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Scrolling back and forth between two Word documents is a nightmare. However, you don’t have to painstakingly sift through each page to spot the differences. Microsoft Word offers an easier way to identify all differences between two documents.
Comparing Word Documents Using the Review Feature
Microsoft Word’s compare feature can automatically highlight all the differences between two documents. Here’s how to use it effectively.
Screenshot by Pankil Shah – No attribution required
Once you complete the above steps, Word will display a three-pane view, with the center pane showing the combined document. In this main comparison view, all the changes will be highlighted. Inserted text will be underlined in red, while deleted text will be marked with a strikethrough.
In the right pane, you’ll see the original and revised documents for your reference. The left pane will display a summary of allchanges made in the compared document, such as inserted or deleted text. Each change will be listed in order, and you can click on any change to navigate directly to that section for further review.
you’re able to also close the left and right panes for a more focused view. Once you’ve reviewed the changes, you can head toFile > Save Asto save the comparison document for future use.
Merging Changes During Document Comparison
When comparing two Word documents, you may want to merge changes from one document into another to create a clean, unified version. Fortunately, Microsoft Word makes this process a breeze.
Once you’re in the comparison view, click theTrackingbutton on the ribbon, then selectAccept. You can chooseAccept All Changesto automatically merge all revisions into the document, or opt forAccept and Move to Nextif you’d like to manually review each change before merging it.
Similarly, theRejectoption allows you to discard any unwanted changes. As you do this, Word will automatically adjust the document based on your choices, either by incorporating insertions or undoing deletions.
After reviewing all the changes, the document should reflect the merged version. It will combine the original content with the necessary revisions.
Word also lets you combine documents directly. Simply go to theReviewtab, selectCompare > Combine, and choose the two documents you wish to merge.
Comparing Word Documents Using Side-by-Side View
If you prefer not to use Word’s automatic comparison feature, you can compare documents manually using theSide by Side Viewoption. This will allow you to view both documents next to each other.
To do this, open the two Word documents you want to compare. Then, in one of the documents, navigate to theViewtab. In theWindowgroup, click theView Side by Sidebutton. If more than two documents are open, you’ll need to specify which document you want to view in the side-by-side view.
Once the documents are arranged in a side-by-side view, you can scroll through them independently or enableSynchronous Scrolling. With this feature, scrolling through one document will automatically scroll the other document to the corresponding section.
Knowing how to compare documents in Word can come in handy when you want to review collaborative edits or track changes. Not to mention, it also eliminates the need to rely ononline web tools to compare documents.
