The fastest way to see what changed between two versions
Microsoft Word has a built-in comparison tool that shows you exactly what changed between two versions of a document side by side. Open the first document, go to the Review tab, select Compare, and choose the second document from your files. Word will create a new document that highlights every addition, deletion, and formatting change in a different color, with a list of all changes in the left margin.
This method works best when you have two complete files and want to see the full picture of what's different. The comparison document itself is read-only, so you can review changes without accidentally editing it. If you want to accept or reject individual changes, you can open the original document and use the Track Changes feature instead, which gives you more control over which edits to keep.
Key Takeaways
- Word's Compare tool creates a new document showing all differences between two files, with changes marked in color and listed in the margin.
- The comparison document is read-only, so you can safely review changes without modifying the original files.
- Track Changes lets you accept or reject individual edits one at a time, which is better when you need to decide what to keep.
- Both tools work on any document type Word handles, including .docx, .doc, and older formats.
Using Compare for a full overview of changes
The Compare tool is the right choice when you want to see everything that's different at once. Start with the first version of your document already open in Word. Click the Review tab at the top, then find the Compare button (it's usually in the upper left area of the ribbon). A dropdown menu will appear with two options: Compare and Combine. Select Compare.
A dialog box opens asking you to pick the second document. Navigate to the file on your computer and click Open. Word will then create a brand-new document that shows both versions side by side, with the original on the left and the revised version on the right. Every change appears in a different color: blue for additions, red for deletions, and green for formatting changes. The left margin shows a summary list of all edits, so you can jump to any change by clicking it.
This side-by-side view is especially useful when you're checking work from someone else or comparing multiple drafts to see which version has the content you want. You can scroll through the comparison document and read the context around each change, which helps you understand why an edit was made.
Using Track Changes to accept or reject edits one by one
If you need to decide which changes to keep and which to remove, use Track Changes instead. Open the document that has the edits you want to review. Go to the Review tab and click Track Changes to turn it on. Any new edits you or someone else makes will now be marked and tracked automatically.
If the document already has tracked changes in it, you'll see them highlighted in the document. The Review tab will show buttons for Accept and Reject. Click Accept to keep a change and remove the markup, or Reject to undo it and remove the markup. You can also use Accept All or Reject All to make a decision about every change at once, though this is riskier if you haven't reviewed each one.
Track Changes is better than Compare when you're actively editing or when someone has sent you a document with their suggestions already marked. It gives you control over each individual change rather than just showing you a read-only comparison.
When to use Compare versus Track Changes
Choose Compare when you have two finished documents and want to see what's different without making decisions yet. This is the right tool for reviewing a colleague's work, checking a final version against a draft, or understanding what changed between two saved versions of the same file. The side-by-side view and color-coded summary make it straightforward to spot patterns in the changes.
Choose Track Changes when you're actively working on a document and need to mark your own edits, or when someone has already sent you a document with changes marked and you need to decide which ones to accept. Track Changes is also better if you're collaborating with others and want everyone to see who made each change and when.
If you receive a document with tracked changes and want to see a cleaner overview first, you can always use Compare to get the big picture, then open the original document and use Track Changes to make your final decisions about which edits to keep.
Viewing and navigating the comparison results
When Word creates a comparison document, it opens in a special view with three panes. The left pane shows the original document, the middle pane shows all the changes listed as a summary, and the right pane shows the revised document. You can click any change in the middle pane to jump directly to that location in both versions. This makes it straightforward to find specific edits without scrolling through the entire document.
The color coding helps you spot different types of changes at a glance. Additions appear in one color, deletions in another, and formatting changes in a third. If you want to focus on just one type of change, you can use the filter options in the Review tab to hide certain categories and show only what you're looking for.
The comparison document itself cannot be edited directly. If you want to make changes based on what you see, you'll need to go back to the original document and edit it there, then run Compare again to see the updated results.
Handling documents with tracked changes already in them
If someone sends you a document that already has Track Changes turned on, you'll see the edits marked with colors and initials showing who made each change. Before you run Compare on this document, decide whether you want to accept or reject the existing tracked changes first. If you run Compare while tracked changes are still active, the comparison results can become confusing because Word will show both the original tracked changes and any new differences it finds.
The safest approach is to open the document with tracked changes, review them using the Accept and Reject buttons, and finalize the document before comparing it to another version. Once you've made your decisions about the tracked changes, you can then use Compare to see how the final version differs from another file if needed.
If you're not sure whether a document has tracked changes, look at the Review tab. If the Track Changes button appears pressed or highlighted, changes are being tracked. You can also look for colored markup in the document itself, which indicates active tracked changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I compare more than two documents at once?
Word's Compare tool works with two documents at a time. If you need to compare three or more versions, compare the first two, then compare the result with the third document. This takes longer but lets you see how multiple versions differ from each other.
What happens if the documents are very different?
Word will still create a comparison document and mark all the differences. If the documents are very different, the comparison may be long and show many changes. You can use the filter options in the Review tab to focus on specific types of changes, or scroll through the summary list in the middle pane to jump between edits.
Can I undo a comparison?
The comparison document is a new file that Word creates, so you can straightforward close it without saving. Your original documents remain unchanged. If you want to go back to comparing, you can run Compare again anytime.
Does Compare work with older Word formats like .doc files?
Yes, Compare works with .doc, .docx, and other Word formats. However, if you're comparing very old documents or documents with complex formatting, some formatting changes may not display correctly in the comparison.
What if I want to combine two documents instead of just comparing them?
Word has a Combine option in the same menu as Compare. Combine is useful when two people have edited different parts of the same document and you want to merge their changes together. It works similarly to Compare but is designed for combining edits rather than just viewing differences.