How to compare two versions of a PowerPoint file

When you’ve got more than one person reviewing your PowerPoint presentation, it’s really useful to be able to be able to quickly compare and combine two versions of the file. Everybody reviews in different ways, and collating all the feedback can become a not-so-fun game of Spot The Difference between multiple files, rather than a quick way to gather other people’s opinions on your work. Thankfully, though, it’s possible to let PowerPoint do the hard graft, so you can focus on collaborating effectively.

We have previously covered how to compare two versions of the same document in Microsoft Word, but how can you compare two versions of a Microsoft PowerPoint file?  Whilst PowerPoint doesn’t let you track changes like Word does, you can still very easily compare and combine versions.

Take a look at these two example PowerPoint slides:

Figure 1: Version 1

Figure 2: Version 2

For argument’s sake, let’s say these differences weren’t immediately obvious and you couldn’t just compare the two versions yourself. Follow the steps below and PowerPoint will identify the differences for you in under a minute.

Step 1:

Download the file from your reviewer and name it something different.  (Make sure it is obvious to you which is your version, and which is your colleague’s.)

Step 2:

Open one of the versions – it’s up to you which you open, but as I get quite… ‘territorial’ over my files, I prefer to open my version.

Step 3:

Click on the “Review” tab on the ribbon and then click on the “Compare” button.

Step 4:

A dialogue box will open. Navigate to the version of the PowerPoint file you would like to compare with the one you already have open and click “Merge”.

Step 5:

When you have done this, you will return to the original PowerPoint file you had open, but you will see a “Revisions” pane and some annotations on the slides themselves.

Now there are two ways you can look at the changes.  You can use the Revisions pane and use it to navigate to either the slides that have been changed or the details that have been changed.

Alternatively, you can just go through slide by slide, because happily, each change is indicated on the slide by this icon:

Step 6:

Now you have identified where the changes are you can go through them one at a time and decide whether you want to accept them or not.

Click on the icon on the slide and it will show you a list of what has changed:

Using my example, if I selected the top checkbox, all the changes listed (size and position, the insertion, the deletion) would appear on the slide.

If I decided I didn’t like those changes I could deselect the top checkbox and the text would revert to the original version.

I could also pick and choose from the menu and just change, for example, the size and position, without making the spelling changes by ticking only the check box next to “Size and Position”.

So you can go through edit by edit and accept or reject as you choose.

Step 7:

When you are happy that you have the file the way you want it, end the review using the button on the review tab and save the file—be sure to use a new version name to keep things organised!

Seems too good to be true right? I bet you have a few questions and I bet I’ve got the answers.

Can you compare two versions even with pictures?

Yes! It will alert you if any of your pictures have been moved and/or resized and also if any have been added or deleted.

Can you compare animations?

Sadly no. When I removed an animation from my second version and compared the versions it told me that there was “Non-mergeable content: Animations” and would only allow me to accept or reject all changes on the slide as a single group, rather than choosing individually.

Can you compare transitions?

Yes you can! Although these are easier to see if you use the “Details” section of the revisions pane as it puts the icon to the side of the slide itself.

In a perfect world we would all have co-workers who use the “new comment” button on the review tab, or who simply write their suggestions in coloured rectangular boxes.

Sadly, we can’t always have the perfect colleagues, however, thanks to the handy compare tool, we don’t have to suffer for their bad habits. Here’s to a swift editing process!

PowerPoint for Mac compatibility

Unfortunately this feature isn’t available in the latest version of PowerPoint for Mac. If it is a feature you’d find useful, you can let Microsoft know!