> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.nected.ai/nected-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.nected.ai/nected-docs/audit/universal-diff-view.md).

# Compare Versions via Diff View

Compare lets you select any two versions of a rule or workflow and see the differences between them on a single screen. The rule or workflow is rendered in its normal editor layout, with each change marked directly on it. Compare is read-only and does not modify either version.

Compare is available on:

* **SimpleRule** — condition blocks, operators, values, and results
* **DecisionTable** — rows, condition columns, result columns, and individual cells
* **Ruleset** — the rules inside the set, along with their conditions and results
* **Workflow** — nodes on the canvas, and the configuration inside each node

<figure><img src="/files/EvvyfO5fwguzXla9QpgR" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
Compare needs at least two versions to exist. If your rule or workflow has only ever been published once, there's nothing to compare it against yet.
{% endhint %}

### What it helps you with

* **Review before you publish.** See exactly what a teammate changed in a draft before you approve it, instead of trusting the description.
* **Debug a live rule or workflow.** When output changes after a release, compare the live version against the previous one and the cause usually shows up in a single highlighted item.
* **Decide on a rollback.** Before you roll a version back, check what you'd be undoing.
* **Audit and hand-off.** A clean record of what moved between versions, useful for compliance reviews and for anyone picking up work they didn't start.

The colour system is the same wherever you use Compare:

| Colour | Meaning                                                                       |
| ------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Purple | Modified — value changed, previous value shown struck through in red below it |
| Green  | Added — new in the current version                                            |
| Pink   | Deleted — present in the older version, removed in the newer one              |

The two sections below walk through Compare on a rule, then on a workflow.

***

## Compare Versions in Rule

Covers SimpleRule, DecisionTable, and Ruleset. The examples below use a DecisionTable because it shows the most change types at once, but everything here applies to SimpleRule and Ruleset too.

<figure><img src="/files/TzAN4XbZp2fooytg9vtB" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Opening Compare

There are two ways in.

**From the rule editor.** Open the rule and click the three-dot menu next to **Publish**. Select **Compare**.

<figure><img src="/files/yeJBWUpTTr9uuWcXviKz" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**From Version Control.** Open **Version Control** from the right-side rail. Each version card — in the **Draft**, **In Review**, or **Published** tab — has a **Compare** button. On some cards this is a dropdown with more than one comparison target, for example:

* **Compare with latest live**
* **Compare with draft**
* **Compare with previous version**

<figure><img src="/files/Tr4hiCqploxcO2atQI7R" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Reading the Compare screen

**Change counters.** The top-right of the screen carries three counters for the whole rule:

| Counter          | What it means                                            |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| **\~4 Modified** | Items whose value changed between the two versions       |
| **+10 Added**    | Items present in the current version but not the other   |
| **-03 Deleted**  | Items that existed in the older version and were removed |

**Changes and Deleted tabs.** Two tabs sit just below:

* **Changes** — all additions and modifications present in the current version compared to the selected version.
* **Deleted** — everything that existed in the older version but was removed in the newer one.

Deletions get their own tab on purpose. On a rule where a whole column was dropped, mixing that in with edits makes both harder to read. Each tab has an info icon if you need the reminder.

**Version selectors.** Two dropdowns at the top right control what's being compared, with a compare icon between them. On the **Changes** tab they're labelled **Changes In** and **Compared To**. On the **Deleted** tab they change to **Removed in** and **Present In**, since you're looking at things that no longer exist.

<figure><img src="/files/Ed9grFwpTlGVHtLMcCLY" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The list shows every version with its status — **Latest**, **Draft**, and so on. You aren't limited to consecutive versions. Comparing Version 0.10 directly against Version 0.30 works fine.

#### The colour system on a rule

**Purple — modified.** A value that changed gets a light purple fill and a small purple dot on the right edge of the cell. The current value is shown normally, and the previous value sits below it in red strikethrough. This pattern holds everywhere — wherever you see red strikethrough text, that's the old value.

<figure><img src="/files/hxA41LQfhwQIXo1JTPjj" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**Green — added.** A new row gets a green fill across the row and a green dot next to the row number. A new column gets the same treatment down its full length, including the header.

<figure><img src="/files/qi9mH8pwtjYoairJotIs" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**Pink — deleted.** Anything removed is pink, and appears on the **Deleted** tab. The screenshot below shows a result column that existed in Version 0.10 and was removed in Version 0.20 — header and all rows highlighted.

<figure><img src="/files/xZbPv2BySMMUWI9SlHNp" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### What gets compared in a rule?

Compare doesn't stop at the conditions. Anything that can change on a rule is marked.

#### **Conditions and results.**&#x20;

Condition cells, operators, values, and result cells all pick up highlighting. When only one value in a row changed, just that cell is marked. When the whole row is new or gone, the row is marked.

<figure><img src="/files/wJc9FCqvoy3MN9dDj7O0" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**Column names.** If you rename a column, the header shows the new name in purple with the old name struck through underneath. In the example, **Free Transfer Quota** was previously **Free Quota**.

#### **Rule name.**&#x20;

A renamed rule gets a dot next to the rule title. Open **Edit Rule** and the **Rule Name** field shows the current name with the previous one struck through below it.

<figure><img src="/files/dPxxIPktpcquiA3w4UiZ" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### **Rule Policy.**&#x20;

Changing the Rule Policy — **First**, **Unique**, **Collect**, or **Order** — is easy to overlook and can change results across the entire rule. Compare marks it like any other change: current selection in purple, previous one struck through.

<figure><img src="/files/vr6OipVWKYUKj2TVwXY2" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### **Input parameters.**&#x20;

When input attributes change, **Edit Input Attribute** carries a dot. Click through to the **Input Parameter** screen and the diff is shown inside the parameter table — name, type, test value, and the **Can be null**, **Case Sensitive** and **Is Optional** checkboxes.

<figure><img src="/files/hQY7RAZfMeBVpdqvjz32" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Type changes matter here — a parameter that moved from **String** to **Numeric** will change how conditions evaluate, and this is where you'd catch it.

**Additional results and post-rule actions.** Changes below the main table are marked too. An edited **Additional Result** shows the same purple-with-strikethrough pattern as any other value, and a modified **post-rule action** (under **Add post rule action**) carries a purple dot next to its name.

#### **Text Diff (For JSON, JS Code and Formula)**

Some values are too long to compare inside a cell — JSON results, JavaScript expressions, formulas. Click those and a **Text Diff** window opens instead.

<figure><img src="/files/6C3pB1QVympMWYpUZK7v" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The old version is on the left with a removals count, the new version on the right with an additions count. Both panes are line-numbered. Removed lines are pink, added lines are green, and the specific words or values that changed are highlighted more strongly inside the line — so on a twenty-line script you can see the exact token that moved, not just which lines were touched.

<figure><img src="/files/qjqqz1qRxi4HUAHZBrtX" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Close it with the **X** to go back to the Compare screen.

***

## Compare Versions in Workflow

Workflow uses the same Compare screen, header counters, tabs, and version selectors as a rule. The difference is what's being compared: instead of a table, you're looking at the workflow canvas.

### Opening Compare

Same as rules, there are two ways in. **From the workflow editor.** Open the workflow and click the three-dot menu next to **Publish**. Select **Compare**.

**From Version Control.** Open **Version Control** from the right-side rail. Each version card — in the **Draft**, **In Review**, or **Published** tab — has a **Compare** button. Selecting it opens the Compare screen.

#### Reading the Compare screen

The change counters (**Modified**, **Added**, **Deleted**), the **Changes** / **Deleted** tabs, and the **Changes In** / **Compared To** version selectors all work exactly as they do for a rule — they total up changes across the whole workflow, not just the visible part of the canvas.

<figure><img src="/files/CPTOsWXgTHCsLuwMz6wY" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### What gets compared in a workflow?

#### **Node configuration.**&#x20;

Click any highlighted node to open its configuration panel. The tabs inside — **Input Params**, **Output**, **Settings**, or whatever's relevant to that node type — carry a dot if something inside them changed. The field itself follows the same pattern as everywhere else: current value shown normally, previous value struck through in red below it.

<figure><img src="/files/RCH01aPmQaQg9AG9jHuS" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Longer values — like the SQL query on a Database node — follow the same struck-through pattern inline rather than opening a separate Text Diff window.

***

### Things to know

* Compare is read-only. It's built for reviewing, not editing. To make a change, go back to the rule or workflow editor.
* Two versions at a time. If you need to trace a change across several releases, compare them in pairs.
* The layout on the Compare screen matches the editor exactly — table rows and columns for a rule, the node canvas for a workflow — just with the highlighting added.
* Your draft stays untouched. Opening Compare doesn't change anything about the rule or workflow.

### Related

* [Version Control & Rollback](https://claude.ai/nected-docs/audit/version-control-and-rollback.md)
* [Approval Flow](https://claude.ai/nected-docs/audit/approval-flow.md)
* [Rule Types](https://claude.ai/nected-docs/rules/rule-types.md)
* [Managing Workflow](https://claude.ai/nected-docs/workflow/managing-workflow.md)
* [Audit Trail](https://claude.ai/nected-docs/audit/audit-trail.md)