How to compare two email versions for a change request

A revised email can look almost the same as the original, even when a date, price, promise, or important phrase has changed. If you are reviewing a change request, reading both drafts from top to bottom can make small edits easy to miss.

Use TooLab's Text Compare to examine the two versions side by side. Then check whether each difference is intentional and whether the finished email still says what you mean.

Compare the two email versions

1. Open Text Compare. Keep the original email open or saved separately so you can confirm which version is which.
2. Copy the original email into one text area and the revised email into the other. Label them in your notes as “original” and “revised” so you do not reverse them.
3. Compare the text and look for additions, removals, and replaced wording. Check the subject line, greeting, message body, signoff, and any quoted text included in both drafts.
4. Read each changed sentence in context. A word-level difference can be technically small but change the meaning, tone, or commitment of the email.
5. Check the differences against the request. Confirm that every requested edit is present, and that unrelated wording has not changed without a reason.

If the drafts include a long thread, compare the new message by itself first. Then check the quoted thread separately if you need to confirm that it stayed intact. This keeps old replies from obscuring changes in the message you are reviewing.

What the differences mean

Text appears only in the revised version

This is added wording. Check whether it answers the request or introduces a new detail, such as a delivery date, payment term, or promise to follow up. Make sure any added numbers and names are correct.

Text appears only in the original version

This wording was removed. Decide whether the removal was requested or whether it drops information the recipient still needs. Pay close attention to conditions such as “if approved,” “by Friday,” or “subject to availability.” Removing a short qualifier can make a sentence sound like a firm promise.

A sentence has additions and removals

The sentence was rewritten. Read the whole revised sentence rather than treating each highlighted word as a separate edit. Check who is responsible for the next step, what will happen, and when it will happen.

No differences appear

The pasted text may be identical, or the same version may have been placed in both areas. Check that you copied the revised email rather than reopening the original. Also confirm that you included the full message in each side.

How to handle a confusing comparison

1. Verify the two source versions. Check the file, message, or revision date before comparing. If you copied both drafts from the same email thread, make sure one is not simply a duplicate of the other.
2. Compare only the relevant message. Remove signatures and old quoted replies from both copies if they are not part of the change request. This reduces noise, but keep an untouched copy of each complete email.
3. Check punctuation and numbers separately. Review dates, times, amounts, phone numbers, and web addresses character by character. A comparison can show that something changed, but you still need to decide whether the new value is accurate.
4. Review formatting in the email itself. A text comparison focuses on text. It may not show changes to recipients, attachments, links behind display text, formatting, or the order of quoted replies. Check those items in the draft you plan to send.
5. Ask about unexplained edits. If the revised draft changes a commitment, deadline, price, or approval condition that was not part of the request, confirm the change with the person who made it before approving the message.

Check the email beyond the wording

A text comparison does not tell you whether the changed message is accurate or appropriate. Use it to find differences, then review those differences against the request and the surrounding conversation. For example, changing “we can review this Friday” to “we will deliver this Friday” changes both certainty and responsibility, even though the sentences share most of their words.

Also inspect the subject line and recipient list in the email application. A revised subject can make a request easier to find, while an incorrect recipient or missing attachment can undermine an otherwise correct edit. If the change affects a date or amount, verify it against the source document rather than relying on either email draft.

Keep the original and revised versions until the change request is approved, and record which version you reviewed.