Capability overview
What does cross-format spreadsheet comparison do in Diff Anything?
Compare stored cell values by sheet and coordinate across CSV, TSV, XLS/XLA, XLSX/XLSM/XLAM, XLSB, ODS, and Apple Numbers—even when the two formats differ. The sheet-aware grid links changed cells to the Differences pane and virtualizes populated rows and columns. Formulas, formatting, charts, macros, and workbook layout are not compared.
Diff Anything chooses a comparison engine that understands the inputs. Spreadsheets compare stored cell values across CSV, TSV, Excel, OpenDocument, and Apple Numbers formats in a sheet-aware grid. Code and text receive language-aware highlighting and moved-block detection, text adds an interactive three-way merge workspace, JSON and other structured formats compare semantic paths, PDFs switch between rendered-page visual comparison and extracted text, and images offer overlay, swipe, blink, heatmap, and changed-pixel views.
In the workflow
Select a mode
Use automatic detection or explicitly choose text, structured, cross-format spreadsheet, folder, archive, document, image, binary, or API comparison. Archive detection can recognize supported container signatures even when the filename is misleading.
Diff Anything keeps the source pair, selected mode, comparison rules, result, and review state together so the same decision can be revisited or automated.
Useful in practice
Where this capability earns its place.
Related manual
Compare folders, spreadsheets, documents, and images
Review cross-format spreadsheet values, release trees, documents, and visual assets with purpose-built navigation, safety checks, and rollback.
The guide covers prepare folder sources, compare large trees, synchronize with a plan and an undo path, compare spreadsheets and documents, use visual image tools. It is the best next step when you want to move from the product overview into a repeatable setup.
Read the guideDirect answers
Questions about cross-format spreadsheet comparison.
What does cross-format spreadsheet comparison do in Diff Anything?
Compare stored cell values by sheet and coordinate across CSV, TSV, XLS/XLA, XLSX/XLSM/XLAM, XLSB, ODS, and Apple Numbers—even when the two formats differ. The sheet-aware grid links changed cells to the Differences pane and virtualizes populated rows and columns. Formulas, formatting, charts, macros, and workbook layout are not compared.
Do compared files leave the computer?
No. Comparison is local. The application has no account, cloud comparison service, analytics, or telemetry.
How does automatic mode choose a comparison?
Compatible spreadsheet formats can use the shared stored-value comparison even when their extensions differ, matching structured formats use their semantic engine, two folders use folder comparison, and other compatible inputs fall back to text. You can always choose a concrete mode.