Excel Change-Control App Adds Visualization

Companies that keep business records in spreadsheets have long known the dangers of non-compliance as ad-hoc changes get made to workbooks and different versions of worksheets get entered.

British financial software and services firm Lyquidity Solutions is offering a version and change control system for Microsoft Excel that does not require a central document store. It has enhanced its ComplyXL workbook version record system with a visualization feature that shows the changes that have been made to workbooks and the worksheets they contain. This facility allows users to see, in a color coded system, which cells have changed.

"This enhancement means users have an easy way to understand the changes that have occurred between any two versions of a worksheet," said Lyquidity product manager Sandy Marshall. "Having changes presented graphically and representing the different types of change using color means users can comprehend the changes much more quickly improving their productivity."

ComplyXL’s version control enables any user to track and review the changes made to a workbook or worksheet at any time, the company said.

The product is priced at £35 for a single user and a free trial version is available for download.