PDF Comparison with 'Diff Doc'

Using 'Diff Doc' is as simple as copying and pasting (or loading) the files into the application, then pressing the "Show Differences" button (or F5). Of course, there are several options and features that need to be discussed so that you can fully leverage 'Diff Doc's capabilities.

There are 3 main tabs within the program, " Compare Files", " Compare Options" and " Report Options". Each tab is discussed in detail below.

  Compare Files

It is within the 'Compare Files' tab that you will spend most of your time. There are 3 (or at most 4) editor boxes displayed.  The top two editors are referred to as the "Original editor" and "Modified editor" (Hint: you can hide them by pressing F8). The text editors below are referred to as the 'Diff editor(s)'.  It is within the Diff editor(s) that the differences between the Original and Modified editors are updated and shown by the program.

The first step to comparing is to load both the Original and Modified editors either by selecting files, copying and pasting data, or composing new text.  Use the File menu item to load files, or position the mouse over the file you wish to load within Windows Explorer, and use the right mouse click to display the context menu.  Copying and pasting is done differently for different programs.  However, in most cases, simply highlighting the text, and pressing CTRL-C will copy text to the Windows Clipboard.  To paste, simply click on the Original or Modified text box, and press CTRL-V.

Once the Original and Modified editors contain information to be compared press the refresh button (or F5). The differences between the Original and Modified editors will then be displayed in the Diff editor(s).  You can stop the comparison process by pressing the abort button on the toolbar .

'Diff Doc' will use the color codes and formatting in the table below by default. You can change these highlighting items within the 'Compare Options'\View tab. 

Color	Meaning
Changed	Change has occurred.  Original text is shown as red, bold, with a strike through, whereas the Modified text is shown in bold red.
Added	An addition to the Original document has occurred.  It is shown in bold green.
Deleted	A deletion from the Original document has occurred.  It is shown in bold blue with strike through font.

How Differences Are Highlighted (customizable)

Navigation of the Differences Found (F7, Shift-F7)

Once the difference view has been refreshed, and at least one difference has been found the navigation toolbar/keys may be used.  The table below shows the available commands:

Button	Purpose
Ctrl-Shift-F7	Jump to first difference
Shift-F7	Jump to previous difference.
F7	Jump to next difference
CTRL-F7	Jump to last difference
F4	Jump to difference you specify

There is also a drop down list box in the toolbar which can be used to jump to a specific difference.

Toggle between Views (F6)

The largest button within the toolbar will alternate the diff viewer between the "All In One" and "Side By Side" views.  Typically, those dealing with literary content will like the "All In One" view, whereas programmers dealing with source code will like the "Side By Side" view.  Alternating between views also gives you a feel for how the red-lining really works.

Create Reports (F2)

The "Report" button (or F2) will create the report as specified in the " Report Options" tab.  You can also print or save any of the editors by using the right mouse button, or select the editor with the left mouse and then go to the file menu.

Swap Text within the Master and Source (F9)

The Swap text button (or F9) will take the text within the Original and Modified editors and exchange them, and then automatically refresh the diff viewer. 

Compare Options

The " Compare Options" tab has many items, but the most important are items shown below:

Setting	Description
Ignore Case	Ignore character upper and lower case differences when comparing
Ignore White SpaceIgnore Whitespace Characters	Tabs, spaces etc. will be ignored when comparing
Ignore Empty Lines	Ignore lines that are completely empty when doing a file comparison. White space characters alone will make a line not empty.
Beep When Done	When set, a system beep will occur when the file comparison has completed.
Remove formatting	To do a pure text comparison, check this option to remove all formatting when comparing documents.
Letter by letter comparison	Compare to the letter if enabled, otherwise by the word.

 

Report Options

Pressing the F2 creates the report after a comparison has completed. The " Report Options" tab allows you to select the type and style of the report created.  There are 4 report file types: MS Word, HTML, Text, and Comma Delimited.  MS Word style reports come out with the best detail, and have options to specify exactly what you want within report. HTML reports have an additional option of specifying either "All In One" or "Side By Side" view. 

Printing and  E-Mailing Reports

Once the report is created it is shown in an appropriate application.  DOC is shown in Word and HTML reports are shown in a browser, both of which have the ability to save, print and e-mail (see the file menu).  Other reports may show up in Notepad, which can be printed, edited or saved from there.

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"I found a product called Diff Doc that seems to work quite well for comparing Word documents against other Word documents! (I don't know how well it works with WordPerfect, though the documentation claims that it is supported). Like many of you, I was looking at DeltaView and was very upset at their inability to work with us on the pricing structure. Diff Doc can also run from command line, so integration with document managers is a snap (the author modified the code over a couple of hours for me to get it to work with WORLDOX Versioning. In return, I wrote his FAQ on WORLDOX integration). Download an evaluation copy at https://www.softinterface.com" 'Diff Doc'  Troy Piersma excerpt from a TechnoLawyer Newsletter.

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"Just read the TechnoLawyer post from Troy Piersma. I concur completely.  I recently left a big firm which used DeltaView, and looked to get an equivalent program after being blown off by the DeltaView sales rep because I wasn't big enough for their policy. My Tabs and Practices master reseller, Judy Lassek, had also put me in WORLDOX, with which I am very pleased. She had heard of DiffDocs through her network, and I downloaded it and tried it out. I had a hard time comparing versions of the same document at first, but after receiving an update from DiffDocs, it has worked very well for me. My practice is transactional, requiring revising contracts regularly, and the program works great for doing that kind of comparison. I recommend that solos and others try it out, if for no other reason than the company is such a refreshing change from its competition! However, that wouldn't make much difference if the product itself weren't good."  Michael V. Mulchay, PLC

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Your products are very impressive, easy to use and script compatible, for what we desired in the management of MS Word and Excel files. Thank you for your continue contact with me in regards to these tools.  Mark Purinton EMC Corporation  'Diff Doc'  + 'Convert Doc'

PDF Comparison from SoftInterface, Inc.  Your software solution provider!

* Diff PDF is short for PDF Comparison.  That is, ' compare PDF ' and ' Diff PDF ' are the same phrase.

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