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Ignore expected changes

Skip a timestamp, a worksheet, or a kind of difference without losing sight of the other changes.

For the Windows app · Version 0.9.16

Watch the lessonReal app examples, chapter controls, and practice files.

Add an ignore rule

  1. Open Comparison options → Ignore rules.
  2. Choose a field under Ignore when.
  3. Enter or select what it should match.
  4. Click Add rule, then Compare again.

Ignored changes are counted separately. They do not consume the per-file stopping limit. Removing a rule does not rewrite the last run: remove it, then compare again to include those changes.

Choose the right field

Ignore whenUse it for
Difference categoryA whole category, such as Formatting. Other categories are still checked.
Worksheet nameA named worksheet or a name pattern such as Cover*.
Cell or locationA cell location or range such as B7:B7 or A1:A10.
Changed propertyA property listed in the details, such as a particular kind of formatting. Copy the wording from a real result.
File pathDifferences whose baseline or new-output path matches the rule. This does not prevent the file from being opened or guarantee file errors disappear.

How matches work

Plain text matches a case-insensitive part of the field. Wildcards work differently: * means any text and ? means one character, and the pattern must match the whole field. Cover* matches “Cover” and “Cover notes.” Cell ranges such as A1:A10 are recognized as ranges.

Each rule works independently. A difference is ignored if any enabled rule matches. A worksheet rule plus a cell rule does not mean “only this cell on this worksheet.” It ignores matches to either rule. A B7:B7 location rule can apply to B7 on more than one worksheet.

Use the narrowest rule that fits your job. Save it in a project once you have checked that the remaining results are the ones you expect.

Example: ignore an export timestamp

In the weekly report exercise, keep formulas and rich text on and set tolerance to 0.01. B7 contains an export timestamp that changes on every run.

  1. Choose Cell or location.
  2. Enter B7:B7 and click Add rule.
  3. Compare again. For these exercise files, expect four reported differences and one ignored difference.
  4. Remove the rule with its remove control and rerun. You should be back to five reported differences and none ignored.

For a whole generated CSV column, use Ignore columns instead of trying to list every row.

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