Comparing two versions of a PDF in PDF by Zaweba
Compare an older PDF with the open one in PDF by Zaweba: changed words, formatting and pictures side by side, with filters and a report saved as a PDF.
Contracts come back with "just a few small changes". Price lists are updated. A report goes through several drafts. In each case the question is the same: what exactly changed? File, then Compare files in PDF by Zaweba answers it by comparing an older PDF with the one you have open.
What it finds
The comparison looks at words page by page and sorts them into changed, added and removed. It also finds formatting changes, meaning a different font, size or colour, which matter more than they sound. A clause moved into small print, or a figure turned red, is a real change.
Pictures are compared too: added, removed, moved or resized. A logo swapped out or a chart replaced is caught along with the text.
Optionally, it can also compare how pages look. That catches changes the other checks might not describe in words, such as a line drawn on a plan.
Reading the results
The two documents appear side by side, scrolling together, so the same place in each stays in view as you move through. Filters let you show only one kind of change, perhaps words alone when you're reading a contract and don't care about a reflowed paragraph. Previous and next step through the changes one by one, so you don't miss a single word buried in a long page.
When you're done, Save report writes the results as a PDF. That's a handy record to send to a colleague, attach to a file, or keep with the signed version of an agreement.
Scanned pages
Comparing words needs words. A scanned page is a picture, so its text has to be recognised by OCR before Compare files can read it. If a scanned contract comes back to compare with your typed original, get its text recognised with an OCR tool first, then compare the result.
Where to find the older version
Often the older version is just another file. Sometimes it's inside the same file. File, then Earlier versions opens each incremental save of a document in a tab of its own, so you can compare the current state with how it was before the latest edits. For signed documents, the signatures panel can show the signed version, which you can then compare with the current one to see exactly what changed after signing.
A careful way to compare
Open the newer file and compare against the older, so the open one is the current version. Start with all changes shown to get a sense of scale, then filter down to the kind that matters for the job. For contracts, words and formatting. For brochures and catalogues, pictures as well. For drawings, include the look of the pages.
Step through with next rather than scrolling. It's slower, but it means you look at every change, which is the whole point.
Save a report for anything you may need to refer back to. A dated comparison report alongside a contract is very useful if questions come up later.
When comparing is the wrong tool
A large rewrite can produce long lists of changes. That's an accurate result, but it may be easier to read the new version through. Comparing is at its best when the documents are mostly the same and you want to be sure of the differences.
Compare files works offline, like the rest of PDF by Zaweba, so confidential drafts can be checked against each other without being uploaded anywhere.
