New Excel comparison viewer, faster bulk comparisons, and better Departures Table outputs for Draftable Legal

Hello,

We’re excited to share one of our biggest releases yet. Our January release of Draftable Legal (25.1.0 and 25.1.100) includes several major updates, including a new Excel comparison viewer, better Departures Table outputs and faster Bulk Compare workflows.

Read on to see the top five new features and improvements from versions v25.1.0 & v25.1.100.

January releases highlights

1. Quickly review, annotate and share changes in Excel files – Review redlined Excel documents with a new spreadsheet view in Draftable, enabling faster navigation through changes with a clickable change list, change notes and tags and easily share via our next-step options.
2. Streamline clause reviews – Save time on document review by accessing improved clause extraction, parent-section visibility, and see colour-coded notes and tags in the Departures Table export (available in Preview).
3. Faster and smoother bulk comparison workflows – Easily manage large volumes of comparisons with one-click options to email or copy all results, faster exports, and real-time progress tracking.
4. Only see the changes you need – Tailor comparisons to your preferences with new options to redline footnote numbering and ignore quotation mark differences, ensuring relevant changes are highlighted.
5. Easier input file sharing – Export input files instantly without renaming when comparing two versions of a document from your DMS, thanks to automated filename updates to differentiate original from modified documents.?

Quickly review, annotate and share changes in Excel files

?Users can review changes in Redlined Excel files faster and easier thanks to our new dedicated Excel Comparison Viewer. To access this viewer,?simply load Excel files into Draftable and select the "Redline in Draftable" Comparison Type.?

This dedicated Excel viewer provides:

• A?clickable, filterable Change List?for easy navigation and jump to change functionality.
• The ability to?add notes and tags?when reviewing changes in Excel comparisons.??
• Next actions options?(save to DMS, email, etc.) directly within the viewer.
• The ability to?export Changes Reports, to easily?share review notes with colleagues, clients or external parties.

Streamline clause reviews

In our?December 2024 update, we released a Preview of our new Departures Table. This feature automates tedious manual work to prepare issue lists from redlined comparisons during contract negotiations.

Our January 2025 updates have added several important enhancements to the Departures Table output, including:

• Clauses now display with?parent sections?to provide better context.
• Improved clause and reference section extraction, especially for table-based content.
• Updated clause number detection?ensures greater accuracy in redline outputs.
• Added?differentiated comment colours,?viewer notes, and?tags?for more organised feedback.
• The export process for Departures Tables has also been improved to ensure file naming consistency.

We are continuing to work with customers to test the Departures Table feature on real life documents and we plan on releasing this feature to all customers in the next 1-2 months. If you or your firm would like to get early access to this feature, you can contact your Account Executive or contact?[email protected].

Faster and smoother bulk comparison workflows?

?The January releases added several improvements for document processing teams running large numbers of comparisons at once. Our Bulk Compare feature now allows users to:

• Easily share multiple comparisons?via new Email and Copy to Clipboard actions after completing comparisons in bulk.
• Include summary information?when using Bulk Compare?with Summary Pages now included when saving and sharing files in Bulk Compare mode.
• Easily select recent files for bulk comparison?with file-type icons added into the navigation in "Select from Recent Files" in Bulk Compare mode.
• Complete Bulk Compare workflows faster and with more confidence?thanks to faster export speeds and a progress bar to track the progress of large exports.
• Avoid unnecessary errors?when trying to run Bulk Compares thanks to new smart Comparison Type selection logic that ensures only valid Comparison Types for your input files can be selected.

Only see the changes you need with new redline settings? ?

In direct response to requests from our customers, the January update made two important additions to Redline Profile settings to reduce noise in comparisons and focus on meaningful differences. From v25.1.0, users and administrators can now:

• Choose to ignore changes to quotation marks?from curly to straight to prevent minor formatting variations from appearing as tracked changes.

• Track changes to footnotes more easily?with redlined changes to footnote numbering references. Note: This setting is off by default and is not shown to end users. To enable redlining of footnote numbering, administrators can configure the following Windows Registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Draftable\Feature\CompareFootnoteNumberingEnabled

Easier input file sharing?

From v25.1.0, any input files with the same document name will be automatically renamed by Draftable with "- original" and "- modified" by default. This removes a mandatory renaming step for users when comparing two versions of a document from their DMS.

Users can simply export their input documents with no manual renaming, reducing the number of clicks to complete comparison workflows. Users will still have the option to rename input files if needed.

All product improvements are the direct result of insights from our customers. We are extremely grateful for the excellent feedback we have received which allows new releases to be possible.

If you have feature ideas or product performance feedback, we'd love to hear from you - send us an email at [email protected].