Compare versions
/compare lists the differences between two versions of a document, in a new sheet, and shows on a copy of the new version everything that did not change.
| What Moby does | Reads both PDFs, pairs the matching content and writes one row per difference: added, removed, modified or moved |
| Use it when | Contract amendments, restated financial statements, a redline to check, two versions of a report |
| You need | Exactly two PDFs: the new version and the previous one |
| Limits | The first 200 pages of each document. 10,000 rows in the report |
Run it
- In the Workflows tab, click Compare versions, or type
/comparein the chat. - Step 1/2. Select the new version, then Next.
- Step 2/2. Select the previous version, then click Compare.
- When the card says Compare complete, the report is open in a new sheet.
A file that is not a PDF has to be converted to PDF first.
The report sheet
Moby adds a sheet named Compare 1, then Compare 2 for the next comparison. The first lines sum up the run. Then comes one row per difference, with a filter on the header.
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Page | Where the difference is |
| Change | Added, Removed, Modified, Moved, Page added, Page removed or Needs review |
| New, followed by the file name | The text in the new version. Click the cell to open the green copy at that place in the Preview |
| Previous, followed by the file name | The text in the previous version |
| Context / review note | What surrounds the difference, or why Moby asks you to look |
| Difference | New minus previous, as a formula. Only when the row pairs two numbers |
The green copy
Moby saves a copy of the new version next to it in the Documents panel, named after the new version and ending with "- comparison.pdf". On this copy, the text that did not change is painted green. What is left unpainted is what you have to read. The new version itself is never modified.
Watch out
- Comparison needs review in place of Compare complete means part of the content could not be compared. The lines at the top of the sheet say what was covered, and the rows to look at are marked Needs review.
- Beyond 200 pages, only the first 200 pages of each document are compared. The sheet says so.
- A page without reliable text, such as a poor scan, is listed at the top of the sheet. Compare that page by eye.
- "No content differences found" covers the text Moby could read. Check the coverage line before concluding that two documents are identical.
Learn more
- Review financial statements compares the notes of year N with N-1 and ties out the figures.
- Organize PDFs merges a document that arrived in several files before you compare it.