Inspect document text and binary metadata locally

Capability overview

How can I use document and binary inspection in Diff Anything?

Compare PDF pages visually or by extracted text, extract comparable text from Word (DOCX, DOCM, DOTX, DOTM), PowerPoint (PPTX and related formats), OpenDocument text and presentations (ODT, ODP), and RTF, or inspect binary format, size, image dimensions, colour-profile label, SHA-256 hash, and supported image previews. Presentation differences are named by slide; other document differences are listed by line, with the changed words marked.

Spot meaningful code changes with Smart Diff across 117 editor languages. Switch to Line Diff whenever you want an exact line-by-line review. Both views keep syntax highlighting and editing close at hand.

Word, PowerPoint, RTF

What is read from Office and RTF files

For a Word document (DOCX, DOCM, DOTX, DOTM), Diff Anything reads the body text along with the headers, footers, footnotes, and endnotes. For a PowerPoint deck (PPTX, PPTM, POTX, POTM, PPSX, PPSM), it reads the text of each slide in slide order. OpenDocument text and presentation files (ODT, OTT, ODP, OTP) are read the same way, and for an RTF file the formatting codes are removed and the text kept. The two sides are then compared in the PDF / Office mode.

That answers questions like which clause changed in a contract, or which slide got a new number: each changed line is listed with the words that changed, and presentation changes are named by slide. Fonts, colours, images, and layout are not part of the comparison, and a notice above the result says so. Older .doc and .ppt files are not read as documents, so save them in the newer format first.

Reading the result

Working with extracted text

The Extracted text view shows both documents as plain text side by side, with each change listed in the Differences pane. The Ignore menu options apply, which helps when two exports break lines in different places. Mark changes Reviewed and add notes as you go, so the review of a long document can be picked up later in the same session. For RTF files only the text is kept, so a change of font or colour on its own produces no difference.

Workbooks opened in the same mode get an extra Table view that shows the cells in a grid.

Binary files

Checking whether two files are the same byte for byte

Binary / Image mode handles installers, libraries, archives you do not want to open, and any other non-text file. Files such as .exe, .dll, .dylib, .dmg, and common images open in it automatically. For each side it shows the detected format, the size in bytes, and the SHA-256 hash. When size and hash match, the two files are identical. When they differ, the changed fields are listed as differences. That makes it a quick check that a downloaded installer is the same file you built.

This mode tells you whether files differ, not where inside them. For a container, switch to Archive mode to see which entries changed; for a document, use PDF / Office mode. Supported images get a preview and image dimensions in the same mode, and PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, and BMP files also get a pixel comparison.

Free and Pro

Limits on the free plan

PDF / Office and Binary / Image are Preview modes on the free plan. They show their complete result for files up to 5 MB per side, and PDFs show the first 3 pages in Visual diff. Pro removes those limits, which matters for most build artifacts, and adds reports and the document and binary command-line modes. From the command line, document mode compares extracted text.

In the workflow

How to use it

1. Open the two files

   Choose two documents, two builds, or two exports of the same file.

2. Check the mode

   Documents open in PDF / Office and other non-text files in Binary / Image. Switch mode if Auto picked another one.

3. Read the result

   Step through the wording changes, or compare the size and SHA-256 rows for binaries.

4. Keep a record

   Mark items Reviewed and add notes, then export a report with Pro.

Useful in practice

When to use it

Related manual

Compare folders, spreadsheets, documents, and images

Review cross-format spreadsheet values, release trees, documents, and visual assets with purpose-built navigation, safety checks, and rollback.

Direct answers

Questions about document and binary inspection.