Comparing Two Documents in Microsoft Word

Why Use Document Compare?

Microsoft Word’s Compare feature is useful when you have two versions of a document and want to see exactly what changed between them. This is especially helpful when Track Changes was not turned on while the revisions were being made.

You might have an original document and a revised copy that you edited yourself, or another person may have revised a copy for you. Rather than trying to read the two files side by side and remember every difference, Word can compare them and create a marked-up version showing the changes.

Document Compare and Track Changes

Track Changes records edits as they happen. Document Compare is useful after revisions have already been made. It can create a third document showing the differences between the original and revised files, so you can review the changes without adding revision markup to either source document.

Comparing the Documents

1. Identify the original and revised documents.

Make sure you know which file represents the original version and which file contains the revisions. Descriptive filenames such as Original and Revised can make this much easier.

2. Open the Review tab.

Select the Review tab on the Ribbon. Choose Compare, and then choose Compare again to compare two versions of a document.

3. Select the Original document.

In the Compare Documents dialog box, use the Original document area to select the earlier version of the file.

4. Select the Revised document.

Use the Revised document area to select the version containing the later edits. Word may also let you specify the name used to label the changes.

5. Choose what Word should compare.

The comparison options let you decide which types of changes Word should look for. In the video demonstration, the comparison categories are left selected so Word can identify the available editing differences.

Word can compare changes at different levels. A character-level comparison can be useful when you want to notice small changes, such as a corrected typo or a few altered letters.

6. Show the changes in a new document.

Word can place the comparison markup in the original document, the revised document, or a new document. For this lesson, choose New document. This preserves the two source files and creates a separate comparison version for reviewing the differences.

7. Run the comparison.

Choose OK. Word creates the comparison document and displays the differences using revision markup similar to Track Changes.

Understanding the Comparison Result

The comparison document lets you see material that was added, deleted, or otherwise changed. In the video example, deleted text appears with strikethrough markup and added text appears as inserted text. The exact display can vary with your Word markup settings.

Accepting and Rejecting Changes

Use the commands on the Review tab to move to the previous or next change. Select Accept when you want to keep a revision. Select Reject when you prefer the wording or content from the original version.

You do not have to make the same decision for every change. You might accept a revised heading but reject a wording change elsewhere. After reviewing the important revisions, Word also provides options for accepting multiple remaining changes when appropriate.

Finishing the Document

After you have accepted or rejected the changes you want, review the document one more time and save it with a meaningful filename. You now have a final version based on the changes you chose to keep.

Original, Revised, and Comparison Documents

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Selecting the revised file as the original and the original file as the revised version.
• Using vague filenames and then being unsure which version is which.
• Assuming Track Changes had to be enabled before the edits were made.
• Placing comparison markup into a source document when you intended to preserve both source files unchanged.
• Accepting all changes before reviewing revisions you may want to reject.
• Forgetting to save the finished comparison as a meaningful final version.

Suggested Practice

Create a short document of two or three paragraphs and save it as an original version. Save another copy as a revised version, then change a heading, delete a sentence, add a few words, and replace at least one word with different wording. Use Review > Compare > Compare to create a new comparison document. Review the marked changes, accept some, reject others, and save your final version.