How to compare two word documents 2003

Tina often needs to visually compare documents containing reviewers' comments. Word 2003's "Compare Side-by-Side" feature works well for synchronous scrolling, but because the windows are vertically side-by-side, Tina can't see the comment balloons unless she shrinks the document to a zoom size that is too small to be usable. Tina wonders if there is a way to set the "Compare Side-by-Side" feature to use horizontal rather than vertical windows.

There is no way to make the feature use horizontal windows, but you can set up your system so that document comparison works just fine with horizontal windows. Follow these general steps:

  1. Open the two documents you want to compare.
  2. Choose Compare Side by Side from the Window menu. Word displays both documents side by side and displays the Compare Side by Side toolbar.
  3. Choose Window | Arrange All. Word now arranges the two windows horizontally, but still leaves the Compare Side by Side toolbar visible.
  4. On the Compare Side by Side toolbar, click the Synchronous Scrolling tool, if necessary.

That's it; both documents now scroll together, but in a horizontal layout.

It is interesting to note that the Compare Side by Side toolbar, which is key to these steps working, is only made visible by choosing Compare Side by Side from the Window menu. The toolbar is not accessible through the View menu or in any other way that I can find. Thus, you always need to go through step 2 in order to display the toolbar.

Remember that when you use the Compare Documents Side by Side command, the two windows are just that—regular windows. This means that you can rearrange them or resize them as desired.

Which brings us to what may be the most satisfying long-term solution: Using two monitors with Windows. If you get two monitors and place them side-by-side, you can configure Windows so that it considers both monitors a single desktop. With so much horizontal room, you can compare two documents in Word in such a way that one document is on the left monitor and the other on the right. For those who do quite a bit of comparing, this is the optimal solution.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (595) applies to Microsoft Word 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Comparing Documents Top and Bottom.

Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Comparing Document Versions.

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated November 25, 2017)

Word includes a tool that allows you to compare two documents to each other. The document in memory is marked with revision marks to indicate the changes from the document on disk. The way you compare documents depends on the version of Word you are using. Follow these steps if you are using Word 2002 or Word 2003:

  1. Load the newer version of the document into Word.
  2. Choose the Compare and Merge Documents option from the Tools menu. Using a dialog box that is very similar to a standard Open dialog box, you are prompted for a filename to use for the comparison.
  3. Select the file to which you want to compare the document.
  4. Click on OK.

If you are using Word 97 or Word 2000, you follow these steps:

  1. Load the newer version of the document into Word.
  2. Choose Track Changes from the Tools menu. Word displays a submenu.
  3. Choose the Compare Documents option. You are prompted for a filename to use for the comparison.
  4. Select the file to which you want to compare the document.
  5. Click on OK.

Regardless of the version of Word you are using, when the comparison is done the document contains revision marks to indicate what has changed. Typically, new text is underlined and deleted text is struck through.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1656) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Comparing Document Versions.

How to compare two word documents 2003

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Last Updated on December 25, 2020 by KWS Adams

How to compare two word documents 2003

When it comes to comparing, merging and or combining the different Microsoft Word documents for example the earlier versions of the same document, the different documents and others, Microsoft word has it all regardless of the version you are using whether Word 2003, Word 2007 or even Word 2010.

In this post, I will take you through the different step by step procedures on how you can go about the entire process of having your multiple documents compared and combined into one single Microsoft Word document just like you might need, just like how it works for legal backend option.

When creating documents, many people end up creating different versions of the same documents for comparison purposes, in addition to others needs for example, to test the skills one may have. Regardless of what your need to do any of the above might be, such as merging changes, comparing the best document to make you most money, etc, all you need is to continue reading in order to learn and start doing it yourself, and here we go.

Compare and Merge Microsoft Word Docs in 2003

  • Open a single word document you would want to merge or compare.
  • Click Tools
  • Click Compare or Merge documents
  • Select the other document.
  • Click on Merge documents,

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You can then mark the differences and hit Merge into current document and or select merge into new document when you are done.

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Compare and Merge Microsoft Word Docs in 2010/2007

  • Open a single word document you would want to merge or compare.
  • Click on Compare under the Review tab, in the compare group.
  • Click on of the document into which you want to combine under the original document, show changes and click on OK.

If you ever thought of the process being a hard one, I guess that by now you have learnt already how you can about it since everything is very straight forward and so simple for anyone to go about. You can also use WPS Office – free office suite for word,pdf,excel apk if you wan’t to this on your smartphone.

But, how about if you want to merge the same microsoft word documents online without the need to download anything? Aspose’s free online document merger will get you started in no time and easily.

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How To Compare, Combine & Merge Microsoft Word 2003/2007/2010 Documents