After Hours

Spotlight: Beyond Compare file comparison tool

By // June 2, 2010, 1:18 AM PST // markwkaelin

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  • Sessions

    Beyond Compare uses the idea of "Session" which allows you to easily return to a combination of documents and settings. When the application opens, it asks you what kind of session to start, or to re-open an existing one.

    For a full review of Beyond Compare, check out the TechRepublic Product Spotlight Blog.

    Image created by Justin James for TechRepublic.

  • Source Code

    This is a comparison of two C# source code files. It is smart enough to know that the added blank lines and comment in one file are not important, but the differences in the highlighted "using" statement are critical.

    For a full review of Beyond Compare, check out the TechRepublic Product Spotlight Blog.

    Image created by Justin James for TechRepublic.

  • Directory comparison

    An example of the directory comparison at work.

    For a full review of Beyond Compare, check out the TechRepublic Product Spotlight Blog.

    Image created by Justin James for TechRepublic.

  • Compare images

    Comparing two images. The black smudges show where the two are slightly different due to JPEG compression when one was re-saved, and the red clearly shows where the scribbling was done.

    For a full review of Beyond Compare, check out the TechRepublic Product Spotlight Blog.

    Image created by Justin James for TechRepublic.

  • File format

    The file formats option screen allows you to configure grammars. These grammars let Beyond Compare know what changes fall into what categories, and which categories of changes are important.

    For a full review of Beyond Compare, check out the TechRepublic Product Spotlight Blog.

    Image created by Justin James for TechRepublic.

Sessions

Beyond Compare uses the idea of "Session" which allows you to easily return to a combination of documents and settings. When the application opens, it asks you what kind of session to start, or to re-open an existing one.

For a full review of Beyond Compare, check out the TechRepublic Product Spotlight Blog.

Image created by Justin James for TechRepublic.

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By Mark Kaelin

Mark W. Kaelin has been writing and editing stories about the IT industry, gadgets, finance, accounting, and tech-life for more than 25 years. Most recently, he has been a regular contributor to BreakingModern.com, aNewDomain.net, and TechRepublic.