Install Tidyfield Compare

Tidyfield Compare is not in Microsoft AppSource yet, so you add it to Excel from a small file on this site. It takes about a minute and you only do it once per computer (once per account on Excel for the web). The add-in itself loads from this website over HTTPS, so updates reach you automatically.

Works with Microsoft 365 on Windows and Mac, Excel for the web, and Excel 2021 or later. Excel 2016 and 2019 are not supported.

1. Download the add-in file

Download tidyfield-compare-manifest.xml

This is the add-in's manifest: a short text file that tells Excel the add-in's name, icon and web address. It contains no code and no personal data. If your browser opens it as text instead of saving it, right-click the button and choose Save link as.

2a. Excel on the web

  1. Open any workbook at office.com (a free Microsoft account works).
  2. On the Home tab, select Add-ins, then More Add-ins. On some versions the button is Advanced or More settings, or the menu is under Insert, Office Add-ins.
  3. In the Office Add-ins window, open the My Add-ins tab and select Upload My Add-in (it can sit under Manage My Add-ins).
  4. Choose Browse, pick the file you downloaded, then Upload.
  5. A Compare button appears in a Tidyfield group on the Home tab.

2b. Excel for Mac

  1. Quit Excel.
  2. In Finder, choose Go, Go to Folder and paste ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Documents/
  3. Open the folder named wef. If it does not exist, create a folder with that exact name.
  4. Copy the downloaded file into the wef folder.
  5. Open Excel and any workbook. Select Home, Add-ins (or Insert, My Add-ins) and choose Tidyfield Compare. It may be listed under Developer Add-ins.

Office updates can occasionally clear this folder. If the button disappears, copy the file back in.

2c. Excel for Windows

Excel for Windows reads add-in files from a trusted shared folder. Your own computer can host it.

  1. Create a folder, for example C:\Tidyfield, and copy the downloaded file into it.
  2. Right-click the folder, choose Properties, open the Sharing tab and select Share. Add yourself if you are not listed, select Share, and copy the network path shown, which looks like \\YOUR-PC\Tidyfield.
  3. In Excel, open File, Options, Trust Center, Trust Center Settings, Trusted Add-in Catalogs.
  4. Paste the network path into Catalog Url, select Add catalog, tick Show in Menu, then OK. Use the network path, not C:\Tidyfield.
  5. Close and reopen Excel.
  6. Select Home, Add-ins, More Add-ins (or Insert, My Add-ins), open the Shared Folder tab, choose Tidyfield Compare and select Add.

Using Microsoft 365 with a work account? If your admin deploys it (next section) there is nothing to do on each computer.

2d. Everyone in a Microsoft 365 organisation

A Microsoft 365 admin can deploy the add-in to chosen people or the whole organisation. It then appears in Excel on Windows, Mac and the web for those users.

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center as an admin.
  2. Go to Settings, Integrated apps, then Upload custom apps.
  3. Choose Office Add-in as the app type, then either upload the downloaded file or give the link https://compare.tidyfieldapps.com/addin/manifest.xml.
  4. Pick who gets it (everyone, specific users or groups) and finish the wizard.
  5. The Compare button shows up for those users, usually within a few hours and at most 24 hours.

After installing

  1. Open a workbook and select Compare on the Home tab. The task pane opens with a 14-day trial of every Pro feature.
  2. Bought a licence? Select License at the bottom of the task pane, paste the key from your receipt email and select Activate. One key works on up to 3 devices.
  3. New to the add-in? The documentation explains each mode and option.

If something goes wrong

Upload My Add-in is missing on Excel for the web

Some organisations turn off uploading add-ins. Ask your Microsoft 365 admin to deploy it for you (section 2d), or use a personal Microsoft account at office.com.

The Shared Folder tab is empty on Windows

Check that the catalog uses the network path (starting with \\), that Show in Menu is ticked, and that you restarted Excel. The file must be directly inside the shared folder.

The task pane says it cannot load

Check your internet connection: the add-in loads from this website. If it still fails, close Excel, reopen it and try again.

Removing the add-in

Excel on the web: Home, Add-ins, More Add-ins, My Add-ins, then the menu next to Tidyfield Compare and Remove. Mac: delete the file from the wef folder. Windows: remove the catalog in Trust Center, Trusted Add-in Catalogs.

Still stuck

Email [email protected] with your Excel version (File, Account, About Excel) and what you see. We reply within one business day.