Yesterday, in response to the post by @JackieMcMillan @MortenCopenhagen has accurately stated the steps on how to find which reviews are private.
However, that involves side by side comparison of the Public & Private reviews.
Although that would work, it will be tedious & prone to errors.
Nevertheless, when we possess the computing power and tools to achieve that, why should we struggle?
We can perform that deftly using the power of Google Sheets.
The following represents the steps.
Create a Google Sheets file with two pages in that, and rename those as “Public” and “Private”.
Copy the entire content of the privately visible reviews to Column A of “Private”.
Copy the entire content of the publicly visible reviews to Column A of “Public”.
4 & 5. Create filters in “Private” and “Public” sheets to view only the headers of review.
Use the Vlookup function to compare the review headers.
That’s all. Once you find the formula results as #N/A, clear the filter and examine the review for any objectionable content.
Over here is a snapshot of one such comparison.
For brevity, I have described the steps as an embedded picture in the snapshot of the sheet only.
I read your notes on how to copy the entire lists. That seems straight forward. But how are the data then organized when you paste them? One line per review? How are the names separated from the rest?
Depending upon the selected format, that may superimpose on adjacent columns, or get justified. However, it never gets parsed.
Nevertheless, that would not obstruct the filtering process.
The displayed example is a real one. However, I changed the names of POIs to protect the privacy of the person from where I picked that and then deleted some reviews in the Public list, to simulate the condition.
PS. I used the desktop. Here too, had some struggle in locating the familiar commands! Surprisingly, that was quite straightforward.
I tried it out. The names end up in column A, but so does the Addresses, The review text, The number of likes etc. Quite messy. But it is OK for the Public tab.
But how do you sort away all the not-name lines?
Any tips would be appreciated. It would have been nice if each review would have been in one row.
Cheers
Here is an example:
Katthammarsviks Rökeri AB
Hamnen, 623 69 Katthammarsvik, Sverige
for én dag siden
Lovely food. So delicious. Fish and fish. Cakes are good also.
Kan lide Del
Ruisseau d’Entrevernes
74410, Frankrig
for én dag siden
I visited with my paraglider. Lovely place.
Besøgte i juni 2019
Kan lide Del
Barkly Square
Level 1/90-106 Sydney Rd, Brunswick VIC 3056, Australien
for én dag siden
We shopped here quite a few times while staying in Carlton. Well within biking distance.
Although I am sure that the suggested way by @C_T works, I find it rather cumbersome. There is in fact a way easier solution. I use a free website service that is called Text Compare. It is nice and clean, but there are several alternative websites or even off-line solutions that can do the same. It runs on Google Ads, so by using it we are filling the pockets of Google, so another reason to feel good about it.
The Text Compare website allows you to paste your two versions in separate boxes and with a click on the Compare button it highlights the differences between the two boxes. Those reviews that are set to private stick out immediately, as the script does neatly keep the equal parts parallel to one another. In other words, where there is a review that is set to private in one box there is empty space and in the other box, the private review is highlighted. So the two lists stay in sync!
This sounds like a great and easier way to do it. I succeded to eliminate all my private reviews last week, but I hope others will try it out and report their experience.
Isn’t it wonderful how getting together in a community can result in such a multitude of knowledge/experience getting shared Thanks @JeroenM .
I just tested this method and found it quite easy (given that there are ‘only’ 246 reviews - I fully agree with @TheEagleEye that the amount of scrolling you need to do if you have 2500 or so reviews is challenging). Turns out 1 have only 1 review that was set to private. It was actually a very short review mentioning that there is a good price/quality ratio for that POI, so it might have been considered to ‘sales’-y.
I appreciate the further improvisation suggested by you @JeroenM
The syntax of the function Vlookup scares many.
However, we need not look for a solution elsewhere. Even Google Docs can do that job.
One can paste the private contents in a doc file. Save that. Next, delete the text and paste the public content. Then the revision history feature highlights the differences.
You are right @C_T and other word processors that people may have installed on their computer will do the same. Still, you need to open the word application, create a document and in the end are stuck with a file that you either close and click away, “not saved warning”…etc. The whole experience is not as clean as simply using the third party website that I mentioned.
You wrote: "However, we need not look for a solution elsewhere. "
Personally, I don’t feel it necessary to stick with solutions by a single provider (in this case Google). We are not married to Google and it is an open market. I rather go for the most comfortable/ easy experience.
Thank you for making everyone aware of the alternatives. Local Guides is all about making informed decisions and to do so, one needs to know the available options
How were you able to compare the private with the public reviews?
When comparing mines to possibly delete the private ones, I get the same number. 673 Private reviews and 673 Public reviews.
Thanks 