Compare Word Rule Document Versions

You can compare a Word rule document in a Policy Modeling project with versions from a Hub branch (for example, with baseline and latest) to see what the differences are. Utilizing the Combine Documents feature available in Word, with Policy Modeling you can:

This can be useful where you want to:

  • Focus on changes of interest in the Hub project since the last download to the local project was performed

  • Simplify the merging of bug fixes, policy changes and other updates that happen simultaneously in related development streams

When all revisions have been reviewed, you can save the combined document including revisions over the original rule document.

Compare the local version of a Word rule document with a Hub version of the document

To perform a 2-document comparison of the local version of a Word rule document and the same-named document in a particular version (version X) of a Hub project:

  1. In Policy Modeling, open the project.

  2. On the Rules tab, select the Word rule document.

  3. Click the Compare with Hub branch button.

  4. In the Select a project version to compare with dialog:

    1. Select the Policy Modeling project in the Hub that you want to compare the local project with.

    2. Select the version of that project that you want to compare the local project with.

      The 'Select a project version to compare with' dialog in Policy Modeling showing an Energy Saver project and version selected

    3. Click Select.

  5. In the Compare Word rule document versions dialog, select the option Compare these two files. (Note that if you have previously done a Hub branch comparison on the selected rule document, and you now want to select a different project and/or version to compare with, you will need to select Change branch to do that first.)

    The 'Compare Word rule document versions' dialog in Policy Modeling showing the option to 'Compare these two files' selected

  6. Click Compare. Policy Modeling loads the documents and then Word opens a new document ('Combine Result') that combines the original document version (version X in the selected Hub project) and the local document version.

    The Combine Result view in Microsoft Word showing the differences between two compared documents

    The screen is divided into three sections:

    • The left section shows the Revisions made. Each revision represents a difference as attributed to the version Word has determined most likely added/removed/modified lines of text.

    • The middle section shows the Combined Document. This view includes each of the revisions (content that no longer exists has a strikethrough, and new/modified content is underlined).

    • The right section, which is split in two, shows the Original Document (the document from the selected branch version) in the top panel, and the Revised Document (the document from the local project) in the bottom panel. Tip: If you are not seeing two panes in the right section, select Review, then Compare, then Show Source Documents and then Show Both.

Compare the local version of a Word rule document with two Hub versions of the document

You can also perform a 3-document comparison of the local version of a Word rule document with two Hub project versions of the same-named document. This is useful if you want to compare your local project version with a version you might have branched from, but you also want to see changes up to a more recent, or latest, version of that same branch. To do this:

  1. In Policy Modeling, open the project.

  2. On the Rules tab, select the Word rule document.

  3. Click the Compare with Hub branch button.

  4. In the Select a project version to compare with dialog:

    1. Select the Policy Modeling project in the Hub that you want to compare the local project with.

    2. Select the more recent or latest version of that project that you want to compare the local project with.

      The 'Select a project version to compare with' dialog in Policy Modeling showing a Hub project and version selected in a Health Diagnosis policy model

    3. Click Select.

  5. In the Compare Word rule document versions dialog, select the option Also highlight changes within the branch since.... (Note that if you have previously done a Hub branch comparison on the selected rule document, and you now want to select a different project and/or version to compare with, you will need to select Change branch to do that first.)

  6. In the version window, select the earlier version in this branch that you want to compare the later version to.

    The 'Compare Word rule document versions' dialog in Policy Modeling showing the option 'Also highlight changes within the branch since' selected

  7. Click Compare. Policy Modeling loads the documents and then Word opens a new document ('Combine Result') that combines the original document versions (version X and version Y in the selected Hub project) and the local document version.

    The Combine Result view in Microsoft Word showing the differences between three compared documents

    The screen is divided into three sections:

    • The left section shows the Revisions made. The revisions will include changes from local, [branch name] version X, and [branch name] version Y. Each revision represents a difference as attributed to the version Word has determined most likely added/removed/modified lines of text. Note that if there are any versions between the two Hub versions (that is, any version between X and Y) these revisions are not individually identified. It is just the cumulative difference between the two selected Hub versions that is determined.

    • The middle section shows the Combined Document. This view includes each of the revisions (content that no longer exists has a strikethrough, and new/modified content is underlined).

    • The right section, which is split in two, shows the Original Document (a comparison of the two versions from the same branch) in the top panel, and the Revised Document (the document from the local project) in the bottom panel. Tip: If you are not seeing two panes in the right section, select Review, then Compare, then Show Source Documents and then Show Both.

Review the comparison document closely

When sections of a line or paragraph have been modified in the documents being compared, there may be factors which make it difficult for Word to identify whether a few words have been inserted or replaced, or the whole line has been inserted or replaced, as there may be a few words in common in the two documents. The result of the compared documents (as shown in the Combined Document view) should always be carefully reviewed to identify which revision insertions and deletions the user wants to keep. Be aware that:

  • A difference may be identified as both documents having added some content, rather than an insertion paired with a deletion, so accepting all revisions without careful review may result in duplication.

  • Word may identify that some text was deleted from version X, whereas in reality it was an addition of text from version Y. Word usually gets it right, but you should always carefully review the identified differences.

  • You can accept and reject changes in this combined document but it is important to note that saving this document does not automatically replace the local or Hub version of the document. To use the results of the combined document see below.

Use the combined document including revisions

When the local document is being compared with earlier versions from the same branch, you can replace the local version of the document with the combined document including revisions. To do this:

  1. In the 'Combine Result' document in Word, click Save.

  2. When prompted to Save As, browse to the Rules folder in the project and select the document. You will be advised that the file already exists.

  3. Select the Replace existing file option.

When the local document is being compared with later versions from the same branch, there is no point in saving the revised document over the local document. This is because you need to update your local project before uploading any changes. In this case, to use the combined document including revisions, you need to:

  1. Save a copy of the 'Combine Result' Word document with the original document name. (This can be saved anywhere except in the Rules folder in the project.)

  2. Revert your changes to the local Word rule document. (Do this even if the accepted revisions result in an identical document to the version you will download.)

  3. Download the latest changes from the Hub to update your local project.

  4. In Windows Explorer:

    1. Copy the combined document you saved in step 1.

    2. Navigate to the Rules folder in the project and paste the document.

    3. Select the option to Replace the file in this destination.

Note:

  • If you want to pull in changes/differences from another branch, or an older version of the branch you are in, you should always make sure your local project is up to date with the Hub, otherwise you may face a conflict in the Word document and have to revert or reset it first.

  • After you have saved/overwritten a document in a Policy Modeling project, you should open it from within Policy Modeling, so that the Policy Modeling ribbon is visible.