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Compare and Configure Editable Regions

Introduction

Compare and Configure Editable Regions is a React + ASP.NET Core sample that demonstrates two Document Editor workflows using the Syncfusion® React DOCX Editor (Document Editor):

  1. Compare Documents — side-by-side comparison of two DOCX/SFDT files, with a server-side comparison that produces a result document containing tracked revisions, change summary navigation, and an accept/reject audit history.
  2. Document Protection — configuring user-scoped editable regions in a protected document, highlighting who can edit what, and importing PDF or image files which are converted to editable Word content before being opened in the editor.

The sample is designed for organizations that need to review document revisions between authors, and to lock down documents so that only specific users can edit specific regions — for example contracts, SOPs, or legal templates reviewed by engineers and managers.

Users can:

  • Load two documents (original and revised) into side-by-side editors.
  • Run a word-by-word comparison on the server and open the result, with every difference recorded as a tracked revision.
  • Toggle revision visibility and navigate a Change Summary of all differences.
  • Accept or reject revisions, with each decision logged into a Revision Audit History panel (user, action, content).
  • Switch the current user (engineer / manager) in the protection demo.
  • Insert editable regions over a selection for a specific user and highlight all editable ranges in the document.
  • Open a PDF or image file — the server converts it to an editable Word document (via Smart Data Extraction) and opens the result in the editor.

Key Features

Compare Documents

The Compare Documents page hosts two DocumentEditorContainer instances side by side. After selecting an original and a revised DOCX/SFDT file:

  • Compare documents uploads both files to the server. The server uses DocIO WordDocument.Compare to produce a result document in which every difference (insertions, deletions, formatting changes) is recorded as a tracked revision attributed to the configured author and timestamp.
  • The comparison result opens in the right-hand editor with revisions visible.
  • Show/Hide revisions toggles the tracked-changes marks in the result editor.
  • The Change Summary panel lists each revision found in the result document so reviewers can jump straight to the changes.
  • Revision Audit History — every accept/reject action performed on a revision is logged with the author, the action taken, and the affected text content.
  • Files can be .docx (converted to SFDT via the Import endpoint) or .sfdt (opened directly).

Document Protection and Editable Regions

The Document Protection page opens a Word-like editor pre-loaded with a sample protected document:

  • The current user can be switched between engineer@mycompany.com and manager@mycompany.com from the title bar.
  • Insert editable region covers the current selection with an editing region that only the currently selected user can edit.
  • Editable ranges are highlighted in the editor so it is visually clear which parts of the document each user may change.
  • The document itself is protected — users cannot edit outside their own editable regions.

PDF and Image to Word Import

The protection page also exposes an Open PDF/Image button:

  • The selected .pdf / .jpg / .png file is uploaded to the ImportFromPdfOrImage endpoint.
  • The server uses the Syncfusion Smart Data Extractor to convert the PDF or image into an editable Word document (preserving layout, tables, images, and text styles where supported).
  • The extracted Word content is converted to SFDT and opened directly in the Document Editor for further editing.

Architecture

The sample consists of two applications:

  • ASP.NET Core Web API (Server-Side/) — .NET 10, minimal hosting model. Hosts the Document Editor web services (import, save, spell check, clipboard, PDF/image conversion, document comparison) used by both pages.
  • React application (Client-Side/) — Vite + React 18 UI with routing between the two workflow pages and the Syncfusion Document Editor components.

The React app calls the backend directly at http://localhost:62870/api/documenteditor/ (CORS is enabled on the server).

Prerequisites

Client

  • Node.js (LTS recommended)
  • npm

Server

  • .NET 10 SDK
  • Syncfusion ASP.NET Core, DocIO, and Smart Data Extractor packages referenced by the project

How to Run

Start the ASP.NET Core Web API server first because the React application uses the server for import, comparison, and PDF/image conversion operations.

1. Start the ASP.NET Core Server

Open a terminal in:

Server-Side/src/

Build and run:

dotnet restore
dotnet build
dotnet run

2. Start the React Application

Open another terminal in:

Client-Side/

Install dependencies:

npm install

Start the development server:

npm run dev

Open the URL shown by Vite in the terminal, normally:

http://localhost:5173

3. Register Syncfusion Licenses

The sample requires a Syncfusion license key (free trial available):

  • Client — replace YOUR_LICENSE_KEY_HERE in Client-Side/src/main.jsx (registerLicense call).
  • Server — replace the empty licenseKey string in Server-Side/src/Program.cs (SyncfusionLicenseProvider.RegisterLicense call).

The same license key string works for both. Get a key from your Syncfusion account under Licenses & Keys.

Server API

The Document Editor service exposes the following endpoints.

Endpoints used by this sample

Endpoint Purpose
POST /api/documenteditor/Import Imports a DOCX/SFDT file and converts it to SFDT.
POST /api/documenteditor/CompareDocuments Compares two DOCX files server-side (DocIO WordDocument.Compare) and returns the result with tracked revisions as SFDT.
POST /api/documenteditor/ImportFromPdfOrImage Converts an uploaded PDF or image to an editable Word document (Smart Data Extractor), then returns it as SFDT.

Additional Document Editor service endpoints

Endpoint Purpose
POST /api/documenteditor/Save Saves the edited SFDT content as a DOCX.
POST /api/documenteditor/LoadDocument Loads an existing SFDT by document name.
POST /api/documenteditor/SpellCheck Spell check support.
POST /api/documenteditor/SpellCheckByPage Spell check, page-scoped.
POST /api/documenteditor/SystemClipboard Server-side clipboard (paste with formatting) support.
POST /api/documenteditor/RestrictEditing Hashes a protection password for restrict-editing support.
POST /api/documenteditor/MailMerge Server-side mail merge execution.
POST /api/documenteditor/ExportSFDT / Export Export the document in various formats.

Resources

Support and feedback

For any other queries, reach our Syncfusion support team or post the queries through the community forums.

Request new feature through Syncfusion feedback portal.

License

This is a commercial product and requires a paid license for possession or use. Syncfusion's licensed software, including this component, is subject to the terms and conditions of Syncfusion's EULA. You can purchase a license here or start a free 30-day trial here.