Choosing Comparison Strategy

xlCompare offers you 2 types of comparison strategies:
  • Compare Spreadsheets
  • Compare Databases
Spreadsheet Data is a normal Excel workbook with constant cells, formulas, Visual Basic macros, etc. There is no limits to the compared data.
Database Data is a database table saved on the Excel workbsheet. All rows have same structure, which consists of fields. One or several fields should be a Primary Key. Formulas are possible, but they should not refer to other rows. Only references to cells in the same rows are possible.
Both types of data require different algorithms. You can choose appropriate one by activating option Compare as Database on the Compare tab.
Usual algorithms are not suitable for database and vice versa. When database is a structured table with key which identifies every row, spreadsheet has very flexible structure, which could not be defined by any rules.
Which Strategy to choose?
You need to review you data and select. xlCompare tries to identify Primary Keys, based on your data. But these keys are not used in comparison untill you enable Compare as Database option.