Requirements for merging Both workbooks must meet the following requirements:
- Be copies of the same workbook, which must have been a shared workbook.
- Have different file names.
- Either not have passwords, or both have the same password.
- Have change tracking in effect continuously from when the copies were made.
- Keep change history back at least as far as the date when the copies were made.
For example, if the change history is being kept in the workbooks for 30 days, and the copies were made 45 days ago, you can no longer merge the workbooks.
Plan ahead for later merging When you turn on change tracking but aren't sure when you'll merge the workbooks, set a large number of days for the history, up to the maximum of 32,767 days.
Merge changes manually If the workbooks still won't merge, you can incorporate the information from one workbook into another manually, by copying and pasting from one workbook to another.
After merging, I don't see the changes I expect.
Changes appear from the last workbook merged Changes in the last workbook you merge replace any conflicting changes in the workbook you're merging into. If you merge more than one workbook at once, the workbooks are merged in the order in which they appear in the Select Files to Merge into Current Workbook dialog box. The changes from each successively merged workbook replace previously merged changes.
View the replaced changes The History worksheet lists information about conflicting changes that were replaced.
- On the Tools menu, point to Track Changes, and then click Highlight Changes.
- In the When box, click All.
- Clear the Who and Where check boxes.
- Select the List changes on a new sheet check box, and then click OK.
- On the History worksheet, scroll to the right to view the Action Type and Losing Action columns. Conflicting changes that were kept in a merge have "Won" in the Action Type column. The row numbers in the Losing Action column identify the rows with information about the conflicting changes that weren't kept, including any deleted data.
Review the changes You can accept some of the changes from the merged copy and reject others.
- On the Tools menu, point to Track Changes, and then click Accept or Reject Changes.
- If prompted to save the workbook, click OK.
- Select the changes to review:
Changes made after a particular date Select the When check box, click Since date, and then type the earliest date for which you want to review the changes.
Changes made by another user Select the Who check box, and then click the user whose changes you want to review.
Changes made by all users Clear the Who check box.
Changes to a specific area Select the Where check box, and then enter a range reference, or select a range on the worksheet.
Changes to the entire workbook Clear the Where check box.
- Click OK and begin reviewing the information about each change in the Accept or Reject Changes dialog box. The information includes other changes that are affected by the action you take for a change. You may need to scroll to see all of the information.
To accept or reject each change, click Accept or Reject. The History worksheet records a rejection with "Undo" or "Result of rejected action" in the Action Type column.
If prompted to select a value for a cell, click the value you want, and then click Accept.
Notes
- You must accept or reject a change before you can advance to the next change.
- You can accept or reject all remaining changes at once by clicking Accept All or Reject All.