Compare Word Documents Like a Pro

[nerdslife_team]

Ever find yourself lost in a maze of different versions of the same Word document? It happens all the time, especially when collaborating or just trying to keep track of your own edits. Instead of manually going line by line, Microsoft Word has a built-in feature that can quickly highlight all the changes between two documents, who made them, and even lets you accept or reject those edits. Here’s how to use it to compare those Word docs and make your life a little easier.

Quick Summary.
To compare two Word documents, navigate to the Review tab, select the Compare option, and choose your original and revised files. Adjust settings as needed, click OK, and review the changes highlighted in the new document. Save this comparison for future reference.

How to compare documents in Word

1. To start comparing your Word documents, open up Microsoft Word, open an existing document or even just a blank one will do. Head over to the Review tab on the Ribbon.
   

   

2. In the Review tab, look for the Compare button. Click the drop-down arrow and choose the Compare option from the menu.
   

3. The “Compare Documents” box will pop up. You’ll see fields labeled “Original document” and “Revised document.” This is where you tell Word which two files you want to compare.

4. For the “Original document,” use the dropdown to select the first version of the file. For example, if it is an initial draft, select it now.
   

5. If you can’t find the file in the list, click the folder icon to browse and select it manually.

6. Next, in the “Revised document” field, pick the updated version of your document, select the revised draft in the example shown.
   

7. In the “Label changes with” field, type a name or note. This will show up next to the tracked changes. For instance, “Edited by John”.
   

8. If you accidentally put the files in the wrong slots, just click the double-arrow icon in between those fields to swap them.

9. For more detailed comparison settings, click “More >>” at the bottom left corner of the window. This step is optional, feel free to skip to the OK button if you want to use the default settings.
   

   

10. In “Comparison settings,” you can select what Word will compare, from formatting and comments to case changes. All options are typically checked by default.
    

11. Under “Show changes,” choose how changes appear – character by character or word by word. Select where the comparison will be displayed. It’s best to choose “New document” to avoid messing with your original files.

12. Once all settings are ready, click “OK” to start the comparison.
    

    

13. A new window with four sections will appear showing the compared document. This shows a central pane with the compared document with all changes highlighted. You will also see red markers in the left margin to navigate through changes, as well as original and revised documents side-by-side. A list of changes will also be on the left.
    

    

14. Click on the red markers on the left side to go through each change for detailed information.
    

    

15. To accept or reject a change, right-click on a specific edit in the compared document. You can click either “Accept Insertion” to keep the change or “Reject Insertion” to discard the change.
    

    

16. If you need to accept all changes in one go, go to Review, click the “Accept” dropdown and choose “Accept All Changes”. You can check out other options here if you need them.
    

    

17. To reject all the changes at once, find the “Reject” drop-down next to the “Accept” button under Review and choose “Reject All Changes”.

18. Once you have made all needed changes, save the compared document to a new file to make sure you don’t lose any data by clicking File > Save As.

By using Word’s Compare feature you can compare multiple documents in very little time, streamline collaborations, and keep a clear log of revisions without going through files manually.