Using this feature you can compare or merge any two versions of a contract document. You can also compare or merge different versions of a contract document within the same contract record.

Compare: The comparison is done on the basis of Word's Legal Black lines compare functionality. Compare Legal Black Lines compares the documents and displays only what changed between the two documents. The documents being compared are not changed. This type of comparison is always displayed in a new third document, typically named Compare Result. Microsoft Word displays a new, third document in which tracked changes in the baseline document are accepted and changes in the selected document are shown as tracked changes. You can compare the different versions of a contract document within the same contract record. You can also compare different versions of a contract document within the same contract record generated using different templates. 

Merge: Merging documents uses Word's Combine feature to merge selected documents. Merging documents can be advantageous if you have one version of the document that has been redlined, and a regenerated version in the latest format (dynamically inserted fields, new clauses, etc.). The original (pre-merged) documents are not changed. Merging the documents displays a new third document, named Merge Result. At this point, you can accept and reject any of the redlined elements in the combined document and check-in the document as a new version.

Compare Versus Merge

When you compare two document versions, the revised document version is considered as a baseline for tracking changes. When you merge two document versions with changes to the same content, the edits of both the original and revised content is displayed.

To compare different versions of a contract document

  1. Open Microsoft Word and launch the X-Author for Contract Advanced add-in.

  2. Log in to X-Author for Contracts Advanced and open the Contract Document. 

  3. In the Contracts pane go to Work > Compare. If you cannot see Compare under the Work tab, click the More button () and from the menu, select Compare.

  4. To compare different versions from the same contract record, select a version from "Select a version to compare or merge from" and then a different version from "Select a version to compare or merge with" and click Compare.
    The document is opened in a new Microsoft Word instance. The document is automatically opened and locked by you (You'll see a message saying 'Document is locked by you'). This means that your contract is opened and you will be able to Preview Reconcile, Mark Clause, Mark Field, Update from CLM, Validate Fields, Update Fields, Update Clauses and Promote Clause. The new document is downloaded in the Insert Comments and Track Changes mode. It contains the differences between the two versions, in which tracked changes in the baseline document are accepted and changes in the selected document are shown as tracked changes. 

    • In case one of the document versions that you are comparing is the currently opened document, then after comparison, a new Microsoft Word instance does not open. 
    • Note that if the DISABLE_AUTO_CHECKOUT permission is set to true in the Admin Settings, after comparing the documents, you will only see the confirmation message. The document will not open in a new instance. For more information on disabling auto check out, see Admin Settings for X-Author for Contracts Advanced
  5. Unprotect the document. For more information on un protecting the document, see Locking and Unlocking Documents. 
  6. Right-click a comment and select Accept Change or Reject Change based on your requirement.
  7. You can make the required changes and check in the document to create a new version of the contract document.

To merge different versions of a contract document

  1. Open Microsoft Word and launch the X-Author for Contracts Advanced add-in.

  2. Log in to X-Author for Contracts Advanced and open the Contract Document. 

  3. In the Contracts pane go to Work > Compare. If you cannot see Compare under the Work tab, click the More icon () and from the menu, select Compare.

  4. To merge different contract versions from the same contract record, select a version in Select a version to compare or merge from and then a different version from Select a version to compare or merge with and click Merge. 
    The document is opened in a new Microsoft Word instance A new document is downloaded in the Insert Comments and Track Changes mode. It contains the changes of the two versions, in which changes in both the documents are shown as tracked changes. If both versions have changes in the same smart field, the changes in the revised version are retained. The document is locked and you will be able to Preview Reconcile, Mark Clause, Mark Field, Update from CLM, Validate Fields, Update Fields, Update Clauses and Promote Clause.

    Note that if the DISABLE_AUTO_CHECKOUT profile permission is set to true in the Admin Settings, after comparing the documents, you will only see the confirmation message. The document will not open in a new instance. For more information on disabling auto check out, see Admin Settings for X-Author for Contracts Advanced.

  5. Unprotect the document. For more information on un protecting the document, see Locking and Unlocking Documents. 
  6. Right-click comment and select Accept Change or Reject Change based on your requirement. 
  7. You can make the required changes and check in the document to create a new version of the contract document.

Behavior and Limitation

  • When you compare and merge documents, the original document takes precedence as it contains comments. The comments are retained in the merged document. This is Microsoft Word's behavior. As a workaround, you can remove comments from the final version of the document.

  • If the document contains date type content control, the merge document may lose content control boundary for certain smart fields. This is Microsoft Word's behavior.
  • When working with Microsoft Word version 2007, the revised document takes precedence over the original document.
  • When working with Microsoft Word version 2019, the combined document contains changes from both documents. If both documents contain changes in the same place, then the behavior is unpredictable.