How to Compare Two Word Documents Side by Side

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.

1. Open a new Word document and go to the Review tab.
2. Click on Compare and then select Compare again from the dropdown options.
3. Select the documents you want to compare in the Original document and Revised document fields.
4. Optionally, you can click the More button to modify what you want to compare in the documents.
5. Click OK to initiate the comparison.

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 all changes 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 can also close the left and right panes for a more focused view. Once you’ve reviewed the changes, you can head to File > Save As to 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 the Tracking button on the ribbon, then select Accept. You can choose Accept All Changes to automatically merge all revisions into the document, or opt for Accept and Move to Next if you'd like to manually review each change before merging it.

Similarly, the Reject option 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 the Review tab, select Compare > 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 the Side by Side View option. 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 the View tab. In the Window group, click the View Side by Side button. 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 enable Synchronous Scrolling. With this feature, scrolling through one document will automatically scroll the other document to the corresponding section.

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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 on online web tools to compare documents.