Quickly pinpoint changes by comparing two versions of a PDF file. Acrobat analyzes the files and presents a report detailing differences between the documents.
Note:
If you have Acrobat DC subscription or Acrobat 2017, see Compare files below. If you have an older desktop-only Acrobat DC Classic version, see Compare files in Acrobat DC Classic below.
With the all-new Compare Files tool, you can now quickly and accurately detect differences between two versions of a PDF file.
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- You can limit the comparison to a portion of the documents by entering the page numbers in the Old File and New File fields.
- Under Document Description, select the type of documents that you are comparing.
- Select Autodetect to let Acrobat decide.
- Reports, Spreadsheets, Magazine Layouts: Compares the content as one continuous text body, from end to end.
- Presentation Decks: Looks at each slide or page as a mini-document, and matches ones that are similar. Then compares the content of each matching document. Identifies documents that have moved, such as slides in a presentation.
- Scanned Documents, drawing or illustrations: Creates an image capture of each scanned page and compares pixels. Looks at each scanned page and matches ones that are similar. It also identifies pages that are in a different order. This option is useful for comparing images or architectural drawings.
Tip: If your document content can reflow across pages, select Reports, spreadsheets, magazines layouts; otherwise select Presentation Decks. For comparing scanned files, select Scanned documents, drawings or illustrations.- With either the reports or presentation options selected, the Compare Text Only option identifies only the text differences between two documents.
- With Scanned Documents selected, the text is compared separately from the graphics, and then the results are combined. In documents containing magazine advertisements that have text on top of background image art, a reflowed passage is compared in text-only mode. The artwork is compared separately in the background. The differences (both text and line art and images) are combined into a single results document.
- Show in Report, select the elements of the documents for which you want to see the differences in the compare report.
Note: The text option can be used with any document type. It is designed for comparing text in large documents (250 pages or more). It also compares text between documents that have background artwork on each page, which slows processing.
- Click OK.
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Click Compare.
Acrobat displays the results in a new document. The first page provides an easy-to-scan summary of all file differences.
a – Comparison timestamp, b – Compared files information, c – Total changes, d – Distribution of changes, e – Formatting changes, f – The hyperlink to take you to the first change
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- Side-by-side view: Use the Side-by-Side (Ctrl+\) view to see a parallel view of results where the differences are shared in highlighted bands. The old file is displayed on the left and the new file is displayed on the right, with the changes highlighted in each band connecting across the files for easier review. Click a band to display a pop-up note detailing all of the changes within the band. You can also click the highlighted content to open the pop-up.
- Single page view: Use the Old File or New File button (Ctrl+/) on the toolbar to see the individual file with all changes highlighted.
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- Use the Filter and Show options.
By default, annotations, formatting, and background differences are turned off. To see these changes in the report, select these options from the Filter menu in the toolbar. You can also filter comparison results by selecting specific types of changes in the Filter menu. From the Show menu, you can select an option to show or hide legends, row highlights, or results.
- Use the Previous Change (Ctrl+.) or Next Change (Ctrl+,) button to go through the changes one-by-one.
The Previous Change and the Next Change button are also available in the pop-up notes detailing the changes.
- Use the right pane. Click the triangle at the center of the right Acrobat window to open the right pane. This pane lists all the changes visible in the Compare Results report. Use the search text box to search for any specific change.
Note:
If you have desktop-only Acrobat DC Classic version, follow the steps below. If you have Acrobat DC subscription or Acrobat 2017, see Compare files in Acrobat DC Continuous and Acrobat 2017 above.
You can use the Compare Documents tool to find differences between two versions of PDF files. After comparing two files, Acrobat provides a detailed report of every change, including text, fonts, images, and even the order of the pages.
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Under Document Description, select the type of documents that you are comparing. To ignore
differences between the graphic elements, select Compare Text Only. Click OK.Acrobat displays the results in a new document. The first page summarizes the file comparison results.
a - Differences between the files, b - Files compared, c - Get Started hyperlink to take you to the first difference, d - Moved or deleted pages, e - Key to the symbols used within the report
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- Use the Compare panel on the left side (default).
- Page through the thumbnails in the Compare panel. An icon below a thumbnail indicates a difference. A green arrow signifies moved or deleted pages. A purple arrow designates a change on the page.
- Return to the first page and click Get Started to go to the first difference.
- Changes are highlighted on the main screen. Hover your mouse over the highlight to see the details. The color legend in the upper right provides a guide.
- Page through the thumbnails in the Compare panel. An icon below a thumbnail indicates a difference. A green arrow signifies moved or deleted pages. A purple arrow designates a change on the page.
- Use side-by-side view.
- In the Compare panel on the left, click the options icon, and select Show Documents Side
By Side.
- Changes are highlighted on the main screen. Hover your mouse over the highlight to see
the details. The color legend in the upper right provides a guide.
- In the Compare panel on the left, click the options icon, and select Show Documents Side
The Compare options provide you tools to customize the document comparison.
- Use the Compare panel on the left side (default).