> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://community-test.logicnets.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://community-test.logicnets.com/release-9/platform-documentation/process-node-parts/compare-collection.md).

# Compare Collection

## Description

The *Compare Collection* part allows an application to identify the differences between a collection and a comparison collection. The system outputs the results into two user-defined collections:

* Items present in the comparison collection but not in the original collection
* Items not present in the comparison collection but present in the original collection

## Use

This part can be used in a variety of applications; for example, a user can deploy this part to identify identify new items and end-user selects from a checklist compared to the end-user's original selection. The user can also apply the part to identify the common items across two collections; i.e., find the intersection of the data.

## Editor Fields

| Field Name                                          | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | Type/Options | Optional/Mandatory |
| --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------ | ------------------ |
| collection1                                         | This is the name of the original collection.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | Data Object  | Mandatory          |
| collection2                                         | This is the name of the revised or comparison collection.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           | Data Object  | Mandatory          |
| (Output) deleted items                              | This is the name of the collection into which the Compare Collection part will write those items that are present in collection1 but not present in collection2.                                                                                                                                                                                                    | Data Object  | Optional           |
| (Output) added items                                | This is the name of the collection into which the Compare Collection part will write those items present in collection2 but not present in collection1.                                                                                                                                                                                                             | Data Object  | Optional           |
| (Output) equal items                                | This is the name of the collection into which the Compare Collection part will write items that are the same in both collections.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | Data Object  | Optional           |
| <p>Compare on specific keys<br>(Release 8.1 on)</p> | <p>In case of complex collections (where each item has multiple objects/keys to compare), this field defines one or more keys to compare the collections on.<br>This parameter is used to compare collections only on the specified keys, and not the collection as a whole. The added, deleted and common outputs above are populated based on these keys only</p> | Text         | Optional           |

The original collection--collection1--contains the items A, B, C, and D. The revised list--collection2--contains items A and F. In this situation, the items would be in the following collections:

* collection1: A, B, C, D
* collection2: A, F
* deleted\_item: B, C, D
* new\_item: F
* equal\_item: A

## Example

For an example of how to use the Compare Collection part, download and import the [How-To Guide: Introduction to Collections](/release-9/example-gallery/how-to-guides/how-to-guide-introduction-to-collections.md) and review the *Compare* tab of this project.

For an example of how to use the same part with a complex collection, download and import the [How-To Guide: Querying Complex Collections](/release-9/example-gallery/how-to-guides/how-to-guide-query-collection.md) example project. Note that this project should only be used on LogicNets Release 8.1 on.


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