Comparison of file comparison tools. This article compares computer software tools that compare files, and in many cases directories or folders, whether it is their. WinMerge is an Open Source differencing and merging tool for Windows. WinMerge can compare both folders and files, presenting differences in a visual text format that is easy to understand and handle. WinMerge is an Open Source differencing and merging tool for Windows. WinMerge can compare both folders and files, presenting differences in a visual text format that is easy to understand and handle. BS Folder Compare. BS Folder Compare is a free folder compare software for Windows. Any two folders from the local hard drive, removable media (CD, DVD’s) or over the network, and easily see the differences between them. Unique views, folder coloring, summary node and highlighting features make picking up all the differences quick and easy. Then copy or delete files as necessary to resolve the differences.
Have you ever wanted a quick way to compare two directories (folders), in order to see which files may differ between the two? Back in 2006, we discussed FileMerge (part of Apple’s Xcode developer tools), which can do just that. There are other third-party GUI tools as well, but there’s actually a free folder comparison tool built into every Mac—it just requires a quick trip to Terminal to put it to use. The program is called diff, and it’s quite simple to use.
Launch Terminal (in Applications -> Utilities), and then use the cd command to change to the directory containing the folders you’d like to compare. (The folders can be located anywhere, of course, but it’s easiest if they’re in the same folder.). Once there, just run this command:
This is a pretty simple command, with two command-line switches (-rq). The r tells diff to look at each directory recursively, including subdirectories. The q switch sets diff brief mode. If we didn’t set brief mode, diff would not only tell you which files are different between the two folders, but also show the actual line-by-line differences for any text files that exist in both locations but are not identical. Given that we’re just interested in comparing the folders’ contents, we don’t need that level of detail, so we’ll use brief mode to suppress it. And that’s all there is to it. Here’s how it looks in action:
Compare Folders Freeware
Obviously, this is a simplistic example, but it works just as well on a large folder with hundreds of files. If you want to do more with diff, of course, it’s capable of much more than just simple folder comparisons; type man diff to read about its full capabilities.
Compare Folders
FolderMatch is an award-winning Windows software which compares folders & files and finds duplicate files. Winner at the Shareware Industry Awards for 3 consecutive years, it is a 'must-have' insurance against loss of valuable data. | ||||
Compare FoldersFolderMatch is a program that compares two folders, displaying the differences in a side-by-side layout. You can quickly compare entire drives and folders, checking just file sizes and modified dates. Or, you can thoroughly compare every file byte-by-byte. You can filter the results to view only the differences or the matches. Or you can further filter the results by name, type, size, and modified date to see only the files you’re interested in. Files and subfolders may be copied/moved/deleted/renamed, and their timestamps changed. The program can even synchronize the two folders for you. | ||||
Compare FilesFolderMatch can also compare files by their text content, showing the difference in a side-by-side layout. It can perform text content comparisons on text files and other document formats such as Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Powerpoint), OpenDocument files, Adobe PDF, Rich Text Format (RTF), HTML and XML files. It supports both the older and newer X versions of these formats. The program provides options so you see only the differences that matter to you. Ignore white space and letter case differences when comparing the text. View all lines or only those that are different. View differences at the character, word, or line-level. You can also configure the output to show line numbers and formatting characters such as whitespace, tabs, and end-of-line characters. | ||||
Find DuplicatesBoasting one of the fastest search engines available, FolderMatch can quickly locate all your duplicate files. Even if the file names are different, the program can quickly find the duplicates and help you remove them. You can specify criteria for what constitutes a duplicate file (same name, size, date, and/or content), what type of files to search for (all file types, application, audio, document, image, text, video), and what files to include or exclude. Quickly select the files to remove and safely remove them in one of several ways. You can easily recover files you’ve moved if needed. | ||||
So much more!FolderMatch also provides other tools to help manage the contents of your folders. Tools offered include:
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Compare Folders Utility
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