Diff Microsoft Word (docx) documents
Asked by Rob Barrett:

I'm using Sourcetree to manage Microsoft Word documents (docx). I understand git/hg/etc. aren't really designed for handling these binary files.

I'd like to have a more usable diff for these documents. I have scripts that do two different kinds of diff:

1. Textual diff that converts the Word docs into plain text and then does a standard diff on them.

2. Visual diff that controls the Word application to produce a composite document from the two that I'm diff'ing.

Both of these scripts work fine from the command line. Can someone help me configure hg and Sourcetree so that the textual diff appears in the Sourcetree GUI and the visual diff is launched by clicking on the "external diff" button?

I really appreciate it and would be willing to share the scripts for others who are interested.


Answers:
author: npapnet
body: I've had this problem from years (previously I used TortoiseHg which had that solved).

I've recently came across this project in github

<https://github.com/ForNeVeR/ExtDiff>

which solves this problem both in Sourcetree and on the command line.

Simple steps:

- download and extract to a location

- add in the project's .gitattributes the following line

```
    *.docx diff=word
```

- add in the global .gitconfig the following lines

```
? ?[diff "word"]
? ?command = <extraction location>/diff-word-wrapper.cmd
```

comments: author: sunk818
body: How has using ExtDiff been for you? Is there a Windows binary for this?


author: npapnet
body: there is no need for the binary. What I described is the procedure I followed in windows.

The only thing you need to remember is need to create a gitattributes file for every repository.


author: Jerel McDonald
body: Tried this - sourcetree still says it's a binary file.


author: Boris Molostov
body: I did the same.   
But it doesnt work =(  

<br />


author: Jerel McDonald
body: FYI, I did get this to work. It is awesome.


author: sunk818
body: I'm using SourceTree 1.9.10.0 and docx seems to be comparing fine for me on the textual level. It seems to be a recent change because I don't recall previous versions comparing on the text level.

If you paste in images in your Word docx, that is not compared... so the accuracy is limited.

170118-02.jpg

As a side, if I know how to use Markdown with locally referenced images or relative image links, I'd prefer Markdown.  
[](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Sourcetree-questions/Diff-Microsoft-Word-docx-documents/qaq-p/14223?attachment-id=621){#link_117637df5d68c9}  
[](/tnckb94959/attachments/tnckb94959/sourcetree-questions/406/1/170118-01.jpg){#display_117637df5d68c9_0}  
[](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Sourcetree-questions/Diff-Microsoft-Word-docx-documents/qaq-p/14223?attachment-id=622){#link_117637df5d68c9_0}  
[](/tnckb94959/attachments/tnckb94959/sourcetree-questions/406/2/170118-02.jpg){#display_117637df5d68c9_2}

comments: author: john zajac
body: Just be clear, you are in the context of diffing through sourcetree, however just wdiff alone can give us what we need, right? I don't prefer sourcetree as it's slow and msi updates do not preserve previous data very well / settings often get lost.


author: sunk818
body: SourceTree installer has improved a lot lately and even the SSH integration is much better. So, I suggest you give it a spin. It seems they've really listened to the feedback and made improvements. I love software companies that listen to customer feedback and make noticeable updates.


author: Flo Ledermann
body: I have the same problem here - i've set up diffing word docs accroding to the article at <http://blog.martinfenner.org/2014/08/25/using-microsoft-word-with-git/> by putting

    *.docx diff=pandoc

in my .gitattributes and adding this section in .git/config:

    [diff "pandoc"]  textconv=pandoc --to=markdown  prompt = false

works fine from the command line, but in SourceTree I get a spinning icon and nothing happens when the diff should be displayed.

comments: author: sclarke81
body: Did you find a solution to this?


author: Ansar Rezaei
body: HiI need this too. I'm new to git and sourcetree, please someone explain it more. I cant find ./gitattributes and git/config.


author: Chris Frisina
body: @Ansar Rezaei: You have to create a file called .gitattributes (the dot helps make it hidden from normal OS views, but is still there) and put it in the PROJECT's highest level along with the .git folder and usually alongside a .gitignore file. The .gitconfig is at a more global level in your OS. likely your Home Folder, and may already be there with some other stuff in it. Just postpend the code.

@Rob Barrett: Can you please share the code scripts? feel free to email me at [atlassian@specialorange.org](mailto:atlassian@specialorange.org) . Thanks!


author: Hermann Klocker-Mark
body: I did follow the link Flo mentioned but although it works from the command line for small files it does not for bigger files - and I get the spinning cursor in sourcetree. Could anyone post a complete solution with all the scripts and files necessary. It would be very useful for many of us (just google for git+word).


author: Ansar Rezaei
body: I really appreciate it if someone share a complete solution.