How to track changes in Excel sheet

When working with spreadsheets, tracking changes is crucial for ensuring data accuracy and effective collaboration. Changes in a spreadsheet can occur frequently, especially in a shared environment where multiple users are involved. This article will guide you on how to track changes in Excel sheets using the ONLYOFFICE office suite.

ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor allows you to maintain a constant team-wide approach to the workflow: share files and folders, collaborate on spreadsheets in real time, communicate right in the editor, and comment certain parts of your spreadsheets that require additional third-party input. The editor also has a version history feature to track changes in Excel sheets.

How track changes works

In the online version of ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor, the Track Changes feature is enabled by default. This means that as soon as someone edits the document, every change is automatically tracked.

When a user edits the document, the system saves these changes as new versions.

Version is a major change and includes all the file revisions for a certain period. Every editing session is considered a new file version, i.e. a new file version is automatically created and displayed in the version history when the editing session ends. An editing session ends when a user closes the file (or all users who are editing the file simultaneously close the file).

When you open the Version history panel, the changes made by the author of the selected version will be marked with the corresponding color.

How to track changes in ONLYOFFICE

To view all the changes made to this spreadsheet, go to the Collaboration tab of the top toolbar and select Version History.

You’ll see the list of this spreadsheet versions with the indication of each version author and creation date and time.

To know exactly which changes have been made in each separate version, you can view the one you need by clicking it on the left-side toolbar.

All changes a user has made in this version will be highlighted by the color their avatar is circled in.

You can use the Restore link below the selected version to restore it.

You can effectively track and review changes in ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor using the Version History feature, ensuring that you have full visibility and control over the document’s development.

Other methods to highlight changes in ONLYOFFICE

Manual highlighting of changes. If you prefer to highlight changes manually, ONLYOFFICE allows you to apply various formatting options, such as changing the cell color, or font color. This method is useful when you need more control over how changes are presented or when you want to emphasize specific updates.

Comments. ONLYOFFICE allows you to add comments to specific cells, which can be used to note changes or provide additional context for updates. Comments are useful when collaborating with others, as they enable you to explain why a change was made or request feedback on it.  This ensures that other team members understand the reasoning behind the change and can respond or make further adjustments if needed.

Track changes in ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor

Try tracking changes in Excel sheets in the ONLYOFFICE editors, analyze your data with conditional formatting, pivot tables, and use the AI assistant:

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