PDF compare

How it works

Text mode aligns extracted text lines. Page visuals render paired pages and compare pixels. Switch modes to check text and appearance separately.

Steps

1. Open or drop a file on each side. File signatures and package contents determine the comparison type. Each side previews independently; compatible sources compare automatically after imports or changes.
2. Read the result, then use the previous and next difference controls. Adjust rules when the default comparison does not match your task. Keep a downloaded copy of work you need to retain.

Row alignment

To correct automatic line matching, right-click a source line, choose “Align with…”, then choose its matching line on the other side. Anchors constrain matching without changing text. Crossing anchors are rejected; remove the conflicting anchor before choosing a new correspondence.

Settings

Rules decide which changes are important; display filters decide which rows you see. Whitespace positions, case, regular expressions and line endings can be controlled independently. Ignoring a difference preserves it as a minor change rather than deleting the original data.

Reading results

No important differences means agreement within the selected mode and rules. It does not establish identical file bytes, identical appearance or identical metadata. Check the relevant modes separately.

Important changes

Red marks changes considered important by the active rules. Text insertions and deletions also use the important-change color.

Minor changes

Blue retains changes treated as minor, such as ignored whitespace or differences within a tolerance. It does not mean the original data is identical.

Only on one side

Purple identifies content present on only one side where the comparison uses that category, such as an unmatched file or audio segment.

Not checked

Unchecked means the current mode or source cannot establish equality. Missing formula caches and unsupported content must not be read as equal.

Examples

The examples illustrate the selected comparison scope. For text-like formats they show extracted content, not a claim that every layout or embedded object has been compared.

Payment due within 30 days.

Payment due within 45 days.

Editing and merging

Edit text in the existing panes. PDF and Office originals stay read-only; an explicit extracted-text draft can be edited and downloaded as text. These operations do not write changes into the original PDF or Office file.

Right-clicking selected text and copying to the other side replaces the complete aligned lines involved, not only selected characters. Difference-block arrows merge a whole block. Review the target side and use Undo if needed.

Undo and Redo cover imports, edits, merges and supported comparison settings in the current workspace. Focused form controls may retain native editing history. Downloads, system clipboard changes and audio playback cannot be undone as external actions.

Reports and downloads

Use the report or download control provided by the current comparison. Text and Office reports describe comparison rules; CSV uses tabular output, and visual comparisons can export images or PDF reports. A report is not an editable replacement for the original Office document. Display filters and report scope are separate.

Comparison limits

No OCR. Text extraction may reorder columns or unusual glyphs; text equality does not establish visual equality.