By Walter Glenn, MCSE, MCT

If you've ever worked with multiple copies of a document that have been reviewed or modified by different people (or worse yet, you had to merge those document copies into a single document), you already know that working with different versions of the same document is a challenge. Even if you position the documents next to one another on your screen, it can be difficult keeping track of where you are in each document.

Using the Compare Side by Side toolbar in Microsoft Office Word 2003 makes document comparisons easier because you can view the differences between two documents without having to merge them into a single document. This toolbar performs three basic functions:

• Compares documents side by side   By displaying the Compare Side by Side toolbar, you can compare two documents side by side on your screen.
  

  

• Synchronizes your scrolling in both documents   By clicking the Synchronous Scrolling button on the Compare Side by Side toolbar, you can scroll through both documents simultaneously, which ensures that you keep your place in both documents.
• Returns the document windows to their original position   By clicking the Reset Window Position button on the Compare Side by Side toolbar, you can reset the document windows to the original positions they were in when you first started comparing the documents.

These three fairly simple functions make comparing different versions of a document less frustrating.

The easiest way to familiarize yourself with this toolbar is to actually see it in action. In the next section of this article, an example demonstrates the steps involved in comparing two documents. In the example, one of the documents I compare is a version of this article that I worked on at my office. The second document is a version that I worked on at home. At home, I thought that I was working on the latest version; but of course, it turns out that I was working on the earlier version. Now, I have two documents that contain updates that need to be included in my final version.

Compare two documents side by side in Word 2003

To compare two documents, you must first name each one something that will clearly distinguish it from the other one. For example, I named one of my documents Article-Home and the other Article-Office. You must then decide which of the documents will become your final version: This document is the one that you will modify. For example, I decided that the Article-Office document will be my final version, so I will modify this document. Therefore, during my comparison, I will look for important changes that I made to the Article-Home document and then enter those changes in the Article-Office document.

Follow these steps to compare two documents side by side:

1. Open the two documents. To avoid confusion, open only the two documents that you want to compare.

    Note   If more than two documents are open, the Compare Side by Side dialog box appears, prompting you to choose the document that you want to compare.

2. In one of the documents (it doesn't really matter which), on the Window menu, click Compare Side by Side with.

    Note   This menu command changes depending on the name of the other document you opened. In my case, I'm reviewing the Article-Office document, so the menu command is Compare Side by Side with Article-Home.

   Word arranges both of the documents side by side on the screen and displays the Compare Side by Side toolbar.
   

   

3. To scroll through both documents simultaneously, on the Compare Side by Side toolbar, click Synchronous Scrolling.
4. Scroll through the documents looking for differences — particularly look for changes you made to the document that won't be the final version. This is the document from which you take any changes you made and then insert them into the document that's the final version.
5. Occasionally, you may need to reset the document windows to the position they were in when you started the comparison. To do so, on the Compare Side by Side toolbar, click Reset Window Position.
6. When you're satisfied with your changes, click Close Side by Side on the Compare Side by Side toolbar to stop comparing documents.

 Note   You can also use the Compare and Merge Documents feature to quickly compare and consolidate two different versions of a document. For more information about comparing and merging documents, click the links in the See also section of this article.

Comparing documents side by side in Word 2003 is much easier than manually sorting through changes between documents. By using the convenient Compare Side by Side toolbar, you can now manage different versions of a document more easily than ever.

About the author   Walter Glenn, MCSE and MCT, has been a part of the computer industry for over 17 years, and currently works in Huntsville, Alabama, as a consultant, trainer, and writer. He is the author or coauthor of nearly 20 computer titles, including MCDST Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-272): Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Desktop Applications on a Microsoft Windows XP Operating System (Microsoft Press, 2005), Word Pocket Guide (O'Reilly, 2004), and Outlook Pocket Guide (O'Reilly, 2003). Walter also holds a bachelor's degree in English and computer science (University of Alabama in Huntsville, 1992).