View and compare documents side by side

Applies To
Word for Microsoft 365 Word 2024 Word 2021 Word 2019 Word 2016
  1. Open both of the files that you intend to compare with each other.

  2. On the ribbon menu View tab, in the Window group, select View Side by Side.
    Click View Side by Side

    Note

    • To scroll both documents at the same time, click Synchronous Scrolling Synchronous scroll icon in the Window group on the View tab.

      If you don't see Synchronous Scrolling, click Window on the View tab, and then click Synchronous Scrolling.

    • To close Side by Side view, click View Side by Side Side by side icon in the Window group on the View tab.

      If you don't see View Side by Side, click Window on the View tab, and then click View Side by Side.

See also

For information about how to combine your changes, see Combine document revisions

For information about comparing document differences, see Compare document differences using the legal blackline option.