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Office 2013 Spreadsheet Compare - System Generated Changes

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The following is a screenshot that shows the different types of changes listed in the results of a Spreadsheet Compare analysis:

 

 

Some of the options shown above may sound similar, as listed below:

FormulasSysGen FormulasSysGen Formulas ErrorsNamesSysGen NamesSysGen Names Errors

SysGen stands for System Generated. System Generated changes are those that are not made directly by the user but made by the system (Excel) as a byproduct of a user change. System Generated changes are caused by a structural change made directly by the user, such as addition/deletion of rows/columns or renaming/deleting sheets. 

So a Formula change is when a user makes a change to the formula, whereas a System Generated Formula change is when a formula is changed by Excel. An example is when a row is deleted by the user. Excel will automatically change the formula to account for the row deletion by changing the references to cells, as all cells will have moved up one row. 

A change to a Name is when a user changes a Name, whereas a System Generated Name change refers a Name change made by Excel. For example, if a user deletes a row, a Name that is defined for range of cells under that row would change to account for the row deletion. Excel will change the name definition by changing the references to the cells that make up the named range. 

System Generated Name Errors and System Generated Formula Errors are errors that are caused by a System Generated change that results in an Excel error. The deletion of a sheet could cause an error in Names or Formulas that were referencing that sheet with a #REF! error.

For an overview of Spreadsheet Compare, visit https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/overview-of-spreadsheet-compare-HA103516135.aspx

Comments

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    The comment has been removed
    • Anonymous
      March 30, 2017
      The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    June 02, 2014
    The comment has been removed
  • Anonymous
    February 11, 2016
    when running the spreadsheet compare against to excel spreapsheets I'm getting the following error "exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation"
    • Anonymous
      June 23, 2016
      ltrAin: That error is described in a different article:https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/spreadsheet_controls/2015/03/09/audit-and-control-management-server-2013-exception-has-been-thrown-by-the-target-of-an-invocation-error-while-processing-files-or-with-spreadsheet-compare/