How do I compare two versions of a contract in Acrobat?

Go to 'All tools' and select 'Compare files'. Upload your older contract and the newer one. Choose 'Autodetect' mode for general documents. Click 'Compare' to see a summary of all changes. Use the 'Previous/Next Change' buttons to review each difference.

I compared two signed documents, but the changes seem wrong. What should I check?

First, ensure you used the specific 'Compare signed document versions' option if available, as it handles signatures differently. Verify that the security settings on both signed documents allow comparison; sometimes signatures add new protections. Check if you compared the correct versions (the one before signing and the one after, or two different signed versions). Remember that digital signatures can sometimes alter a document's internal data, which might be flagged as a change even if visible content is the same.

Negotiation Version Confusion in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

1 way to ask · copy any one

DBecome — “help me grow”Across recent supplier negotiations, we lost time because different teams used different…+

Across recent supplier negotiations, we lost time because different teams used different contract copies. Show the pattern in how versions proliferate (naming, email threads, shared drives), and recommend one stamping and distribution habit that would keep everyone on the single source of truth without blocking legitimate review.

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 on your computer.
2
Go to Tools and select Compare Files.
3
Click Select File under 'Compare' and choose your first PDF (the older or original version).
4
Click Select File under 'With' and choose your second PDF (the newer or revised version).
5
Click Compare to start the comparison.
6
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.

In the appWith the API

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.

Glossary

words on this page

CompareTo look at two things and find the differences between them.ExampleYou look at two versions of a contract to identify any changes made between them.

Security settingsThese are protections on a PDF that stop people from changing or comparing it.

Who does this

3 roles

EditorLegal AssistantProject Manager

FAQ

about this task

Go to 'All tools' and select 'Compare files'.
Upload your older contract and the newer one.
Choose 'Autodetect' mode for general documents.
Click 'Compare' to see a summary of all changes.
Use the 'Previous/Next Change' buttons to review each difference.

The 'Compare text only' option tells Acrobat to ignore all images and graphics when comparing documents. It only looks for differences in the words. This is useful when you only care about text changes and don't want to be distracted by image shifts or edits.

Acrobat's Compare Files feature cannot work with protected documents because security settings prevent it from reading and analyzing the content fully. To compare, the tool needs full access to both files. You must remove any security passwords or restrictions from both PDFs before starting the comparison process.

You should use 'Reports/Spreadsheets' mode when you are comparing documents that are specifically designed as reports or contain a lot of tabular data. This mode helps Acrobat better understand the structure of these types of files, leading to a more accurate comparison of changes within tables and organized data, which 'Autodetect' might miss.

First, ensure you used the specific 'Compare signed document versions' option if available, as it handles signatures differently.
Verify that the security settings on both signed documents allow comparison; sometimes signatures add new protections.
Check if you compared the correct versions (the one before signing and the one after, or two different signed versions).
Remember that digital signatures can sometimes alter a document's internal data, which might be flagged as a change even if visible content is the same.

Negotiation Version Confusion

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

When it fails