How do I compare two versions of a PDF document in Acrobat?

First, open Acrobat and go to 'All tools'. Then, select 'Compare files'. Choose your old and new PDF files. Acrobat will show a summary of changes, and you can navigate through each change.

What are the different comparison modes available in Acrobat's Compare Files feature?

Autodetect: Acrobat tries to figure out the best way to compare your documents. Reports/Spreadsheets: This mode is best for documents with lots of numbers and tables. Presentation Decks: Use this for slides or presentations. Compare text only: This mode ignores pictures and only looks at words.

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Identifying Draft Changes

I need a precise, page-and-paragraph-level comparison of the draft opinion saved yesterday and the version saved this …

1ready prompt

1real task

3roles

See the prompt↓More organize workflows

When to use it

real situations

A lawyer needs to see what changes were made to a contract draft.
A student wants to check changes between two versions of their essay.
A designer needs to quickly find differences in a revised brochure.

AI prompts

1 way to ask · copy any one

CDecide — “help me choose”I need a precise, page-and-paragraph-level comparison of the draft opinion saved yesterday and…+

I need a precise, page-and-paragraph-level comparison of the draft opinion saved yesterday and the version saved this morning so the judge can approve citations and edits. Suggest the most accurate comparison method that preserves line numbers and citation markers, tell me how to present the differences so the judge can sign off in five minutes, and flag anything that method might miss.

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

PDFA common file type used to share documents that look the same everywhere.ExampleShe saved the brochure as a PDF so everyone would see the exact same layout and fonts.

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.

DraftAn early version of a document, like a letter or a plan, that is not yet finished.ExampleBefore sending the official letter, we reviewed the draft to catch any mistakes.

Who does this

3 roles

EditorLegal AssistantProject Manager

FAQ

about this task

First, open Acrobat and go to 'All tools'.
Then, select 'Compare files'.
Choose your old and new PDF files.
Acrobat will show a summary of changes, and you can navigate through each change.

The Compare Files feature fails if either of your PDF documents has security settings that prevent comparison. Acrobat will show a message about security settings. To fix this, you must remove the protection from both PDF files before you try to compare them.

The 'Compare text only' option tells Acrobat to ignore any pictures or graphics in your PDF files. It will only look for differences in the words. This is useful when you only care about text changes and not visual layout changes.

When you compare signed document versions in Acrobat, the tool helps you see the specific changes that were made between the different versions of the document. This is especially useful for legal documents like contracts where tracking every revision after a signature is important.

Autodetect: Acrobat tries to figure out the best way to compare your documents.
Reports/Spreadsheets: This mode is best for documents with lots of numbers and tables.
Presentation Decks: Use this for slides or presentations.
Compare text only: This mode ignores pictures and only looks at words.

Identifying Draft Changes

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

When it fails