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A Writer’s Secret Tool to Easily Compare Documents

  • Writer: Johanna Ryan
    Johanna Ryan
  • Nov 8, 2021
  • 3 min read

Updated: Dec 6, 2021


compare documents

As a writer, I’m creating documents all day, every day. Occasionally, clients will send me a document with the base information about their company for me to edit. I’ll work to turn their information into captivating content for their website or printed materials, and send a document back to them. In this case, it’s useful for my clients to be able to compare two documents for similarities, so they can see that I created completely new content for them, rather than directly copying the information.


Or, I’ll give you a different situation – your employee has sent through a contract for you to approve with some changes since you last saw it. You’ve read through it, but it’s hard to compare documents by sight so you can’t tell which parts they edited, and you don’t want to approve the changes until you know what they are!

Have you ever wondered how you can see how much has been changed from one version of a document to another? Luckily, I have recently discovered a great solution that helps me compare two documents for similarities.


What’s a Document Comparison Software?

Document comparison software allows you to see two documents side by side, whether they are PDFs, Word docs, Powerpoints, Excel files, or a combination of any of these. A good software will highlight which parts have been added to the newer version of the file and also show you which sections have been removed.

For managers, writers, and business owners everywhere, having this software is essential for seeing changes to documents. Never again approve something without knowing what the other person changed!


Why I Need a Way to Compare Edited Documents

The reality is that I didn’t know how much I needed this software until I started using it. For example, I recently created some files in Word and then saved them as PDFs. I added a fancy cover page and then made some minor edits to the PDF.

The following day I realised I had to add some more information to the document and it was going to be too hard to format it correctly in the PDF. So back to the Word doc it was, except I couldn’t remember every single change I’d made to the PDF…


So I went online and used Draftable’s free online tool to compare two documents for similarities, and this allowed me to quickly see at a glance every change I’d made since converting the Word doc to a PDF.


Why Use The Draftable Tool to Compare Documents?

There are a few reasons I’ve been using the Draftable tool to compare documents. It’s hard to find a tool that can compare documents such as PDFs with Word documents, PDFs with PDFs, or compare two PowerPoint files. Draftable makes it easy to see what’s changed and whether something has been added or deleted from the more recent document!


Rather than having to scroll through the entire document, Draftable has a bar in the middle with colours showing how far down any changes are. I can just click on the bar to head straight to the changes, skipping over all the parts that remained the same.


I’ve saved countless hours of revision and having to compare documents by using Draftable! There’s also a desktop version which is great for longer documents and larger files.


*Sponsored Post about a product I truly love using!

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