to compare two columns, identify duplicates, and highlight differences, you know just how frustrating this can be. Today, we’ll solve this problem with a simple yet effective VBA solution.

The Problem at Hand

Let's say you have a dataset with two columns, A and B, that looks something like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

What You Want to Achieve

Highlight duplicates in column A when their corresponding values in column B are different.

Display the different values in subsequent columns (C, D, E, etc.).

Provide a summary message indicating the total number of discrepancies.

For instance, your final outcome should resemble:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

The VBA Solution

To achieve this, we’ll utilize VBA to loop through the data, collect unique values, and highlight discrepancies. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to implement the solution.

Step 1: Setup the VBA Macro

Begin by opening the VBA editor in Excel (press ALT + F11) and insert a new module. Copy the following code into the module:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 2: Running the Macro

Go back to your Excel workbook and ensure the data is set up properly.

Open the VBA editor again, and run the macro CompareColumns.

When you execute the macro, it will compare values in columns A and B, highlight discrepancies in red, and list unique values in subsequent columns (C, D, E, etc.). Lastly, it will provide a message showing the total number of duplicates identified.

Conclusion

Using the VBA code provided, you can easily compare columns in Excel, handle duplicates more effectively, and improve data management on your sheets. This technique not only saves you time but also enhances your spreadsheets' accuracy and usability. So why not give it a try in your own projects and see the difference for yourself!

Happy Excel-ing!