DocXtools Fills the Gaps in Native Word Compare Gaps in Word Compare How DocXtools Fills the Gap Integration with the Document Management System Comparisons are launched from the DMS and the resulting compare output needs to be saved back to the DMS. Word lacks this form of DMS integration making the workflow cumbersome and difficult. DocXtools adds the full suite of DMS integration to Microsoft Word Compare. Using DocXtools you can: Right-click compare from within the DMS Browse to the DMS from the compare dialog Save the redline back to the DMS as an attachment, related document, new version or new document Reporting on Compare Statistics Comparisons are launched from the DMS and the resulting compare output needs to be saved back to the DMS. Word lacks this form of DMS integration making the workflow cumbersome and difficult. DocXtools offers a detail and a summary report that can either be automatically added to the compare output or produced separately Configurable Rendering Sets Rendering sets allow users to customize the visual presentation of deleted, inserted, formatted and moved revisions. Using Word, you can customize these, but can’t save them in sets to easily choose when your client prefers a different presentation. DocXtools offers the ability to configure and Word-based multiple comparison schemes / rendering sets allowing the user to choose which one they prefer. Handling Legacy Result Documents If a firm decides to use Word as its exclusive document comparison platform, all the resulting documents from the previous comparison product are frozen and repurposing them into changes documents is nearly impossible. We strongly discourage repurposing redlines or compare documents from third-party vendors. The redline document is likely no longer in an original Word format and bringing it back to native Word is a round trip that has a tendency to cause unwanted problems later in the document lifecycle. However, if this is a practice the firm employs, retaining a license or two of the legacy software should accommodate this occasional need. Gaps in Word Compare How DocXtools Fills the Gap Email the Compare Package Word can email the active document through its “Send” command, but the collection of compare documents, the original, revised and output result cannot be sent together from Word. The DocXtools interface provides the integration to send the original; revised, compare output and / or reports in Word and/or PDF format.
Save and Print Revised Pages Only When there are only a low number of changed pages in a large document, it is often more convenient to print only the changed pages. Word cannot selectively save or print the pages that only contain revisions. DocXtools offers the option to print only changed pages, save only changed pages to PDF and/or send only changed pages via email. Launch Document Comparison from Outlook Some allow users to launch a compare from an email attachment, which can be convenient for documents received from clients or other third parties, as it allows the legal team to quickly begin working on a document. Using native Word, the attachment must first be opened to launch the compare. DocXtools facilitates the comparison of a document from Outlook by incorporating a on the attachment. Comparison of PDF, Excel and PowerPoint Documents Native Word may be an effective tool for many uses to compare two Word documents, but it cannot compare PDF, Excel or PowerPoint documents. The optional DocXtools PDF Compare Plus Module compares PDF, Excel and PowerPoint files. Graphics and Pictures are not Included in the Comparison In selected instances, the contents of a graphic can make a difference in a legal matter. However, Word only recognizes that the graphic has been changed, but cannot highlight the difference in the graphic. Word compare does not compare graphics. It does indicate a graphic has been replaced by highlighting a change as a delete and an insert. There are a handful of users who may need to evaluate if a graphic has changed without having reinserted a new one. A supplemental compare utility may be desirable to use when the comparison of graphics is essential. Debunking the Myths Surrounding Native Word Compare About Word Compare Fact or Fiction Legacy File Types are not Supported Moves are only visible in .docx documents and only in MS Word 2010/2007. Fact. Tracking of moves was added only for .docx documents. There are two things to think about that make this concern lessen over time. First, over time, the number of .docx documents will be increasing. Second, the moves can be preserved by saving the compare output to PDF.