> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.draftable.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Recent Documents: Quickly select from previously compared files

> Draftable Legal now includes the option to be able to use recently selected documents for comparison, conveniently from within the New Comparison window. This allows you to quickly re-compare your recently used documents without having the hassle of navigating to the document location within file explorer.

This article aims to guide you on how to use this feature.

## Selecting recently used documents for comparison

Ensure you have the New Comparison window open. If you look at the comparison selection boxes you will note there is now a new option in the top right corner called **Recent** which is a drop down box selection button.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/draftable/17WDdEB5sm1jTwxG/images/using-draftable-recently-used-docs/image-1.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=17WDdEB5sm1jTwxG&q=85&s=33de4603a10beea6f71bb0a4e1c208c5" alt="" width="873" height="441" data-path="images/using-draftable-recently-used-docs/image-1.png" />
</Frame>

**Selecting** this option will provide a drop down list of all the recent documents you have used to compare and provides time information of how long ago you used that document.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/draftable/17WDdEB5sm1jTwxG/images/using-draftable-recently-used-docs/image-2.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=17WDdEB5sm1jTwxG&q=85&s=8ae5dfe73bc1fcee9cea66ad22905f6c" alt="" width="883" height="514" data-path="images/using-draftable-recently-used-docs/image-2.png" />
</Frame>

Selecting the documents from this list will automatically load them into the selection boxes without the need of having to find these documents again.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/draftable/17WDdEB5sm1jTwxG/images/using-draftable-recently-used-docs/image-3.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=17WDdEB5sm1jTwxG&q=85&s=25e42cacf8df7e8f7c1328659a3bc926" alt="" width="880" height="454" data-path="images/using-draftable-recently-used-docs/image-3.png" />
</Frame>

## What appears in your recent documents list

Draftable can only add a document to your recent list if that document has a **stable, permanent location** it can point back to later. Not every file you compare meets this requirement, so you may occasionally find that a document you just compared does not appear under **Recent**.

### Documents that are added to Recent

* **Files saved on your computer or a network/synced folder** — anything with a real file path, including local drives and synced OneDrive or SharePoint folders.
* **Files opened from a connected document management system (DMS)** — iManage, NetDocuments, SharePoint, Worldox, or Epona — where Draftable can reference the stored document (and version) again later.

### Documents that are *not* added to Recent

* **Email attachments compared directly through a Draftable Outlook add-in** (Draftable in Outlook / Draftable for Outlook). When you compare an attachment from within Outlook, the attachment's contents are passed straight into the comparison rather than being saved to disk as a standalone file. Because there is no permanent file for Draftable to return to, these comparisons cannot be added to the recent list.
* **Free text** that you type or paste into a comparison — there is no file involved.
* **Files supplied by some drag-and-drop sources** that only ever hand Draftable a temporary placeholder instead of the actual document.

<Tip>
  If you want an email attachment to appear in your recent list (and to be quick to re-compare later), **save it to your computer or your DMS first**, then run the comparison from that saved location.
</Tip>