Google Docs is rapidly climbing the ladder to offer tough competition to Microsoft Word by constantly introducing new features. One of the last such additions is the ability to compare documents. This feature is useful when you work collaboratively on a document with others.
The compare feature will suggest changes made and facilitate the creation of the final document. It’s a handy tool for teachers and editors to see what’s changed by comparing previous and next versions.
Anyway, without further ado, let’s see how to compare documents in Google Docs.
Compare Documents in Google Docs
You will need two separate documents in Google Docs for comparison. If you want to compare with a Word document, you need to convert the DOCX document to GDOC format.
note: Converting DOCX to GDOC may cause formatting issues.
Stage 1: Open the document you want to compare in Google Docs. Now, click on Tools from the top menu bar and select ‘Compare documents’.
Step 2: In the popup that appears, click on ‘My Drive’ to bring up the comparison document.
Stage 3: Find the benchmark using the top four tabs (My Drive, Shared with Me, Starred, or Recent). Alternatively, use the search bar to find the file quickly. Once you find your preferred document, select it and click Open.
Step 4: You will now also have the option to associate the differences with a specific user. Collaboration is appropriate on a document or if the original author of the document is someone other than you. To import the document with comments, check the ‘Include comments from selected documents’ checkbox and click Compare. Then click Open when the comparison is ready.
Note: The comparison time will vary depending on the size of the document. If it’s a set of contracts or reports with hundreds of pages, it may take a little more time to compare.
Then a new document opens in a separate tab showing the differences between the two. Also, Google Docs automatically saves it under the name ‘Compare’ followed by the name of the two documents.
View Comparison
In the document being compared, you will see all the differences between the documents appear as highlighted text. You will see magenta strikethrough lines for the text removed from the document.
In the right pane, you will be able to see the changes and the name of the person who made them. Each change appears as a suggestion in the document. Conveniently, you can choose to accept or reject this edit by clicking the checkmark or ‘X’ in the right pane.
In addition, you can view a specific recommendation or add a comment in the right pane. To add a comment, select the suggestion and the ‘Reply or add others with @’ box. This is useful for adding reasons for the change.
Bonus: How to View Google Docs Version History
Apart from the comparison feature, Google Docs also has a neat ‘Version history’ feature similar to the ‘Revision history’ feature in Microsoft Word. It allows you to find old versions of the document in case you want to visit it again.
Here’s how to revert to a previous version of a document.
Stage 1: Open your Google Docs document. Now click on File option from the top menu bar. Go to ‘Version history’ and then click ‘See version history’.
Or use the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H to quickly open the version history.
Step 2: In the right pane, you’ll see a list of available document versions, along with the date, time, and author’s name. You can click on a specific version to view it. If you want to revert to a version of your choice, click on the three-dot menu icon and select ‘Restore this version’ from the list.
Again, changes between versions are displayed as highlighted and strikethrough text. Uncheck the ‘Show changes’ box to remove them. Additionally, you can rename a version by clicking the three-dot menu icon and selecting ‘Name this version’ from the list.
Understand the Difference
You can view the differences between multiple versions using the version history, but Google Docs takes this a step further with its ability to compare documents. And like most features in Google Docs, it’s pretty simple to use, even if you’re using it for the first time.
Did you find this feature helpful? So, check out these great Google Docs tips and tricks to use it like a pro.