File Explorer integration is optional. Its availability depends on the installed
products and the registration settings on your computer.
## Use the context menu
1. Make the two versions available locally.
2. Select two compatible files in File Explorer.
3. Open the context menu and choose the applicable MarginDiff comparison command.
4. In the comparison dialog, verify **Original** and **Modified**.
5. Switch them if necessary, then start the comparison.
Do not rely on selection order to decide which file is the baseline. Check the
paths in the dialog before comparing.
## If the command is missing
Follow [MarginDiff Settings](/docs/integrations/settings) to check Explorer
registration and refresh its menu.
The menu can depend on the selected file types. If the selection mixes documents,
spreadsheets or presentations, open the appropriate MarginDiff application and choose
the two files there instead.
If a cloud file has not been downloaded, make it available offline first.
For other loading issues, see [Troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting).
## Windows 11 main menu
Right-click a supported file and open **MarginDiff Documents**, **MarginDiff Sheets**, or
**MarginDiff Presentations** directly. Choose **Select as Original**, **Select as
Modified**, or the application’s **Launch** command from that submenu.
In **MarginDiff Settings > File Explorer Integration**, click **Register** to enable
the main right-click menu for your current Windows account as well as the classic
menu. Approve the administrator prompt for the classic integration. Open Settings
using your own account; each Windows user registers their main menu separately.
Reopen Explorer windows afterward. If the menu is still missing, sign out and
back in. Click **Unregister** to remove the menus before uninstalling MarginDiff Settings.
If registration reports a Windows 11 package error, repair or update MarginDiff Settings
and try again. The classic menu may already be available under **Show more options**.
## Office file menus
With the matching MarginDiff application installed and Explorer integration enabled,
the menu recognizes these extensions (including uppercase filenames):
- Documents: `.rtf`, `.doc`, `.docx`, `.docm`, `.docb`, `.dot`, `.dotx`, `.dotm`, `.wbk`.
- Sheets: `.xls`, `.xlsx`, `.xlsm`, `.xlsb`, `.xlt`, `.xltx`, `.xltm`.
- Presentations: `.ppt`, `.pptx`, `.pptm`, `.pot`, `.potx`, `.potm`, `.pps`, `.ppsx`, `.ppsm`.
The menu is hidden when the matching application cannot be found. File opening
still depends on the application's format and conversion support; add-ins such
as `.ppam` are not comparison documents.
## PDF comparison with OCR
When MarginDiff Documents OCR and MarginDiff Documents are installed, PDFs also offer
**Select as Original**, **Select as Modified**, and **Launch MarginDiff Documents**.
Choose the two versions, then launch MarginDiff Documents to compare them. Selecting
two supported files together also offers the direct launch command. The PDF
comparison menu is hidden when the OCR executable is missing.