nowfound

Dev tools · May 6, 2013

Diffs of Word documents, designed for humans

We're building version control software for Microsoft Office documents that works as well as Git and GitHub do for code. Today, we’re releasing the first component, Draftable for Word, an Office add-in that lets you generate side-by-side diffs, and makes it way less painful to work with Track Changes. Our diffs are designed to look right to humans — instead of machines — showing changes as they might actually have been made by an editor. We'd love to hear your feedback. We’d also love to fix what you find painful about authoring and collaborating on Microsoft Office documents, so get in…

Diffs of Word documents, designed for humans launched on May 6, 2013 with 69 votes, #36 of 587 launches that month and more than 90% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 13 years on.

Visit draftable.com ↗Alternativestop 6% of May 2013

In plain words

Draftable is an Office add-in that generates human-readable side-by-side comparisons of Word documents and simplifies working with Track Changes. Built for legal teams and document-heavy workflows, it compares Word, PDF, and PowerPoint files to show edits as they might actually have been made rather than as raw data. The tool integrates into existing Microsoft Office workflows, handles complex contracts and agreements, and includes Draftable Clean to strip hidden metadata before documents are shared, ensuring controlled and secure document handling.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Document comparison and legal solutions built with lawyers. Compare Word, PDF and PowerPoint files, generate redlines and work inside the tools you already use.

Draftable builds trusted legal technology with lawyers, for lawyers. Precise, reliable and easy to use, our solutions work inside the tools legal teams already rely on, so they can focus on what they do best. Compare documents side by side, generate redlines (including in email) designed to handle complex contracts, agreements, and regulatory documents with ease. What your clients receive should be exactly what you intended, nothing more. Draftable Clean strips hidden metadata from documents before they leave your firm, so every send is clean, controlled and confident. Draftable is ISO 27001:2022 certified and SOC 2 and GDPR compliant. For desktop users, your documents never leave your…from draftable.com

In the maker’s words, at launch

We're building version control software for Microsoft Office documents that works as well as Git and GitHub do for code. Today, we’re releasing the first component, Draftable for Word, an Office add-in that lets you generate side-by-side diffs, and makes it way less painful to work with Track Changes. Our diffs are…

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Source: Show HN post ↗ · launch text quoted in part

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