# Compare differences in non-Word documents? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 21, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compare-differences-in-non-word-documents/468915 "2008-10-21T17:57:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compare-differences-in-non-word-documents/468915/1 "2008-10-21T17:57:25Z")
Well, the title says it all. I have two versions of a legal document that I need to compare. What I’d like to do is remove all formatting (maybe to rich text) and run some sort of app that will highlight the parts that are unique in each document. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compare-differences-in-non-word-documents/468915/2 "2008-10-21T17:59:16Z")
What format are the documents in naturally? ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compare-differences-in-non-word-documents/468915/3 "2008-10-21T18:03:35Z")
Both versions are in Word, but Track Changes wasn’t selected. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compare-differences-in-non-word-documents/468915/4 "2008-10-21T18:07:30Z")
Supposedly Tools-\>Track Changes-\>Compare Documents (from Word) is what you want. [http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/support/diff.gif](http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/support/diff.gif) ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compare-differences-in-non-word-documents/468915/5 "2008-10-21T21:08:38Z")
The free Windows app WinMerge is also great for this, especially with file formats Word won’t play with. It displays both documents side-by-side and highlights the differences. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compare-differences-in-non-word-documents/468915/6 "2008-10-22T00:12:32Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > Supposedly Tools-\>Track Changes-\>Compare Documents (from Word) is what you want. I do this all the time, just did it today, and it works well, depending how you need to use it. (In Word 2003, it’s Tools, Compare and Merge Documents…) The product of this will be a new Word document with markup that shows you changes that would turn the first document into the second document. It shows deletions and additions. The way it shows each is somewhat configurable in Tools, Options, Track Changes. As with any comparison tool, if the documents are very different it will generate a helluva mess. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compare-differences-in-non-word-documents/468915/7 "2008-10-22T00:13:51Z")
I use it for code comparison, rather than regular documents, but I’m a big fan of [Araxis Merge](http://www.araxis.com/merge/index.html).