Text comparison: compare two texts and see every change

A text comparison holds two versions of a text against each other word by word. CompareDesk compares text files, RTF, Word and PDF, also across formats, and shows insertions, deletions, replacements and moves where they occur rather than in two columns side by side.

Word by word, not line by line

Simple text comparison tools compare lines and report a whole line as changed as soon as one character differs. CompareDesk works at the level of the word and matches the paragraphs of both versions. A replacement appears as old and new wording at the same place; a moved paragraph is recognised as a move rather than reported as a deletion plus an insertion.

Which texts you can compare

Text files in TXT format, rich text in RTF format, Word documents in DOCX and DOC format and PDF files with a text layer. Scanned originals are read by text recognition, entirely on your computer. The versions may have different formats.

The result

Either a Word file with tracked changes or a comparison PDF with change bars on every changed line. A list of differences states the kind and location of every change; identical recurring changes such as the replacement of a party name are bundled into one entry with a count of occurrences.

Preguntas frecuentes

Can I compare two text files?

Yes. TXT and RTF are read; the result appears as a Word file with tracked changes or as a comparison PDF.

Does CompareDesk show differences side by side or in the text?

In the text. Every change is marked where it occurs, with the old and the new wording. The list of differences additionally lists them.

Are capitalisation and punctuation taken into account?

Yes. The comparison is exact to the character; numbers, dates and amounts are checked without tolerance.

Try CompareDesk

CompareDesk is available in the Microsoft Store and as a direct download. The first twenty-five comparisons are free, with no registration. Your documents stay on your own computer.

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