Forum Discussion

K_TF_2015's avatar
K_TF_2015
Copper Contributor
Feb 07, 2023

Using VBA code to highlight the differences between two cells of text

Hi There,

I would like to be able to compare two cells of text in excel, and highlight the differences between them. I found the following VBA code which highlights the first difference in red, however it also then highlights all of the remaining text in the cell in red (rather than just the differences): 

 

Sub highlight()
    Dim xRg1 As Range
    Dim xRg2 As Range
    Dim xTxt As String
    Dim xCell1 As Range
    Dim xCell2 As Range
    Dim I As Long
    Dim J As Integer
    Dim xLen As Integer
    Dim xDiffs As Boolean
    On Error Resume Next
    If ActiveWindow.RangeSelection.Count > 1 Then
      xTxt = ActiveWindow.RangeSelection.AddressLocal
    Else
      xTxt = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.AddressLocal
    End If
lOne:
    Set xRg1 = Application.InputBox("Range A:", "Kutools for Excel", xTxt, , , , , 8)
    If xRg1 Is Nothing Then Exit Sub
    If xRg1.Columns.Count > 1 Or xRg1.Areas.Count > 1 Then
        MsgBox "Multiple ranges or columns have been selected ", vbInformation, "Kutools for Excel"
        GoTo lOne
    End If
lTwo:
    Set xRg2 = Application.InputBox("Range B:", "Kutools for Excel", "", , , , , 8)
    If xRg2 Is Nothing Then Exit Sub
    If xRg2.Columns.Count > 1 Or xRg2.Areas.Count > 1 Then
        MsgBox "Multiple ranges or columns have been selected ", vbInformation, "Kutools for Excel"
        GoTo lTwo
    End If
    If xRg1.CountLarge <> xRg2.CountLarge Then
       MsgBox "Two selected ranges must have the same numbers of cells ", vbInformation, "Kutools for Excel"
       GoTo lTwo
    End If
    xDiffs = (MsgBox("Click Yes to highlight similarities, click No to highlight differences ", vbYesNo + vbQuestion, "Kutools for Excel") = vbNo)
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    xRg2.Font.ColorIndex = xlAutomatic
    For I = 1 To xRg1.Count
        Set xCell1 = xRg1.Cells(I)
        Set xCell2 = xRg2.Cells(I)
        If xCell1.Value2 = xCell2.Value2 Then
            If Not xDiffs Then xCell2.Font.Color = vbRed
        Else
            xLen = Len(xCell1.Value2)
            For J = 1 To xLen
                If Not xCell1.Characters(J, 1).Text = xCell2.Characters(J, 1).Text Then Exit For
            Next J
            If Not xDiffs Then
                If J <= Len(xCell2.Value2) And J > 1 Then
                    xCell2.Characters(1, J - 1).Font.Color = vbRed
                End If
            Else
                If J <= Len(xCell2.Value2) Then
                    xCell2.Characters(J, Len(xCell2.Value2) - J + 1).Font.Color = vbRed
                End If
            End If
        End If
    Next
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

 Here is a screenshot of what this code does:

 

But this is what I would like it to do:

 

Is there a way to amend the above VBA code to do this? Or if there is a completely different way of highlighting the differences, I'd very much welcome that too.

Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

Resources