(Legacy feature) Compare documents tool in the Brava viewer
IMPORTANT: This document describes an optional FileHold feature that is no longer available. It is retained for existing users only. See the FileHold Viewer for the latest viewing technology.
The Brava Office viewer lets you compare different document or drawing versions and files, even in different formats (for example, the original Microsoft Word document compared to a PDF rendition, or the original CAD drawing to a TIFF version). It has specific compare modes for CAD drawings—overlaid with a slider to fade between additions and deletions or side-by-side with linked zooming—and a text compare mode for documents.
To compare the differences between two files
- Open a file in in the Brava Office Viewer. Note that in order to compare an older version of a document with a newer version of a document in FileHold, select the older version of the document first from the version history.
- From the File menu, select Compare.
- Browse to and select a second file for comparison and click Open:
- Select Open Local File to select a file from your local computer.
- Select Open File from FileHold Library to open a file in FileHold.
- When finished comparing documents using any of the tools described below, you can close compare mode by selecting Close Compare from the File menu.
Using the Comparison Tools
The Comparison toolbar appears at bottom of viewing window. The toolbar contains various buttons for different viewing options. Depending on the viewing option currently chosen, alignment buttons (nudge alignment, set alignment points, and clear align), and a transparency slider may be present. Note that while viewing in Compare mode, most of the functionality associated with Annotate, Review, Redact, Measure, and Publishing (except Save View as JPG) will not be available for use.
Button | Description |
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Overlay | Use this button to overlay both versions on top of each other. Use the slider to change the transparency of each file - left to dim the compare version, right to dim the open version. |
Overlay Differences |
With this button, the compare file version opens overlaid on the open file. Colors are based on what is set in the Compare Settings dialog. The open file displays in color1 (deleted geometry or text), and the compare file displays in color2 (added geometry or text). Geometry/text that has not changed (common between both revisions) is color3. Use slider to change transparency for clearer visibility of the file differences - right to dim (deleted) areas, left to dim (added) areas. |
Side-By-Side |
Both versions are displayed in a split-screen view. Move the slider to view transparent differences overlaid in each version. |
Text Comparison |
While a graphical comparison is useful for viewing differences in CAD drawings (as overlaid images), this method has limitations when it comes to comparing the actual text contained in a document file. Use the Text Comparison mode to view the (non WYSIWYG) text content comparison of the open and compare documents. |
Open File (Only) |
Only the file that was first opened is displayed (normal colors). The set alignment points for comparison tool is available in this mode. All Annotate, Review, Redact, Measure, and Publish features are supported in this compare mode only. |
Compare File (Only) |
Only the file that was opened for compare is displayed (normal colors). The set alignment points for comparison tool is available in this mode. Measure, and Publish features are supported in this compare mode. |
Additions | Only added areas (areas present in the compare version, but not in the open version) are displayed in the color determined in Compare Settings. |
Deletions | Only deleted areas (areas present in the open version, but not in the compare version) are displayed in the color determined in Compare Settings. |
Unchanged | Only areas that are present in both the compare version and open version are displayed in the color determined in Compare Settings. |
Transparency Slider | This tool is available for Overlay, Overlay Differences, and Side-by-side modes to adjust the transparency amount of the two documents. In the two overlay modes, move the slider to the left to reduce the transparency of the Compare document (additions), move the slider to the right to reduce the transparency of the Open document (deletions). When the slider is centered, both documents display at 50% transparency.
In Side-by-side mode, center the slider to view the changes side by side, overlaid at 25% transparency. Move the slider all the way to the left to view 50% transparency, or all the way to the right for 0% transparency (no overlay). |
Nudge Alignment |
This button is available when using the Overlay, Overlay Differences, Side by Side, Additions, Deletions, and Unchanged viewing modes. You can use the Nudge Alignment commands to nudge and re-scale a compare image or drawing to an open drawing, allowing you to interactively make small adjustments to align the files more precisely. This feature is especially useful for comparing two TIFF images that contain the same text but have different line spacing. Click the Nudge Alignment button and select a direction to nudge the compare file by one increment. You can also use the hot keys below to quickly nudge the alignment. Use one of the following key combinations (once or multiple times) to nudge the overlaid "older version" in the desired direction:
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Compare Settings | Colors used for Compare (graphical and textual) and settings for Text Compare are customizable using the Compare Settings dialog. See the help in the Brava viewer for more information. |
Text Compare Reporting | In Text Compare mode, you can export the merged results of your two-document comparison to a PDF file which can be printed or saved to a file system. See the help in the Brava viewer for more information. |