Microsoft's Excel software is one of the best tools for you to organize, analyze, and manipulate data. Here are three ways to compare data in two columns.

You can freeze columns in Excel with a few clicks, and then unfreeze them when you no longer need to view them statically.

If you want to compare data in a side-by-side fashion, then we suggest using the Scenario Manager feature in Excel. You can also use it to swap multiple sets of data within a single worksheet.

Freezing cells does not lock the cell data (see our story on protecting data by locking it); it just keeps the cells in view. That makes it easy to visually keep track of your data and to compare ...

Using the Text to Columns Tool One way to split data into multiple columns in Microsoft Excel is to use the built-in Text To Columns tool. This method is handy if you prefer to work in a dialog ...

You can split cells into columns in Excel using the "Text to Columns" tool, which is a great way to organize lots of data.

Microsoft Excel comes with a lot of built-in functionality that doesn't restrict you to comparing data in two columns using only one method.