Text compare

Original

Dear Sam,

Thanks for the update.
Best,
Alex

Changed

Dear Sam,

Thanks for the quick update.
Kind regards,
Alex

Changed +2 −2

3 unchanged

    Dear Sam,
     
  − Thanks for the update.
  − Best,
  + Thanks for the quick update.
  + Kind regards,
    Alex

Compared in your browser · nothing is uploaded

Local · word mode is the one for prose

Puts two versions of a text side by side and marks what changed. Word-by-word comparison is the option to reach for with prose, where a change is usually inside a line rather than a whole line.

How to use the text compare

1 Paste the original into the left box and the changed version into the right.

2 Turn on ignore case or ignore whitespace if those differences are noise for you.

3 Read the marked lines, or copy the result as a unified patch.

Line-based comparison is right for code, where a line is a unit, and wrong for prose, where changing one word marks the whole paragraph as replaced. Switching to word mode fixes that and makes an edit legible. Ignoring whitespace is the other setting worth knowing: text that has been through a word processor picks up non-breaking spaces and different line wrapping, and without that option every paragraph shows as changed for reasons that have nothing to do with the writing.

Questions

Should I compare by line or by word? −

By line for code and data. By word for prose, where an edit is usually within a line.

Why does everything show as changed? +

Does it show what moved? +

Can I compare documents? +

Is my text uploaded? +

Sources

Myers — an O(ND) difference algorithm

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INTERNAL SIGNAL ONLY · WE USE IT TO FIND TOOLS WORTH REBUILDING