Comparing two columns in different sheets with unique identifier

segelson

New Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2018
Messages
7
I am trying to compare two columns in excel with the same unique identifier and highlight the cell if it is different:

UniqueDescriptionDateUniqueDescriptionDate
123Test10/1/2018126Test10/5/2018
124Test10/2/2018123Test10/2/2018
125Test10/1/2018124Test10/2/2018
126Test10/5/2018125Test10/1/2018

<colgroup><col><col><col><col span="2"><col><col></colgroup><tbody>
</tbody>


In the above example I have 3 columns (Unique, Description, and Date) I am trying to compare the date on two separate sheets and highlight if they are different if the unique identifier matches.
 

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Segelson,
With this example it is easiest to Sort the second data set by ascending order. You can then create a Highlight rule with if statement formula to highlight differing dates. However, this simplistic approach becomes more complex if, say, you have a unique Identifier on the second tab that skips number 124. You would then be left with mismatching "Description Columns" for identifiers 125, 126 etc.
 
Upvote 0
Segelson,
With this example it is easiest to Sort the second data set by ascending order. You can then create a Highlight rule with if statement formula to highlight differing dates. However, this simplistic approach becomes more complex if, say, you have a unique Identifier on the second tab that skips number 124. You would then be left with mismatching "Description Columns" for identifiers 125, 126 etc.


In the worksheets that I am working with there are several thousand unique identifiers, I don't think the sort will work as the unique identifiers are not going to exactly match. (in one worksheet there may be different, or additional numbers)
 
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