1. A method for real-time comparison of data objects comprising: displaying a first plurality of data objects from a repository in a list; receiving a selection from a user of a second plurality of data objects; receiving a selection of a comparison category upon which to compare the second plurality of data objects, wherein the comparison category characterizes data objects in the second plurality of data objects based on a portion of metadata associated with the data objects in the second plurality of data objects; for the selected comparison category, comparing metadata from each of the second plurality of data objects; for the selected comparison category, generating a comparison summary based upon the comparison of metadata from each of the second plurality of data objects, and displaying the comparison summary for the comparison category in a GUI element associated with the list.