A steel fabricator submitted shop drawings that look different from our approved contract set. I need to approve or re…
Open Adobe Acrobat Pro on your computer.
Go to the Tools pane and select Compare Files.
In the Compare Files window, click Select File on the left to choose the older version of your PDF.
Click Select File on the right to choose the newer version of your PDF.
Click Compare to start the comparison process.
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.
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.
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.
Comparing 'text only' means Acrobat will ignore all pictures and graphics in your drawings. It focuses just on the words. This is useful if you only care about text changes, like notes or labels, and not changes to the visual design elements. It can make the comparison faster and clearer for text-focused revisions.
No, if your contract drawing has a password or other security settings, Compare Files cannot work. You must remove the password or security settings from the drawing first. After you remove the protection, you can then compare the files.
Comparing files with Acrobat is much faster and more accurate than looking side-by-side. Acrobat automatically highlights every single change, even tiny ones you might miss. It gives you a summary of all changes and lets you jump directly to each difference, saving a lot of time and preventing errors, especially with complex drawings.