How to Compare PDF Online with High Quality

Audrey Goodwin

2020-12-21 15:11:37 • Filed to: How-To • Proven solutions

Comparing PDF documents is essential in understanding their differences. It is however difficult to do this since most of the time, a PDF reader is required but not available. This challenge has been tackled by the inception of online PDF tools. In this article, we will look at the tools used to compare PDF files online.

How to Compare PDF Files Online
Shortcomings of Comparing PDF Online
How to Compare PDF with PDFelement

How to Compare PDF Files Online Free

As earlier discusses, there are a variety of tools used to compare two PDF files online. In this case we shall be looking at one of the tools known as PDF24 so as to get an understanding of how it works.

For a user to be able to compare PDF files online, the first step is to log in to the website containing the comparison tool. When the tool is opened, you will see two blank spaces written "First file" and "Second file", each with an option to select a file. The files can be selected from a variety of sources such as Dropbox, Google Drive as well as the local storage.
Once you select the files, you can begin the comparison of the two PDF files by clicking on the "Compare" button.
After a wait of a few seconds, the results of the comparison will be displayed on the screen in a detailed manner.

Shortcomings of Comparing PDF Online

As is the norm with every invention, there exist some demerits. Some of the disadvantages that arise with comparing PDF files online are:

The tools require an internet connection to function. Unlike traditional comparison tools, the tools used to compare PDF files online can only work over the internet. This poses a great challenge to those users who would want to use the tool but do not have a stable internet connection.
The files are not stored on the online server for extended periods of time. After a short while they are deleted. This brings up an issue in that you have to perform the comparison once again if you need the comparison data at a later time.
Lastly, since the comparison tool is not installed directly to your computer, it is not very convenient in areas that do not have wireless internet connectivity. A vast majority of internet users use cable internet therefore making it impossible to work while on the move.

How to Compare PDF with PDFelement

PDFelement is a PDF reader that enables users to create PDF files, edit the files, convert them to a format of their choice, add comments and reviews to the files as well as add security features such as passwords and digital signatures to the PDF documents.

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Other than the mentioned functions, PDFelement can also be used to make comparisons between two or more PDF documents. To compare two or more PDF files, you can opt for either of the two methods available:

Method 1 to Compare PDF Files

Opening two documents and comparing them in the application either vertically or horizontally. This is done in a few steps as laid out below.

First, you have to open the multiple PDF files on PDFelement and click on "view" which will then reveal a sub-menu where you will need to click on the tile button.
By clicking on the tile button, two options will be availed; you can choose to either display the windows vertically or horizontally.

Method 2 to Compare PDF Files

The second method of comparing files is by opening multiple PDF files and resizing them then dragging the tabs of the other files to create other windows for each file. This is done in a few simple steps as illustrated below.

The first step to this process as mentioned earlier is opening the multiple PDF files. These files will be bundled into many tabs on one window. Drag these tabs to create separate windows for each tab then adjust the size of the windows as desired by dragging along the edges.

After you are done with arranging the multiple windows, drag the tabs of each of the opened files back to a single window one by one. This will result in all the opened files being displayed on a single window where you can carry out your comparison.