Managers, software and quality assurance engineers, bankers, insurers, legislators, and freelancers compare PDFs to pinpoint differences from the main document. DiffPDF is one tool that these professionals highly use. However, many people still find it hard to compare PDF files with DiffPDF. If you are dealing with important or sensitive information, you can’t risk it if you are unsure how to do so. Fortunately, this article gives you a step-by-step guide on how to compare PDF files with DiffPDF.
How to Compare Two PDF Files with DiffPDF
DiffPDF, as the name suggests, is a good Windows platform to compare two PDF files. This program lets you compare the text and visuals in two different PDF files. This program is simple and easy to use. It compares two PDFs side by side and highlights deleted, inserted, and replaced texts using red, cyan, and magenta colors, respectively. However, you can customize these colors to meet your preferences. To aid better view, the program supports all four possible layout options. Again, DiffPDF makes it possible to compare a range of pages and obtain a comparison report.
Four Steps to Compare PDF files within DiffPDF
The following steps illustrate how you can compare two PDF files within DiffPDF.
Step 1. To begin with, launch DiffPDF on your Windows computer to access its main window.
Step 2. With the DiffPDF now open, click on the “PDF#1” and follow the on-screen instruction to upload the base PDF file.
Step 3. Once the first PDF file is uploaded, press the “PDF#2” option and again follow the on-screen instructions to upload the second PDF file.
Step 4. Now that the two files are uploaded click the “Compare” button to trigger the PDF comparison. Click the “Mode” drop-down arrow and select texts if you want to compare texts. You can choose visuals if you are targeting images. The differences will be highlighted in different colors. Compare the contents side by side. You can zoom, swap, generate reports, seek help, or quit DiffPDF by clicking the respective buttons.
How to Compare Two PDF Files with DiffPDF Alternative
PDFelement Pro is the best all-in-one PDF solution for virtually every PDF task. The program is enriched with a collection of excellent features to make your PDF work seamless. PDFelement has an elegant and total no-brainer interface. Therefore, newbies and experts alike won’t experience navigation challenges. PDFelement allows users to create, convert, edit, annotate, protect, compress, organize, print, share, perform OCR, and compare PDF files with ease. Download the free trial version to preview the features, then upgrade to the premium version for unlimited features.
This part discusses how you can compare two PDF files on a desktop using PDFelement, as illustrated below.
Step 1Open a PDF File
First, run PDFelement to open the main interface. Locate and click the “Compare PDF” tab.
Upon clicking, the program will display the “File Comparison” window. Click the “Select File” button on the left to upload the base/old file. Do the same on the right side to upload the file you want to compare with the old one. If you confuse the files, you can always hit the switch icon to switch the file positions.
Step 2The Meaning of Different Colors When Comparing PDF Files
When you have uploaded the files, click the “Compare” button at the bottom of this window. The program would then present the two PDFs side by side while highlighting the differences in different colors. The red color represents deleted content, blue for inserted content, and green for modifications.
Step 3Compare PDFs Changes
You can now proceed to compare your PDFs. Click the “Previous Change” or “Next Change” to compare and review your PDF changes.
