xltrail: Version Control for Excel Workbooks

xltrail is a web-based platform that tracks changes in Excel workbooks. This article explains which Excel file formats are supported by xltrail and what type of content it tracks. It also gives you an introduction to the different project types that xltrail offers (drag-and-drop and Git). At the end of the article, you'll find a few quickstart videos.

Supported Files

xltrail supports all common Excel file formats including:

• xlsx
• xlsm
• xlsb
• xlam
• xltx
• xltm
• xls
• xlt
• xla

Tracked Content

Currently, xltrail tracks the following content:

• Cell formulas
• Entered cell values (calculated values are not tracked)
• Defined Names (includes named ranges and Lambda Functions)
• Cell notes and comments
• Properties (BuiltIn and Custom)
• Power Queries
• VBA modules
• CustomUI (The XML file that defines the layout of ribbon add-ins)

Project Types

There are two types of projects that differ in how you upload the Excel files:

• Drag-and-drop: you can upload new versions of workbooks by drag-and-dropping the Excel file on the xltrail web interface. This is very beginner friendly and recommended if you don't have any previous Git knowledge. Behind the scenes, the workbooks are still version controlled in a Git repository that is managed by xltrail on the xltrail server. Learn more>
• Git integration: xltrail can integrate with any external Git vendor including GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket and Azure DevOps. If you use the Git integration, xltrail syncs the repo from the external system and shows the contained workbooks and their content. This is the recommended way of using xltrail if you are familiar with Git and are already using it to track your workbooks: there is no need to change your existing workflow and you can continue to commit/push your Excel files to your Git provider using the tools that work best for you—whether that's the command line, the Git tools in VS Code or a dedicated tool like GitHub Desktop. Learn more>

Quickstart Videos

Drag-and-Drop Projects

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Git Projects

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Compare two Excel files ad-hoc

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