If there aren't any issues with needing to re-format any of these and you just want to do a straight comparison, I would do it right in excel. If you have the first file values in column A, and the second file values in column C you could use something like this: - If cell A1 has the first barcode from the first file, in cell B1 type: =Countif(A1,C:C) - This is saying, count how many times the value in cell A1 shows up in the array of column C (i.e. your second barcode list) - This will return a number - You can copy this formula down column B and it will execute for each individual value, A2, A3, A4, etc. - The result will give you a column that tells you either: - 0 = the value does not show up anywhere in your second file list - 1 or more = the value DOES show up in your second file list The result should be a column that lets you identify anything from file 1 that also shows up in file 2. there are a bunch of different excel formulas that would do the same thing but Countif is pretty friendly syntax-wise so I like to stick with that. On Fri, Nov 10, 2017 at 5:00 PM, Rogan Hamby <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > If they’re strings and you’re a *nix user I’d export them to files, sort > them and use the comm command to generate a list of common values. > > On Fri, Nov 10, 2017 at 16:17 Kyle Breneman <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > > I have 2 Excel files, each with a column of barcodes. I am supposed to > > determine which, if any, of the barcodes in the first file are also > present > > in the second file. Is writing a short Python program the best way to do > > this, or is there a more efficient way? (There are about 300 items in > the > > first file and about 1,000 items in the second file.) > > > > Regards, > > Kyle > > > -- > > > Rogan Hamby > > Data and Project Analyst > > Equinox Open Library Initiative > > phone: 1-877-OPEN-ILS (673-6457) > > email: [log in to unmask] > web: http://EquinoxInitiative.org >