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Table of contents

Click on the section or question below from the table of contents, to go directly to the answers you need for Draftable Legal. General Launching comparison & inputting files Customizing and using comparisons Using the Draftable viewer Comparison output - types & export options Troubleshooting

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General

Draftable Legal does not support programmatic, command-line (CLI), or scripted execution of comparisons on local machines. Draftable Legal is a desktop application designed to be operated through its graphical user interface (GUI), Word/Outlook add-ins, file explorer context menus, and DMS integrations.
If you need to run comparisons programmatically (for example, as part of an automated workflow or CI/CD pipeline), consider using the Draftable API or Draftable API Self-Hosted, which provide REST API endpoints for document comparison.

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Launching comparison & inputting files

The following file types are compatible for comparison with Draftable Legal:
  • Word: .docx, .docm, .doc, .rtf, .odt
  • PDF: .pdf (including scanned documents via built-in OCR)
  • Excel: .xlsx, .xlsm, .xls, .csv
  • PowerPoint: .pptx, .pptm, .ppt
  • Text: .txt and free text input (paste or type directly)
You can compare files of the same type against each other (e.g. Word vs Word, PDF vs PDF), and you can also compare across formats — for example, comparing a Word file against a PDF.
Launching a comparison is easy — there are several options available so you can choose the one that works best for your workflow:Launch from your desktop:Double-click the Draftable shortcut on the Desktop, or search for Draftable in your Windows search bar.
Launch from Word or Outlook:Click the Draftable icon to start comparing from within Word or Outlook.For Outlook, you can find this icon in the Draftable tab at the top of the Outlook menu ribbon.
For Word, you can find this icon in the Draftable tab at the top of the Word menu ribbon.
Launch from Draftable in Office (Office Add-in):If your organization has deployed the Draftable in Office add-in (available from v25.10.000), you can launch comparisons directly from a panel within Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. Look for the Draftable option in the Home tab. See Can I compare documents directly from within Microsoft Word? below for more details.Launch from your Document Management System (DMS):Draftable integrates with iManage, NetDocuments, SharePoint, Worldox, and Epona. For iManage:
  • Option 1: click the Draftable icon to start comparing from within iManage; or
  • Option 2: right-click the file you want to compare and select one of the available compare with Draftable options.
Option 1: click the Draftable icon
Option 2: Right-click
Launch from the local files directory:Select one or two files and right-click on them, then click on ‘Compare with Draftable’.
Launch via 1-Click Compare:If configured, you can right-click files and select a 1-Click Compare option to go straight from file selection to your preferred output and action (e.g. email, save, print) in a single step. See What is 1-Click Compare? for more details.Once you launch Draftable, you will see the New comparison window where you can select your documents and start comparing.
Yes. There are two ways to compare directly from within Word:Draftable Word Add-in (Draftable tab):The Draftable Word add-in adds a “Draftable” tab to your Word ribbon. From here you can send the currently open document to Draftable as the older or newer document for comparison.Draftable in Office (Home tab panel):Available from Draftable Legal v25.10.000 onwards, the Draftable in Office add-in provides a comparison panel directly within Word’s Home tab. This panel lets you:
  • Compare open documents — compare the document you have open against another file
  • Compare versions — compare different versions of the same document (when loaded from a DMS)
  • Send as older/newer — send the current document to the Draftable New comparison window
  • Select comparison profiles — choose from your configured Redline profiles
The panel also works in Excel and PowerPoint, with additional options specific to each application (such as worksheet or slide selection).
Draftable in Office add-in deployment
Draftable Legal must be running in the background for the Draftable in Office add-in to function. Remote desktop, Citrix, and RDP environments are supported from add-in version 2.62.0.1 onwards.
To learn more, see Using Draftable in Office.
To run a comparison, you need to upload documents or enter text you want to compare to the Draftable New comparison window - there are a few options available:Uploading files:
  • If the comparison is launched from within Word, Outlook or your DMS (e.g. iManage, NetDocuments), the selected file(s) will already be uploaded for comparison;
  • Browse for local or DMS files from within the New comparison window; or
  • ‘Drag & drop’ from your local files or DMS.
Uploading text input:
  • Copy & paste existing text from a document or other location;
  • From within Word or Outlook - highlight text & click the ‘Compare text’ button in the Draftable tab; or
  • Highlight the text you want to compare and ‘drag & drop’ the text into the New comparison window.
You can upload iManage files for comparison:
  • From within iManage (just select the relevant file and click the Draftable icon; or ‘right click’ the file you want to compare and select one of the available compare with Draftable options);
  • By ‘dragging & dropping’ iManage files into the Draftable launcher; or
  • By browsing iManage files from within the Draftable launcher.
To browse for iManage files - in the New comparison window open click the iManage icon for either the older or newer document.
This will open the iManage menu, where you will be able to navigate to your desired document - then just select it, and it will load into Draftable.
There are two ways you can select file versions to compare in Draftable: from within iManage or via the Draftable ‘version selector’.Selecting a version when uploading files - browsing iManage files from the Draftable launcherTo select file versions when browsing files via Draftable’s ‘iManage file selector:
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Navigate to the relevant file;
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Click the ‘i’ button (pictured below) to ‘show details’ related to the document (this button will be at top in the iManage menu, on the right-hand side);
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Go to the ‘Versions’ tab (which will display all versions of the file) and select the relevant version;
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Then click ‘Select’ button at the bottom of the screen.
Selecting document versions when loading files from within iManageNavigate to the relevant document and either:
  • ‘Right-clicking’ on the document and then selecting ‘Compare versions’, from where you will be able to select the version(s) you need (if you select ‘Compare with latest’ - the latest two versions of the document will be uploaded); or
  • Open the versions menu in iManage by clicking the ‘i’ (show details) icon in the top right of the screen and then selecting the ‘versions’ tab on the right-hand side of the screen. Then right-click on the version you want to load and select ‘compare’.
Changing the selected version when files are already uploadedOnce you have loaded a document from iManage, and if that document has different versions you can quickly change the version used for comparison.In the new comparison window below click ‘Select version’ to change the version used. When clicked, in a new window, you will see all document versions displayed, from where you can change the version to be used for comparison.
You can upload NetDocuments files for comparison:
  • From within NetDocuments (‘right click’ on the relevant file, select ‘Send to application’ and select one of the available Draftable comparison options); or
  • By browsing NetDocuments files from within the Draftable launcher.
To browse for NetDocuments files - in the New comparison window open click the NetDocuments icon for either the older or newer document.
This will open the NetDocuments menu where you will be able to navigate to your desired document - then just select it, click ‘Open’ and it will load into Draftable.
There are two ways you can select file versions to compare in Draftable: from within NetDocments or via the Draftable ‘version selector’.Selecting a version when uploading files - browsing NetDocuments files from the Draftable launcherTo select file versions when browsing files via Draftable’s NetDocuments file selector:
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Click the NetDocuments icon in the New comparison window;
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Navigate to the relevant file and click on it;
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In the document menu window on the right (pictured below) select the relevant document version that you want to use for comparison and click ‘Open’;
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Then click ‘Open’ button at the bottom of the screen - the version of the document that you have selected will then be uploaded to the Draftable launcher in the New comparison window.
Selecting document versions when loading files from within NetDocumentsNavigate to the relevant document and:
  • ‘Right-click’ on the document, select ‘Send to application’, choose ‘Draftable Compare Version’ from where you will be able to select the version(s) you need (if you select ‘Draftable Compare Latest’ - the latest two versions of the document will be uploaded); or
  • Select the relevant document, click ‘More’, select ‘Send to application’, choose ‘Draftable Compare Version’ from where you will be able to select the version(s) you need (if you select ‘Draftable Compare Latest’ - the latest two versions of the document will be uploaded).
Changing the selected NetDocuments version when files are already uploadedOnce you have loaded a document from NetDocuments, and if that document has different versions you can quickly change the version used for comparison.In the new comparison window below click ‘Select version’ to change the version used. When clicked, in a new window, you will see all document versions displayed, from where you can change the version to be used for comparison.
There are several ways to compare SharePoint documents:From the Draftable launcher (SharePoint Online):In the New comparison window, click the SharePoint icon to open the Draftable file browser. Navigate to your document and select it — this loads it as the older or newer document. Repeat for the second document. You can also view and select specific versions of a document by clicking ‘Show’ in the Versions column.From SharePoint Online directly:Select a file in SharePoint Online and use one of the available Draftable options:
  • Compare — loads the selected file into the Draftable New comparison window
  • Compare Version(s) — displays all versions of the file so you can select which versions to compare
  • 1-Click Compare — automatically generates a comparison based on your configured default settings
From synced SharePoint folders:If your SharePoint files are synced locally, select one or two files in File Explorer, right-click, and choose ‘Compare with Draftable’. You can also drag and drop synced SharePoint files into the New comparison window.
For more details, see Running comparisons with files from SharePoint Online.
You can compare Worldox documents by browsing for files from within the Draftable launcher. In the New comparison window, click the Worldox icon to browse and select your documents. Draftable also supports comparing different versions of Worldox documents and saving comparison outputs back to Worldox.For more information on setting up and using the Worldox integration, see Running comparisons with files from Worldox.
Draftable Legal also integrates with Epona. For details, see Running comparisons with files from Epona.
Navigate to the location of your desired documents and select the documents you wish to compare. Then right-click on these documents.Navigate to the Show More Options item.
Then select Compare in Draftable. This will automatically load the documents into the New Comparison Window.
Yes! Ensuring you have the file explorer open with your desired files and the New comparison window open, simply click and drag your documents into the window to the respective Older or Newer document fields.
Additionally, you can drag and drop from both iManage and SharePoint as well.
New Outlook — Drag and drop not supported:Dragging and dropping email attachments from Microsoft’s New Outlook into Draftable is not supported. This is due to a Microsoft limitation — New Outlook does not expose file attachment data in a way that external applications can consume. To compare email attachments when using New Outlook, use the Draftable for Outlook or Draftable in Outlook add-in workflows instead of drag and drop. See Microsoft’s documentation for further details.
New Outlook — Drag and drop not supported:Dragging and dropping email attachments from Microsoft’s New Outlook into Draftable is not supported due to a Microsoft limitation. To compare email attachments when using New Outlook, use the Draftable Outlook Add-in workflow described below, or the Draftable for Outlook / Draftable in Outlook add-ins. See Microsoft’s documentation for further details.
Open up the email that contains the desired documents you wish to compare.
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In the email window, select the tab called Draftable;
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Click Compare;
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A prompt will open asking you to choose the documents you wish to compare, select the desired documents and click Select; and
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The selected documents will be loaded into the new comparison window.
Yes - you can access recently compared files from within the ‘Recent’ button in the Draftable launcher (New comparison window) and select relevant documents to perform a new comparison.
Draftable Legal allows you to load multiple documents for comparison and run them simultaneously. This ‘Bulk Compare’ feature is designed to save you time by removing the need to manually run every single comparison one by one.With Bulk Compare, you can load multiple (up to 100s*) of ‘newer’ documents to compare against a single original document. Each comparison is run independently and you can open or save them.To learn more about how to use this feature, see our full step-by-step guide.
1-Click Compare lets you go from selecting files to your preferred comparison output and action in a single step — no intermediate windows or clicks required.With 1-Click Compare, you configure your preferred defaults once in Settings:
  • Comparison type: Redline PDF, Redline DOCX (Word with tracked changes), or side-by-side
  • Next action: Email, copy to clipboard, print, save to a location, or open
Once configured, you can right-click files in Windows File Explorer, iManage, NetDocuments, or SharePoint and select the 1-Click Compare option. Draftable will automatically run the comparison with your chosen settings and perform your preferred action.This is particularly useful for repetitive workflows where you always want the same output, such as always emailing a PDF redline after comparing.
1-Click Compare automatically generating an email with comparison output
To learn more and configure 1-Click Compare, see Using 1-Click Compare.
Draftable Legal provides several add-ins for Microsoft Office and Outlook. Each add-in serves a different purpose and appears in a different location. Here is a summary of all available add-ins:Office add-ins (Word, Excel, PowerPoint):
Add-inLocationWhat it doesKey details
Draftable for OfficeHome tab ribbon buttonsSends the open document to the Draftable desktop application for comparison. Word offers 4 actions (Compare Open Documents, Compare Versions, Send as Older/Newer). Excel adds worksheet and cell range options. PowerPoint adds slide selection.Requires Draftable v25.10.000+ running in the background.
Draftable in OfficeHome tab panel (M365 add-in)Opens a comparison panel directly within the Office application. Full comparison workflow without leaving the Office app.Deployed by your M365 administrator. Requires Draftable v25.10.000+. Citrix/RDP supported from add-in version 2.62.0.1. Deployment can take up to 72 hours.
Outlook add-ins:
Add-inLocationWhat it doesKey details
Draftable Outlook Add-in (Classic)Draftable tab in Outlook ribbonThe traditional COM add-in for comparing email attachments. Select the Draftable tab, click Compare, and choose attachments to send to Draftable.Works in Classic Outlook.
Draftable for OutlookMessage tab ribbon buttonA dropdown button with options to compare attachments, 1-Click Compare, or send selected text as older/newer to Draftable.Requires Draftable v25.10.000+ running in the background. Available in New Outlook.
Draftable in OutlookMessage tab → More options (…) → panelOpens a full Draftable comparison panel within Outlook. Browse attachments, enter text, access DMS files, compare versions, and select profiles — all without leaving your inbox.Requires Draftable v25.10.000+. Available in New Outlook.
Redline in EmailMessage tab → More options (…) during compose/replyPerforms live email redlining directly within Outlook. Track changes to email text in real-time, then accept/reject changes before sending.Requires Draftable running in the background. Not yet supported in New Outlook. Citrix/RDP supported from version 1.1.31.1. See Can I redline directly within Outlook emails?
The availability of each add-in depends on your organization’s deployment. Not all add-ins may be enabled in your environment. Contact your IT administrator if you are unsure which add-ins are available to you.
For detailed guides on each add-in, see:

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Customizing and using comparisons

Depending on the administrative settings of your organization, as an individual user, you may or may not be permitted to adjust the rendering settings of your comparison output. In the case where comparison customization is available to you, follow the below steps to customize your comparisons.Open the settings menu in the Draftable launcher (top right corner).
Navigate to the Redline tab for Redline comparison settings.Some of these settings include the types of changes that are seen in your Redline comparisons (like content changes and style changes), the colours used in Redline comparisons, settings for comparing comments, conventions for comparison file names and more.
For Side by Side settings, navigate to the Side by Side tab and customize your comparisons there.
Depending on the administrative settings of your organization, as an individual user, you may or may not be permitted to create your own Redline profiles (rendering sets) in addition to the ones set by your organization.Redline profiles allow you to load in a preset of Redline settings for your Draftable legal application to easily apply different setting profiles depending on the documents you are comparing at the time. Profiles and configuring profiles is an involved process and we recommend you read our dedicated knowledge base article if you wish to learn more.
In addition to the standard way to rename files within the local files directory, Draftable Legal allows you to set up your own customized naming convention for comparison outputs. However, note that depending on your administrative settings this feature might be disabled.To customize your default comparison output naming convention, go to ‘Settings’ - Choose ‘Redline’ (vertical ribbon on the left-hand side) and scroll down to ‘Filename output’. You would be able to set up your preferred filename convention by selecting one of the preset options from the drop-down menu or setting up your own convention. To do so, we recommend that you follow our dedicated knowledge base article.
Yes. Text-Only Compare (available from v26.1.0) strips away formatting, styles, numbering, and layout from DOCX and PDF files to focus purely on text content changes.This is useful when:
  • Documents have complex or inconsistent formatting that clutters the redline
  • You want to focus on substantive text changes only
  • A standard comparison produces errors due to formatting complexity
  • You are comparing documents that originated from different templates
To use Text-Only Compare, select it from the comparison type drop-down menu in the New comparison window before clicking Compare. The resulting comparison uses the same viewer features as standard comparisons, including the Change List, tagging, filtering, and all export options.
Text-Only Compare results in the Draftable viewer
Text-Only Compare can also be combined with the three-pane view for additional context during review.
To learn more, see Text-Only Compare: How to compare documents without formatting.

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Using the Draftable viewer

The Draftable viewer offers functionality that goes well beyond typical PDF or document viewers, providing a complete comparison review workflow in one place.Redline comparison features include:
  • Next actions ribbon: Save, email, print, open, or copy your comparison directly from the viewer — including emailing comparison output in a single click
  • Multiple export formats: Export as full PDF redline, PDF changed pages only, Word with tracked changes, or Departures Table — all without re-running the comparison
  • Changed pages only: View and export only pages with substantive changes, saving time on lengthy documents
  • Change List: A dynamic panel showing all detected changes, with the ability to navigate, tag, annotate, filter, and export changes (see What is the Change List?)
  • Three-pane view: See the older document, newer document, and redline simultaneously with synced scrolling (see What is the three-pane view?)
  • Customizable output: Apply Redline profiles/rendering sets to personalize markup colors, change detection settings, and more
Side-by-side comparison features include:
  • Change List: View all changes in a dynamic list, with filtering, tagging, and export (CSV or DOCX)
  • Synced scrolling: Both documents scroll in alignment so changes are easy to understand in context
  • Tagging and annotations: Tag changes with status labels (e.g. High Priority, Reviewed) and add custom notes
The three-pane view displays the older document, newer document, and redline comparison side by side in a single screen. This allows you to see the exact changes in context without switching between windows or documents.Key features:
  • Synced scrolling across all three panes — as you scroll in one document, the others follow automatically
  • Resizable panes — drag the dividers to adjust the width of each pane
  • Toggle — switch between the three-pane view and the standard single-pane Redline view at any time
The three-pane view is available for Redline in Draftable comparisons. To activate it, click the three-pane view icon in the viewer toolbar.
Three-pane view showing older, newer, and redlined documents side by side
To learn more, see Three-Pane View.
The Change List is a dynamic panel that appears on the right-hand side of the Draftable Redline viewer. It shows every change detected in the comparison and provides tools for reviewing, organizing, and exporting those changes.With the Change List you can:
  • Navigate changes: Click any change in the list to jump directly to that change in the document
  • Filter changes: Filter by change type (insertions, deletions, moves), content type (text, tables, images, etc.), location (headers, footers, body), tags, and whether notes are present
  • Tag changes: Apply status labels such as High Priority, Low Priority, Action Required, No Action Required, Reviewed, or Needs Review
  • Add notes: Attach custom text notes to individual changes for context or follow-up
  • Export: Export the Change List as a CSV or DOCX file, including any tags and notes you have added
Tags and notes from the Change List are also carried through to the Departures Table if you generate one.
The Change List panel showing detected changes alongside the redline comparison
To learn more, see Redline Change List: Review, filter, tag, add notes and export changes.
Yes. Draftable Legal provides a tagging and annotation system within the Change List to help you organize your review.Tagging: You can apply one of six status tags to any change:
  • Reviewed
  • Needs Review
  • High Priority
  • Low Priority
  • Action Required
  • No Action Required
Notes: You can add free-text notes to any individual change to record observations, flag items for colleagues, or note required follow-up actions.Tags and notes are:
  • Visible in the Change List alongside each change
  • Included when you export the Change List to CSV or DOCX
  • Carried into the Departures Table output (appearing in the Review Notes column)
  • Usable as filter criteria — for example, you can filter to show only changes tagged “Action Required”

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Comparison output - types & export options

Select the relevant comparison output in the ‘Comparison type’ drop-down menu in the Draftable launcher before clicking the ‘Compare’ button.Depending on the types of files compared, the following options are available:
  • Redline in Draftable (PDF redline) — for Word, PDF, or text input comparisons
  • Tracked Changes in Word — for Word, PDF, or text input comparisons
  • PowerPoint with Tracked Changes — for PowerPoint comparisons
  • Spreadsheet Compare — for Excel comparisons
  • Side-by-side — available for all file types
  • Departures Table — a clause-by-clause summary table in Word format (for Word and PDF comparisons). See What is the Departures Table?
  • Text-Only Compare — strips formatting to focus on text content changes (for Word and PDF comparisons). See Can I compare just the text content without formatting?
PDF Redline comparisonsComparisons in PDF redline format will be opened in the Draftable viewer. The next actions ribbon at the top of the viewer offers several export options:
  • Save: Save as full PDF, PDF changed pages only, Word with tracked changes, or Departures Table
  • Email: Generate an email with comparison outputs attached (or embed the Departures Table directly in the email body)
  • Print: Print the comparison directly
  • Open: Open in Word as tracked changes, or open the PDF externally
  • Copy to clipboard: Copy comparison files for pasting into other applications
Side-by-side comparisonsSide-by-side comparisons can be exported as PDF files in their side-by-side or single-page view. Navigate to the ribbon at the top of the viewer and select the action you wish to use.
You can also export the Change List from the side-by-side view. Click the ‘Save’ button and choose your export type (CSV or DOCX format). Tags and notes you have added to changes will be included in the export.
Changed pages output is available for Redline in Draftable comparison output - you can review the document in the mode where only changed pages are shown, as well as export this output as a PDF changed pages-only file.This feature can save you time while you are reviewing lengthy documents, as you will no longer need to scroll through the pages without any changes.Review changed pages in the Draftable viewer:
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In the ‘Comparison type’ in the Draftable launcher (New comparison window), select Redline in Draftable and click the ‘Compare’ button;
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Once the comparison is ready, in the Draftable viewer, to enable the interactive changed pages view feature whilst viewing your comparison, click the icon shown below (at the top of the screen).
Export PDF Changed pages output:
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In the ‘Comparison type’ in the Draftable launcher (New comparison window), select Redline in Draftable and click the ‘Compare’ button;
2
Once the comparison is ready, in the Draftable viewer, you will see the next actions menu in the ribbon at the top of the window;
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Select your desired export option (e.g. save, email, etc);
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A drop-down list will appear showing available export options - select ‘Changed Pages only’.
For your Word-Word, PDF-PDF, or Word-PDF comparisons, you have the following comparison output options available:Redline in Draftable:
  • Opens the comparison within the Draftable PDF viewer in a clean, readable redline format
  • Great for quickly reviewing changes and deciding on next actions
  • From the viewer, you can export in any format (full PDF, PDF changed pages only, Word with tracked changes, or Departures Table) without re-running the comparison
  • Email your comparison output directly from the viewer in a single click
  • Switch to Word with tracked changes directly from the viewer (click ‘Open’ → ‘Track Changes’)
  • Use the Change List to review, tag, annotate, and filter changes
  • Enable the three-pane view to see older, newer, and redline documents simultaneously
Tracked Changes in Word:
  • The comparison is saved directly in Word with changes shown as tracked changes
  • Continue working in the familiar Word environment — modify the document, accept/reject tracked changes, add comments, etc.
Side-by-side:
  • Both documents are displayed side-by-side with changes highlighted in each
  • Useful for documents with a large volume of changes, where a standard redline could be hard to read
  • Includes the Change List, synced scrolling, and change tagging/annotation features
Departures Table:
  • Generates a structured Word document summarizing all changes organized by clause and subclause
  • Ideal for contract review workflows where you need a formal summary of departures from a standard or precedent document
  • See What is the Departures Table? for full details
Yes, you can! Just upload the PDF file for comparison (without needing to convert it into another format first). Draftable Legal has built-in OCR capabilities, which will allow your document to be compared straightaway.To enable OCR, go to the ‘Settings’ menu and navigate to the ‘General’ tab. In the ‘Scanned documents’ section, enable OCR by selecting ‘Automatic’ or ‘Always’ in the drop-down menu.
In addition to the global OCR setting, you can also toggle OCR on or off for individual comparisons directly in the New comparison window before clicking Compare.
Where you have performed your Word/PDF/text comparisons in Redline in Draftable format, the comparison will open in the Draftable viewer.However, if you wish to switch to Word with Tracked Changes, you can do so directly from the Draftable viewer without needing to re-run the comparison.To do so:
  • Navigate to ‘Open’ in the next actions ribbon on the top of the viewer.
  • Select ‘Track Changes’ and the comparison will open in MS Word as Track Changes document.
The Departures Table is a Word document that presents a structured, clause-by-clause summary of all changes between two document versions. Rather than showing inline redlines, it organizes changes into a table format that is commonly used in legal contract review workflows.Each row in the Departures Table includes:
  • Departure ID: A sequential identifier for each change
  • Reference: The clause or subclause heading where the change occurs
  • Proposed Departure: The text of the change
  • Review Notes: Any tags, notes, or Word comments associated with the change (carried over from the Change List)
  • Commercial Impact: A column for recording the business impact of the change
There are three ways to generate a Departures Table:
  1. Directly as a comparison type: Select “Departures Table” from the Comparison type drop-down in the New comparison window
  2. Export from the Redline viewer: After running a Redline in Draftable comparison, export as a Departures Table from the next actions ribbon
  3. Via 1-Click Compare: Configure 1-Click Compare to automatically generate a Departures Table
The Departures Table respects any filters you have applied in the Change List — so you can generate a table that includes only specific types of changes (e.g. only changes tagged “Action Required”).Organizations can also customize the Departures Table using their own Word templates to match internal formatting standards.
Example Departures Table output showing clause-by-clause change summary
To learn more, see Understanding and Using the Departures Table.
Yes. The Redline in Email feature allows you to perform live email redlining directly within Outlook. This is useful when you want to show the specific changes you have made to email text (for example, when negotiating terms or responding to proposed amendments).How it works:
  1. When composing or replying to an email in Outlook, access the Redline feature from the three-dot menu (More options) in the email toolbar
  2. Select “Redline my changes” — Draftable will begin tracking your edits in real-time
  3. As you make changes to the email text, a live redline preview appears showing insertions and deletions
  4. When finished, apply the redline to the email or copy it to a new email
You can also use the Compare workflow to compare the current version of an email against an earlier version.
Redline in Email showing tracked changes within an Outlook email
Requirements and limitations:
  • Draftable Legal must be running in the background
  • Redline in Email is not yet supported in Microsoft’s New Outlook
  • Remote desktop, Citrix, and RDP environments are supported from version 1.1.31.1 onwards
To learn more, see Using Draftable Redline in Email.
With Draftable Legal, you can compare PowerPoint to PowerPoint files and Excel to Excel files.This is done through the same launcher - just upload your files in the Draftable launcher (New comparison window).
After adding files in the Draftable launcher, you will need to select the type of comparison you wish to receive from the ‘Comparison type’ drop-down menu.For PowerPoint and Excel comparisons, output types are available in native (PowerPoint tracked changes / Spreadsheet compare) format or in a side-by-side view.PowerPoint files:
  • Redline in PowerPoint: The comparison will be opened as a PowerPoint file with all modifications displayed as tracked changes, allowing you to navigate through changes and accept/reject them directly in PowerPoint.
  • Redline in Draftable: The comparison will be opened in the Draftable viewer as a PDF redline, providing access to the Change List, tagging, filtering, and all standard Draftable export options.
  • Side-by-side: Both documents are displayed side-by-side in the Draftable viewer with changes highlighted.
Excel files:
  • Redline in Excel: This dedicated Spreadsheet Compare format visualizes changes directly within the Excel spreadsheet, allowing you to review cell-level changes including formulas.
  • Redline in Draftable: The comparison will be opened in the Draftable viewer as a PDF redline, with access to the Change List and standard export options.
  • Side-by-side: Both spreadsheets are displayed side-by-side in the Draftable viewer with changes highlighted.

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Troubleshooting

If a comparison fails, try the following steps to diagnose and resolve the issue:
  1. Restart Draftable: Close Draftable fully (right-click the system tray icon → Exit) and relaunch it. See How to properly restart Draftable Legal for detailed steps.
  2. Re-save the document: If comparing Word files, try re-saving the document as PDF using Microsoft Word, then compare the PDF version instead.
  3. Try Text-Only Compare: If the document has complex formatting, try running a Text-Only Compare to isolate whether formatting is causing the issue.
  4. Check system verification: Run the built-in system verification tool to check that all Draftable components are functioning correctly. Go to Settings → Troubleshooting → System Verification. See Performing system verification.
  5. Check PDF permissions: If comparing PDF files and receiving permission errors, see How to fix unable to compare errors when comparing PDF files.
  6. Export error logs: If the issue persists, export your error logs (see How do I export error logs? below) and contact your dedicated support team or support@draftable.com.
If you are experiencing issues with Draftable’s modern (JavaScript-based) add-ins — such as Draftable in Office, Draftable in Outlook, Draftable for Office, Draftable for Outlook, or Redline in Email — try clearing the add-in cache:
  1. Open Draftable Legal Settings
  2. Navigate to the Troubleshooting tab
  3. Click Clear Add-in Cache
  4. Close and reopen the affected Office applications (Word, Outlook, etc.)
This resolves issues caused by stale or corrupted cache data, such as add-ins not loading, displaying outdated content, or failing to connect after an update.
This only applies to modern JavaScript-based add-ins. Traditional COM add-ins (such as the classic Draftable tab in the Outlook ribbon) are not affected and use a different mechanism.
For a full guide, see How to clear the add-in cache in Draftable Legal.
Where your comparison failed or certain changes within the compared document were not displayed appropriately, in order to diagnose the issue, we often require the relevant input files. However, we are mindful that confidentiality concerns would typically prevent you from sharing the documents with us due to the sensitive information.The ‘File Obfuscator’ feature within Draftable Legal is there to address this matter. This function will allow you to completely anonymize the content of your files, such that we (or anyone) would be able to de-cypher it. The obfuscated files would still retain relevant elements of the documents, such that we would be able to analyze what is causing an issue without having access to the actual content of the original files.To access this feature, go to ‘Settings’, under ‘Troubleshooting’ select ‘File Obfuscator’. This will open a new window wherein you can choose relevant documents for anonymization. Once an obfuscated file is created, you will be able to send it on to the support team for further diagnosis.To learn more about this feature in order to use it, go to this article in our knowledge base.
Log files are used to help the Draftable support team diagnose the issues you are experiencing with Draftable. First, open the settings menu by selecting the settings icon in the New Comparison window.
Once the settings menu is open, navigate to the Troubleshooting tab and select the Export Error Logs option.
Once you have exported the logs, provide them to the support team for further diagnosis of your issue.