is there any way to compare two files -side by side- not so similar to be called two versions of the same file (snapshottingable 
), but less similar?
thanks
You can contrive to use the comparison feature of snapshots to compare any two text docs (just as you can do similarly in msword).
First, make a copy of one of your docs in the Binder. Snapshot the duplicate doc. Then copy all the text from the other doc and paste it over the text of the duplicate doc. Now you have the text of one doc sitting in a snapshot chain with the text of the other. Now invoke Scriveners comparison feature to show changes between the snapshotted and the curr doc text. Note, this process leaves your two original docs untouched; so, perfectly safe.
Document comparison is a tricky business and various kinds of divergence can throw it off. But you can try it out and see what you see.
Scrivener and Pages side by side, with Track Changes. Doing a simple search in either app will put them on the same page.
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And if you just mean to visually/manually compare them, then you can split the Editor pane in Scrivener into two panes and load one of the docs in one side and the other in the other.
if one of the two files is the snapshot how do you open it in the editor?
There is a section of the Scriv Manual on this:
(You could also, of course, just widen the Inspector where the snapshot or comparison by default appears, if that would do.)
The only reason to pursue the snapshot trick I laid out is if you were wanting to use Scriveners Compare Changes function — which marks up a copy of a given snapshot to show how it differs from the main text. If all you were wanting to do was view the two docs side by side, you should just Split the editor and load one doc in one side and one doc in the other.
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How could one directly compare the text / contents of the two editor panels?
Maetyy, one way that occurs to me uses an external tool, if pretty easily.
You could look into WinMerge, an old and very reliable standby, or similar tools elsewhere if you’re not on Windows.
This is a text comparison app, free, and much as any of the are, so skills transfer. Scrivener on the face of it is text, so this should work – not sure what will happen with formatting like italics; those I suspect would be lost,
You’d justselect all, copy and paste from each editor in Scrivener to one of the panes in WinMerge. It will then pick up any differences, and once you get the idea of the arrows, very conveniently lead you through them.
You can select which alternate, to be creating a third pane with the result of your choices, or make the changes on Scrivener, if you need to keep formatting etc…
I’d think doing the changes in Scrivener would probably be better, but you could save the edit also as a text to refer to later.
The other ideas above about using the comparisons in Snapshots are also good ones.
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Thank you very much!
Yes, one can use many other programs for comparing, but that’s extremely laborious and above all error prone. So why not just compare in Scrivener the text in the two editors against each others? Would be so easy.
And the gagging with these snapshots doesn’t sound particularly reassuring either. How could one directly compare a snapshot of one doc with a snapshot of another doc?
Through the Snapshot Manager in the Document menu.
Or compile the selected documents to DOCX and Compare the two in Word.
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How?
And how do I get the changes / edits to Scrivener?
I can’t manage it:
How could I compare a snapshot from doc 111111111 with one of doc 222222222222? Or even doc 111111111 with doc 222222222222 (directly)?
Means one copies the content of the changed doc / docx in Word to the clip board and paste it in the original doc in Scrivener?
Given that works, Antoni, it’s the best suggestion yet, at least when the differences are more than you want to handle through Snapshots’ ‘extra use’…
Yes, absolutely. If it doesn’t work it is one of the worst suggestions.