Best way to do Version Control for MS Excel [closed]

Question

I've just setup a spreadsheet that uses Bazaar, with manual checkin/out via TortiseBZR. Given that the topic helped me with the save portion, I wanted to post my solution here.

The solution for me was to create a spreadsheet that exports all modules on save, and removes and re-imports the modules on open. Yes, this could be potentially dangerous for converting existing spreadsheets.

This allows me to edit the macros in the modules via Emacs (yes, emacs) or natively in Excel, and commit my BZR repository after major changes. Because all the modules are text files, the standard diff-style commands in BZR work for my sources except the Excel file itself.

I've setup a directory for my BZR repository, X:\Data\MySheet. In the repo are MySheet.xls and one .vba file for each of my modules (ie: Module1Macros). In my spreadsheet I've added one module that is exempt from the export/import cycle called "VersionControl". Each module to be exported and re-imported must end in "Macros".

Contents of the "VersionControl" module:

Sub SaveCodeModules()

'This code Exports all VBA modules
Dim i%, sName$

With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
    For i% = 1 To .VBComponents.Count
        If .VBComponents(i%).CodeModule.CountOfLines > 0 Then
            sName$ = .VBComponents(i%).CodeModule.Name
            .VBComponents(i%).Export "X:\Tools\MyExcelMacros\" & sName$ & ".vba"
        End If
    Next i
End With

End Sub

Sub ImportCodeModules()

With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
    For i% = 1 To .VBComponents.Count

        ModuleName = .VBComponents(i%).CodeModule.Name

        If ModuleName <> "VersionControl" Then
            If Right(ModuleName, 6) = "Macros" Then
                .VBComponents.Remove .VBComponents(ModuleName)
                .VBComponents.Import "X:\Data\MySheet\" & ModuleName & ".vba"
           End If
        End If
    Next i
End With

End Sub

Next, we have to setup event hooks for open / save to run these macros. In the code viewer, right click on "ThisWorkbook" and select "View Code". You may have to pull down the select box at the top of the code window to change from "(General)" view to "Workbook" view.

Contents of "Workbook" view:

Private Sub Workbook_Open()

ImportCodeModules

End Sub

Private Sub Workbook_BeforeSave(ByVal SaveAsUI As Boolean, Cancel As Boolean)

SaveCodeModules

End Sub

I'll be settling into this workflow over the next few weeks, and I'll post if I have any problems.

Thanks for sharing the VBComponent code!

TortoiseSVN is an astonishingly good Windows client for the Subversion version control system. One feature which I just discovered that it has is that when you click to get a diff between versions of an Excel file, it will open both versions in Excel and highlight (in red) the cells that were changed. This is done through the magic of a vbs script, described here.

You may find this useful even if NOT using TortoiseSVN.

Let me summarise what you would like to version control and why:

1. What:

   • Code (VBA)
   • Spreadsheets (Formulae)
   • Spreadsheets (Values)
   • Charts
   • ...

2. Why:

   • Audit log
   • Collaboration
   • Version comparison ("diffing")
   • Merging

As others have posted here, there are a couple of solutions on top of existing version control systems such as:

• Git
• Mercurial
• Subversion
• Bazaar

If your only concern is the VBA code in your workbooks, then the approach Demosthenex above proposes or VbaGit (https://github.com/brucemcpherson/VbaGit) work very well working and are relatively simple to implement. The advantages are that you can rely on well proven version control systems and chose one according to your needs (have a look at https://help.github.com/articles/what-are-the-differences-between-svn-and-git/ for a brief comparison between Git and Subversion).

If you not only worry about code but also about the data in your sheets ("hardcoded" values and formula results), you can use a similar strategy for that: Serialise the contents of your sheets into some text format (via Range.Value) and use an existing version control system. Here's a very good blog post about this: https://wiki.ucl.ac.uk/display/~ucftpw2/2013/10/18/Using+git+for+version+control+of+spreadsheet+models+-+part+1+of+3

However, spreadsheet comparison is a non-trivial algorithmic problem. There are a few tools around, such as Microsoft's Spreadsheet Compare (https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Overview-of-Spreadsheet-Compare-13fafa61-62aa-451b-8674-242ce5f2c986), Exceldiff (http://exceldiff.arstdesign.com/) and DiffEngineX (https://www.florencesoft.com/compare-excel-workbooks-differences.html). But it's another challenge to integrate these comparison with a version control system like Git.

Finally, you have to settle on a workflow that suits your needs. For a simple, tailored Git for Excel workflow, have a look at https://www.xltrail.com/blog/git-workflow-for-excel.

It depends whether you are talking about data, or the code contained within a spreadsheet. While I have a strong dislike of Microsoft's Visual Sourcesafe and normally would not recommended it, it does integrate easily with both Access and Excel, and provides source control of modules.

[In fact the integration with Access, includes queries, reports and modules as individual objects that can be versioned]

The MSDN link is here.

I'm not aware of a tool that does this well but I've seen a variety of homegrown solutions. The common thread of these is to minimise the binary data under version control and maximise textual data to leverage the power of conventional scc systems. To do this:

• Treat the workbook like any other application. Seperate logic, config and data.
• Separate code from the workbook.
• Build the UI programmatically.
• Write a build script to reconstruct the workbook.

Working upon @Demosthenex work, @Tmdean and @Jon Crowell invaluable comments! (+1 them)

I save module files in git\ dir beside workbook location. Change that to your liking.

This will NOT track changes to Workbook code. So it's up to you to synchronize them.

Sub SaveCodeModules()

'This code Exports all VBA modules
Dim i As Integer, name As String

With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
    For i = .VBComponents.count To 1 Step -1
        If .VBComponents(i).Type <> vbext_ct_Document Then
            If .VBComponents(i).CodeModule.CountOfLines > 0 Then
                name = .VBComponents(i).CodeModule.name
                .VBComponents(i).Export Application.ThisWorkbook.Path & _
                                            "\git\" & name & ".vba"
            End If
        End If
    Next i
End With

End Sub

Sub ImportCodeModules()
Dim i As Integer
Dim ModuleName As String

With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
    For i = .VBComponents.count To 1 Step -1

        ModuleName = .VBComponents(i).CodeModule.name

        If ModuleName <> "VersionControl" Then
            If .VBComponents(i).Type <> vbext_ct_Document Then
                .VBComponents.Remove .VBComponents(ModuleName)
                .VBComponents.Import Application.ThisWorkbook.Path & _
                                         "\git\" & ModuleName & ".vba"
            End If
        End If
    Next i
End With

End Sub

And then in Workbook module:

Private Sub Workbook_Open()

    ImportCodeModules

End Sub

Private Sub Workbook_BeforeSave(ByVal SaveAsUI As Boolean, Cancel As Boolean)

    SaveCodeModules

End Sub

Taking @Demosthenex 's answer a step further, if you'd like to also keep track of the code in your Microsoft Excel Objects and UserForms you have to get a little bit tricky.

First I altered my SaveCodeModules() function to account for the different types of code I plan to export:

Sub SaveCodeModules(dir As String)

'This code Exports all VBA modules
Dim moduleName As String
Dim vbaType As Integer

With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
    For i = 1 To .VBComponents.count
        If .VBComponents(i).CodeModule.CountOfLines > 0 Then
            moduleName = .VBComponents(i).CodeModule.Name
            vbaType = .VBComponents(i).Type

            If vbaType = 1 Then
                .VBComponents(i).Export dir & moduleName & ".vba"
            ElseIf vbaType = 3 Then
                .VBComponents(i).Export dir & moduleName & ".frm"
            ElseIf vbaType = 100 Then
                .VBComponents(i).Export dir & moduleName & ".cls"
            End If

        End If
    Next i
End With

End Sub

The UserForms can be exported and imported just like VBA code. The only difference is that two files will be created when a form is exported (you'll get a .frm and a .frx file for each UserForm). One of these holds the software you've written and the other is a binary file which (I'm pretty sure) defines the layout of the form.

Microsoft Excel Objects (MEOs) (meaning Sheet1, Sheet2, ThisWorkbook etc) can be exported as a .cls file. However, when you want to get this code back into your workbook, if you attempt to import it the same way you would a VBA module, you'll get an error if that sheet already exists in the workbook.

To get around this issue, I decided not to try to import the .cls file into Excel, but to read the .cls file into excel as a string instead, then paste this string into the empty MEO. Here is my ImportCodeModules:

Sub ImportCodeModules(dir As String)

Dim modList(0 To 0) As String
Dim vbaType As Integer

' delete all forms, modules, and code in MEOs
With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
    For Each comp In .VBComponents

        moduleName = comp.CodeModule.Name

        vbaType = .VBComponents(moduleName).Type

        If moduleName <> "DevTools" Then
            If vbaType = 1 Or _
                vbaType = 3 Then

                .VBComponents.Remove .VBComponents(moduleName)

            ElseIf vbaType = 100 Then

                ' we can't simply delete these objects, so instead we empty them
                .VBComponents(moduleName).CodeModule.DeleteLines 1, .VBComponents(moduleName).CodeModule.CountOfLines

            End If
        End If
    Next comp
End With

' make a list of files in the target directory
Set FSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set dirContents = FSO.getfolder(dir) ' figure out what is in the directory we're importing

' import modules, forms, and MEO code back into workbook
With ThisWorkbook.VBProject
    For Each moduleName In dirContents.Files

        ' I don't want to import the module this script is in
        If moduleName.Name <> "DevTools.vba" Then

            ' if the current code is a module or form
            If Right(moduleName.Name, 4) = ".vba" Or _
                Right(moduleName.Name, 4) = ".frm" Then

                ' just import it normally
                .VBComponents.Import dir & moduleName.Name

            ' if the current code is a microsoft excel object
            ElseIf Right(moduleName.Name, 4) = ".cls" Then
                Dim count As Integer
                Dim fullmoduleString As String
                Open moduleName.Path For Input As #1

                count = 0              ' count which line we're on
                fullmoduleString = ""  ' build the string we want to put into the MEO
                Do Until EOF(1)        ' loop through all the lines in the file

                    Line Input #1, moduleString  ' the current line is moduleString
                    If count > 8 Then            ' skip the junk at the top of the file

                        ' append the current line `to the string we'll insert into the MEO
                        fullmoduleString = fullmoduleString & moduleString & vbNewLine

                    End If
                    count = count + 1
                Loop

                ' insert the lines into the MEO
                .VBComponents(Replace(moduleName.Name, ".cls", "")).CodeModule.InsertLines .VBComponents(Replace(moduleName.Name, ".cls", "")).CodeModule.CountOfLines + 1, fullmoduleString

                Close #1

            End If
        End If

    Next moduleName
End With

End Sub

In case you're confused by the dir input to both of these functions, that is just your code repository! So, you'd call these functions like:

SaveCodeModules "C:\...\YourDirectory\Project\source\"
ImportCodeModules "C:\...\YourDirectory\Project\source\"