Tables: Compare Two Tables
Use this action to match column values to find similarities and differences between rows in two data tables.
Use case 
Frequently, the Tables: Compare two tables action is helpful to check if a master table has the latest information from a new table. For instance, a list of email address for a particular email list may need updating and the user can use the Tables: Compare two tables action to avoid adding an email twice, for instance.
How to configure this action
Fields for this action
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Data table 1
- Select the first table from a list of all tables available on your team. The list only includes tables you have permission to view.
- You can also reference a table stored in a field. Change the left hand drop-down to Use table via field then select from any field that is part of the process. Learn more.
- If necessary, you can enter the Table ID directly. Change the left hand drop-down to Use table by ID then enter the ID manually. Learn more.
- Select the first table from a list of all tables available on your team. The list only includes tables you have permission to view.
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Data table 2
- Select the second table from a list of all tables available on your team. The list only includes tables you have permission to view.
- You can also reference a table stored in a field. Change the left hand drop-down to Use table via field then select from any field that is part of the process. Learn more.
- If necessary, you can enter the Table ID directly. Change the left hand drop-down to Use table by ID then enter the ID manually. Learn more.
- Select the second table from a list of all tables available on your team. The list only includes tables you have permission to view.
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Match columns
- Names of the columns to look for matching values between the two tables, separated by commas
- Column names must match between the two tables.
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Output Field Prefix
- To help keep output fields organized, choose an output field prefix to add to the beginning of each output field name as this action may output more than one field.
- The step’s name is used as the prefix by default.
What will this output?
This action may generate multiple fields. To help keep output fields organized, the prefix above will be added to the beginning of each of the output field names, separated by two dashes. Each field will result as:{{output-field-prefix--output-field}}. Learn more
Output fields for this action
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In table 1 only
- The ID of a data table that holds the values that only appear in table 1
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In table 2 only
- The ID of a data table that holds the values that only appear in table 2
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In both tables
- The ID of a data table that holds values that appear in both tables. The action automatically removes duplicates.
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Number of unique values in both tables
- The number of unique values that appear in both tables
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Number of unique values in table 1 only
- The number of unique values that appear in table 1 only
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Number of unique values in table 2 only
- The number of unique values that appear in table 2 only
Get help with a problem or question
If something’s not working as expected, or you’re looking for suggestions, check through the options below.
Why do some column names not work?
Enclose individual column names and values in quotation marks (""), if they contain special characters like commas, leading/trailing whitespace, and newlines. For example:
- If the column name is
$Weekly Report,,,, enter the column name as"$Weekly Report,,,", with quotation marks. - If you want to use the field reference
{{tablecolumn}}to dynamically reference the column name, enter it as"{{tablecolumn}}"
If the column name contains a quotation mark, escape each quotation mark with quotation marks, for example: if the column name is "Column name", enter it as """Column name""".
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