Version History Issues

How to Compare SharePoint Item Versions in Column Formatting

Elise Williams Oct 16, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user wants to know if it is possible to use SharePoint column formatting JSON to compare a current list item with its previous version and specifically highlight the column that has changed.

How to Compare SharePoint Item Versions in Column Formatting

Product: SharePoint Online
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Trying to dynamically highlight changes between list item versions using standard column formatting.
Observed behavior: SharePoint Online does not provide an out-of-the-box JSON condition for comparing the current item state with its previous version.

Before you start

Verify that you have version history enabled for your SharePoint list or document library before attempting to track or compare changes between item updates.

Solution 1Recommended

Utilize Custom Development for Version Comparison

Since out-of-the-box column formatting doesn't support previous version comparison, custom development or alternative automation methods are required.

SharePoint Online column formatting JSON relies exclusively on the current state of the item. It does not have native operators to query the version history or compare against previous field values directly. To achieve this highlighting effect, you need to rely on custom solutions or workflow automation.

Explore Power Automate Alternatives

Consider creating a Power Automate flow that triggers when an item is modified. The flow can compare the previous and current values, and write a flag (like 'Changed') to a hidden helper column that your JSON formatting can read and format accordingly.

Consult the Microsoft Q&A Community

Navigate to the Microsoft Q&A community and post your specific scenario using the 'SharePoint Development' tag to get specialized guidance on custom SPFx or JSON implementations from Microsoft engineers.

Reset Custom Views

If you are experimenting with column formatting for customer views and it does not work as expected, click on the column header, go to 'Column settings' > 'Format this column', and remove the JSON code to reset it back to the default view.

Utilize Custom Development for Version Comparison

Development Resources: Customizing SharePoint lists to query version history dynamically may require advanced knowledge of SharePoint Framework (SPFx) or complex Power Automate workflows.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use out-of-the-box JSON to highlight changed columns in SharePoint?

No, standard SharePoint column formatting JSON does not support referencing previous version data to conditionally highlight columns that have changed.

How do I enable version history in a SharePoint list?

Go to List Settings, select 'Versioning settings', and choose 'Create a version each time you edit an item in this list' to ensure all modifications are recorded.

How can I reset column formatting in SharePoint?

Click on the column header in your list, go to 'Column settings', select 'Format this column', and clear the JSON code or simply click 'Remove formatting' to restore the default view.

Document & File Issues