Legal sent me two versions of a signed vendor contract and says one may not reflect the negotiated compliance terms. I…
Open Adobe Acrobat on your computer.
Go to Tools and select Compare Files.
Click Select File under 'Compare' and choose your first PDF (the older or original version).
Click Select File under 'With' and choose your second PDF (the newer or revised version).
Click Compare to start the comparison.
Review the results in the comparison summary and use the side-by-side view to examine highlighted differences.
Best practiceFor best results, avoid using scanned PDFs as input files, as text recognition may be inconsistent.
You can filter the comparison results to focus on text, images, or formatting changes for a clearer review.
This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.
The 'Compare Files' feature fails if either of your PDF documents has security settings that prevent modifications or comparisons. This is a built-in protection. To fix this, you must first remove the security settings from both the old and new PDF files. After removing protection, you can try comparing them again. This ensures that Acrobat has full access to analyze the content.
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Autodetect | Acrobat tries to figure out the best way to compare your files, looking at both text and graphics. It's good for most general documents. |
| Compare text only | Acrobat only checks for changes in the words and numbers. It ignores any pictures, drawings, or other visual elements in the documents. This is useful when only the text content matters. |
Yes, 'Compare Files' can still work with signed contracts. Adobe Acrobat has a specific feature to compare signed document versions. However, if the signed contract has security settings that prevent comparison, you might need to address those first. Always check for security restrictions if you encounter issues.
The summary page gives you a quick overview of all the changes found between your two documents. It shows you how many differences there are, like text changes, image changes, or formatting changes. This helps you understand the scope of the revisions at a glance before you dive into the details of each specific change.