There are small but important differences between counsel's version of a press statement and the public draft. I need …
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 tool helps you quickly identify all the differences between two PDF documents. This is useful for reviewing contract revisions, checking edits on a report, or simply understanding what changes were made from one version to another without reading every word again. It saves time and prevents missing important updates.
No, if your PDF documents have security settings that prevent comparison, the Compare Files tool will not work. You will get an error message. To compare them, you must first remove the security protection from both the old and new PDF files. You can usually do this using the 'Protect' tool within Adobe Acrobat before attempting the comparison.
You would choose 'Compare text only' if you are primarily interested in changes to the written content and want to ignore any differences in images, graphics, or formatting. This can make the comparison results clearer and easier to review, especially if the visual elements are not critical to the changes you are tracking. It helps to focus only on the textual revisions.