Equivio>Compare is a software application that highlights the textual differences between two documents.

This compare capability is invaluable when reviewing documents that have been grouped into near-duplicate sets. For example, let's assume that Equivio identified a set of near-duplicates comprising 10 versions of a 50-page contract. Equivio identifies the pivot document, which is the most representative document of the near-duplicate set. The attorney starts by reading the pivot document. Having read the pivot, the attorney can decide whether it's necessary to continue reviewing the remaining 9 versions of the contract in our near-duplicate set.

Let's say that the attorney decides that, in fact, the other nine versions do require review. However, it's not necessary to read the 50 page contract another nine times. Using Equivio>Compare, or any other compare utility, the attorney can simply review the differences of each document vis-à-vis the pivot document. In our case, we might have a version which has only two words different. Obviously, it's a lot faster reviewing just these changes, rather than reading each contract from beginning to end. It's also a lot more effective because there is no chance of critical differences being missed.

Equivio>Compare has been developed to support two key functions which are required in various review environments:

• Ability to compare two documents of different file types; for example, to compare a Word file and a PDF file
• Ability to view the results of the compare in a web environment – the output of Equivio>Compare, containing the file comparison, is in HTML
• Ability to be launched as a component from within any review repository

The Equivio>Compare application has been integrated within leading review tools such as FTI Ringtail, iCONECT, Introspect, CT Summation and Concordance.