How do I compare two versions of a PDF using Compare Files?

Open Acrobat and go to 'All tools'. Select 'Compare files'. Choose your older and newer PDF documents. Pick a comparison mode (e.g., Autodetect) and click 'Compare'. Acrobat will show a summary of changes and let you navigate them.

What are the different comparison modes in Compare Files and when should I use each?

Autodetect: Best for most documents; Acrobat tries to figure out the best way to compare. Reports/Spreadsheets: Use this for files with lots of tables or numbers, like financial reports. Presentation Decks: Choose this for slide presentations, like PowerPoint files saved as PDF.

Compare Layout Revisions in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

2 ways to ask · copy any one

AExecute — “help me do it”Run a document comparison between Designer_V2_layout.pdf and Approved_V1_layout.pdf, generate a…+

Run a document comparison between Designer_V2_layout.pdf and Approved_V1_layout.pdf, generate a report of text and layout differences, and save the comparison summary for the production log.

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

BImprove — “do it better”Compare Designer_V2_layout.pdf with Approved_V1_layout.pdf, produce a page-by-page redline…+

Compare Designer_V2_layout.pdf with Approved_V1_layout.pdf, produce a page-by-page redline showing text, image, and spacing changes, prioritize changes that affect pagination or credits, and attach annotated screenshots of the top five differences for the creative director to review quickly.

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.

Glossary

words on this page

Security SettingsRules that protect a PDF file, like preventing changes or copying.ExampleThe security settings on the PDF prevented anyone from printing or copying its contents.

RevisionA new version of a document after changes have been made.ExampleAfter addressing all comments, the third revision of the report was ready for final approval.

The real tasks

the one, listed here

Run a quality comparison between the designer's latest layout and the previous approved version.

FAQ

about this task

Open Acrobat and go to 'All tools'.
Select 'Compare files'.
Choose your older and newer PDF documents.
Pick a comparison mode (e.g., Autodetect) and click 'Compare'.
Acrobat will show a summary of changes and let you navigate them.

The 'Compare text only' option tells Acrobat to ignore any images, drawings, or other graphics in your PDF files. It focuses only on the words and text changes. This is useful when you only care about text edits and want to skip visual differences.

Compare Files cannot work if your PDF documents have security settings that stop editing or copying. Acrobat needs to access and analyze the content to find differences, but security settings block this access. To fix it, you must first remove the security protection from both the old and new PDF files. You can usually do this in Acrobat's 'Protect' tools, if you have the right permissions.

Compare Files is very helpful for digitally signed documents because it can show you what changes were made after a document was signed. This lets you verify if the document's content has been altered or if new revisions were added. It helps maintain the integrity and trust of signed agreements.

Autodetect: Best for most documents; Acrobat tries to figure out the best way to compare.
Reports/Spreadsheets: Use this for files with lots of tables or numbers, like financial reports.
Presentation Decks: Choose this for slide presentations, like PowerPoint files saved as PDF.

Compare Layout Revisions

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

When it fails