How do I compare two versions of a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat?

First, open Acrobat and go to 'All tools'. Then, select 'Compare files'. Choose your older PDF and your newer PDF. Acrobat will then show you a summary of the changes. You can navigate through the changes using the 'Previous Change' and 'Next Change' buttons.

What are the different comparison modes available when I compare files?

Autodetect: Acrobat automatically picks the best way to compare. Reports/Spreadsheets: Best for documents with lots of numbers and tables. Presentation Decks: Good for slides or visual documents. 'Compare text only': Ignores pictures and graphics, only compares words.

What is the difference between comparing files with 'Autodetect' mode versus 'Compare text only'?

Comparison Mode What it Compares. Autodetect Acrobat tries to find the best way to compare everything: text, images, and layout. Compare text only Only looks at the words in the documents. It ignores any pictures or graphics.

Compare Design Iterations in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

1 way to ask · copy any one

BImprove — “do it better”Prepare the comparison so stakeholders can act: produce side-by-side annotated pages showing…+

Prepare the comparison so stakeholders can act: produce side-by-side annotated pages showing where click paths shortened, include metrics or screenshots that show dropped clicks, highlight unintentional regressions, and recommend which iteration to ship with rationale for the [vp=VP of Product].

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

How to do it

the tool · the steps · what to avoid

1
Open Adobe Acrobat Pro on your computer.
2
Go to the Tools pane and select Compare Files.
3
In the Compare Files window, click Select File on the left to choose the older version of your PDF.
4
Click Select File on the right to choose the newer version of your PDF.
5
Click Compare to start the comparison process.
6
Review the summary report that appears, which highlights all text and graphic differences between the two files.
Best practiceFor best results, avoid using scanned PDFs as input, since Acrobat compares text and graphics most accurately with digitally generated files.
7
Use the side-by-side view and navigation tools to examine each change in detail, including both textual edits and visual modifications.
Best practiceYou can focus the comparison on text, graphics, or both by adjusting the settings before running the comparison.

In the appWith the API

After comparing, use the navigation panel to quickly jump between each detected change in your PDFs.

This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.

The real tasks

the one, listed here

Run a before-and-after comparison of two design iterations to prove which reduces clicks to conversion.

FAQ

about this task

First, open Acrobat and go to 'All tools'.
Then, select 'Compare files'.
Choose your older PDF and your newer PDF.
Acrobat will then show you a summary of the changes.
You can navigate through the changes using the 'Previous Change' and 'Next Change' buttons.

Compare Files fails if either of your PDF documents has security settings that prevent comparison. These settings protect the document from changes. To fix this, you must remove the security protection from both files before you can compare them. Look for the 'Protect' tool in Acrobat to manage security.

Autodetect: Acrobat automatically picks the best way to compare.
Reports/Spreadsheets: Best for documents with lots of numbers and tables.
Presentation Decks: Good for slides or visual documents.
'Compare text only': Ignores pictures and graphics, only compares words.

When comparing signed documents, Acrobat can specifically show you changes related to the signatures themselves. It helps you see if the signature is valid or if the document was altered after signing. This is useful for legal or official documents where signatures are critical. You can find more details in the help section about comparing signed document versions.

Comparison Mode	What it Compares
Autodetect	Acrobat tries to find the best way to compare everything: text, images, and layout.
Compare text only	Only looks at the words in the documents. It ignores any pictures or graphics.

Compare Design Iterations

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

When it fails