Legal sent back v3 of the contract. You sent v2. Somewhere between them, something changed — but they won't tell you what.
Reading two PDFs side by side and spotting every word change is tedious and error-prone. Comparison tools find every difference instantly.
Compare visually with side-by-side reading
Open both PDFs side by side in your reader. Quick eyeball test catches big differences — added pages, removed sections, layout changes — but small word edits will slip past.
For anything contractual, eyeball comparison isn't enough. Use a proper diff.
Use a diff tool
Tools like Adobe's compare, Draftable, or DiffPDF analyse two PDFs and highlight every difference. They show added text in green, deleted in red, moved content in blue.
Upload both versions, run the comparison, and review every flagged change. Most diffs come down to a handful of edits even in long documents.
Compare metadata too
Sometimes the content is identical but the metadata differs — author, modification date, software used. Check PDF metadata for both files to catch behind-the-scenes changes.
If signatures are involved, also check whether one version has been signed and the other hasn't.
FAQ
Can I compare scanned PDFs?
Run OCR on both first so the text is recognisable. Then a text diff works. Otherwise you're comparing images, which only catches visual differences.
Will a diff catch image changes?
Yes — most diff tools compare visually as well as textually. Image swaps, repositions, or removals are flagged.
What about formatting differences?
Most tools highlight font, colour, and layout changes. Useful when reviewing redesigns of an existing document.
Can I see only text changes?
Yes — most tools have a text-only mode that ignores formatting. Best for reviewing contractual edits without layout noise.
Eyeballing two PDFs invites missed edits. Use a diff tool, review every change, and confirm the version you're signing is the version you negotiated. Open both files in Flint to prep them first.