GroupDocs.Comparison for Python 26.5 – May 2026 Release Highlights ^[draft]

GroupDocs.Comparison for Python 26.5.0 is now available. This is the first public‑PyPI release of the library since 25.12 and introduces a pure‑Python wrapper, bundled AGENTS.md for AI‑assistant discovery, a new console script, and extensive documentation restructuring.

What’s new in this release

Public API changes

The 26.x wrapper was rebuilt with a new generator that exposes a broader public API and cleans up a few member names. Most existing scripts written against 25.12 run unchanged on 26.5; the changes below are grouped by compatibility impact.

Newly-visible top-level classes

These classes existed in 25.12 internals but were hidden from Python introspection by the Nuitka‑compiled wrapper. They are now directly importable:

from groupdocs.comparison.license import License, Metered
from groupdocs.comparison.options import (
    Color, PdfCompareOptions, WordCompareOptions, CalculateCoordinatesModeEnumeration,
    ChangeType, ComparisonDisplayMode, DetalisationLevel, FolderComparisonExtension,
    ImagesInheritance, MetadataType, PagesSetup, PaperSize, PasswordSaveOption,
    PreviewFormats, PreviewResolution,
)
from groupdocs.comparison.result import ComparisonAction, FileType, Rectangle

New Color class

StyleSettings.font_color, .highlight_color, .shape_color, and .boarder_color now accept any of:

from groupdocs.comparison.options import Color

# Named‑color factory
style.font_color = Color.from_name("firebrick")

# RGB / RGBA tuple
style.font_color = (255, 0, 0)
style.font_color = (255, 0, 0, 128)

# Hex string
style.font_color = "#FF8800"
style.font_color = "#80FF8800"  # AARRGGBB

# Packed ARGB int
style.font_color = 0xFF0000

# Or a Color instance directly
style.font_color = Color(178, 34, 34, 255)

Color is importable from groupdocs.comparison, groupdocs.comparison.options, and groupdocs.pydrawing—all three paths resolve to the same class.

Callable‑based PreviewOptions

PreviewOptions constructor accepts a Python callable for the CreatePageStream delegate. The callback signature is (page_number) -> writable_stream:

from groupdocs.comparison.options import PreviewOptions, PreviewFormats

def create_page_stream(page_number):
    return open(f"page-{page_number}.png", "wb")

def release_page_stream(page_number):
    pass  # the bridge has already flushed/closed the stream

with Comparer("source.docx") as comparer:
    preview = PreviewOptions(create_page_stream, release_page_stream)
    preview.preview_format = PreviewFormats.PNG
    preview.page_numbers = [1, 2, 3]
    comparer.source.generate_preview(preview)

PreviewOptions(create_page_stream) (single‑arg, no release callback) is also valid.

Typed Rectangle from coordinate properties

options = CompareOptions(calculate_coordinates=True)
with Comparer("source.docx") as comparer:
    comparer.add("target.docx")
    comparer.compare(options)
    for change in comparer.get_changes():
        b = change.box
        print(f"({b.x:.1f}, {b.y:.1f}) {b.width:.1f}x{b.height:.1f}")
# (488.96, 223.86) 71.09x36.80 — '…'

The fix is product‑wide—applies to every value‑typed property across every product (Point, Size, etc., not just Rectangle).

Property‑name kwargs on options constructors

opts = ApplyChangeOptions(changes=changes, save_original_state=True)
save = SaveOptions(password="secret")
load = LoadOptions(password="open-sesame")
comp = CompareOptions(detect_style_changes=True, sensitivity_of_comparison=85)

The setter pattern still works (opts = ApplyChangeOptions(); opts.changes = changes). Unknown kwargs raise TypeError.

New overload‑suffixed methods

A set of overload‑suffixed methods has been added to the public surface so each .NET overload is callable from Python by an explicit, non‑ambiguous name. Examples:

• Comparer.add_file(path), add_stream(stream), add_streams(streams), add_string(text)
• Comparer.apply_changes_file(path, options), apply_changes_stream(stream, options), …
• Comparer.compare_file(...), compare_stream(...), compare_streams(...), compare_string(...), compare_compare_options(...), compare_save_options(...)
• Comparer.compare_directory_file(...), compare_directory_string(...)
• Comparer.get_changes_change_type(...), get_changes_get_change_options(...)
• License.set_license_file(...), set_license_stream(...), set_license_streams(...), set_license_string(...)
• Metered.set_metered_key_file(...), set_metered_key_string(...)
• Document.generate_preview_preview_options(...)
• localization.SupportedLocales.is_locale_supported_culture_info(...), is_locale_supported_file(...), is_locale_supported_string(...)

Explicit Comparer.dispose()

Available for callers who prefer not to use the with context‑manager idiom. The recommended pattern remains:

with Comparer("source.docx") as comparer:
    comparer.add("target.docx")
    comparer.compare("result.docx")

Enum casing

All enums use UPPERCASE Python convention. Common enums:

from groupdocs.comparison.result import ComparisonAction, FileType
from groupdocs.comparison.options import (
    ChangeType, ComparisonDisplayMode, DetalisationLevel,
    FolderComparisonExtension, ImagesInheritance, MetadataType,
    PaperSize, PasswordSaveOption, PreviewFormats, PreviewResolution,
)
from groupdocs.comparison.words.revision import RevisionAction

ComparisonAction.ACCEPT, ComparisonAction.REJECT, ComparisonAction.NONE
RevisionAction.ACCEPT, RevisionAction.REJECT, RevisionAction.NONE
PreviewFormats.PNG, PreviewFormats.JPG
MetadataType.SOURCE, MetadataType.TARGET, MetadataType.FILE_AUTHOR
PasswordSaveOption.USER, PasswordSaveOption.SOURCE, PasswordSaveOption.TARGET

If you were on 25.12 documentation that showed .Accept/.Reject style values, update them to the uppercase form.

Code example

Below is a minimal example that demonstrates importing the newly visible top‑level classes and performing a simple comparison:

from groupdocs.comparison import Comparer
from groupdocs.comparison.options import CompareOptions

options = CompareOptions(detect_style_changes=True)

with Comparer("source.docx") as comparer:
    comparer.add("target.docx")
    comparer.compare(options)
    for change in comparer.get_changes():
        print(f"Change type: {change.change_type}, Box: {change.box}")

How to get the update

PyPI

pip install groupdocs-comparison-net==26.5.0

The wheel is published on public PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/groupdocs-comparison-net/

Direct download

No direct download links are provided; obtain the package via PyPI or the GroupDocs website.

Resources

• PyPI project page: https://pypi.org/project/groupdocs-comparison-net/
• Agents and LLM Integration documentation: https://docs.groupdocs.com/comparison/python-net/agents-and-llm-integration/
• Examples repository: https://github.com/groupdocs-comparison/GroupDocs.Comparison-for-Python-via-.NET
• Issue reporting forum: https://forum.groupdocs.com/c/comparison/
• Paid Support Helpdesk: https://helpdesk.groupdocs.com/