Project tools

Restore supported changes in a comparison

Restore supported wording and formatting changes, or a complete original table where structural checks allow it.

A comparison can detect a change even when that change cannot be restored automatically. The review controls distinguish supported decisions from items that require manual work. Start with the original and revised DOCX files in Revision comparison.

Which changes can be restored?

ChangeRestoration behavior
Supported wording edits, insertions, deletions and movesRejecting restores original wording, removes an insertion or restores deleted text as appropriate.
Section settingsSupported page size, margin, column and section-break properties can be restored when corresponding sections still match.
Table, row and cell presentationSupported width, alignment, border, shading, margin, row-height, repeated-header and wrapping properties can be restored when the table grid, nesting and merges match. Revised cell text is preserved.
Paragraph and text-run formattingSelected indentation, spacing, tab stops, keep-together settings, borders, alignment, font family, size, bold, italic, colour, highlight and other direct properties can be restored when paragraph content and run boundaries still match exactly.
Whole-table structureChanged rows, columns or merges can be restored by replacing a supported table with its complete original, including wording. This requires matching package dependencies and unambiguous text. Other decisions inside that table are superseded.
Unsupported structureTable or section insertion/removal, referenced objects, changed dependencies and ambiguous structure remain for manual review. Detection alone does not make a change reversible.

Review and download

1

Find the relevant changes

Use Review focus, categories, search and decision filters to narrow the report. Structure focuses on presentation and document structure. Filters change the visible list, not the full comparison.

2

Inspect the before and after values

Check the location and the property being changed. For example, reject a cell-shading change if you want the original shading while keeping the revised sentence in that cell.

3

Apply supported decisions

Retain displayed supported changes or Reject displayed supported changes applies to eligible items in the filtered list. Unsupported items are excluded. Undo last group decision restores your preceding decision set.

4

Download the result

Revised document applies rejections without wording revision marks. Word with tracked changes includes supported wording revisions for Word review. Both downloads receive the complete decision set, including decisions hidden by filters.

5

Inspect the exported file

Open the output in Word or your document application. Check the restored properties and the accepted wording, then resolve any items marked for manual review.

Restoration boundaries

Table presentation restoration covers the main document body, including nested tables. That property workflow preserves revised cell wording. The separate whole-table control can replace an entire top-level body table with its original structure and wording when checks permit; it does not restore inserted or deleted tables. Section, table and text-property decisions are applied directly to both Word downloads; they are not native Word formatting revision marks.

If the underlying structure or property values have changed since comparison, create a fresh comparison before exporting. The original file is needed to restore its property values.

Download displayed review report creates an HTML report that can be printed or saved as PDF from a browser. It is a report of selected changes, not native PDF comparison or a rebuilt document.