Beyond Compare vs. WinMerge

[Snarpy]

There is no comparison!

I struggled mightily with a botched upgrade to ZenCart, and decided I needed a better tool than WinMerge for file comparisons. I thought about what I needed, and searched the forums. This thread (http://www.aota.net/forums/showthread.php?postid=109904#post109904) gave me some ideas, and just like songdog, I chose Beyond Compare (http://www.scootersoftware.com/).

I then did the upgrade again from the beginning, and it worked like a charm.
:clapper:

Tip 'o the hat to Arthur - since FQ employees can't get points. :yeah:

[dank]

What advantages does it have over WinMerge?

Dan

[Mandi]

I can't answer Dan's question, but I'll throw another vote in for both FQ Community recommendations in general, and Beyond Compare in particular.

[Wassercrats]

I prefer DiffNote (http://www.polisource.com/diffnote). :safegrin:

I'll be rolling out a new version probably tonight.

[Wassercrats]

About WinMerge...I think that's the one that doesn't show line numbers unless you click or hover over something. You can only see one line number for each click/hover. That's crazy.

[hobbes]

diff -r <dir1> <dir2> :yeah:

[Snarpy]

What advantages does it have over WinMerge?
What I wanted to be able to do was to recursively compare directories. I can click a button and expand the whole tree, and instantly see (by color) which files are different, which files are orphans on either side, and which are the same. I can then filter the results so I am only dealing with differences or orphans. When I finish merging or comparing a file, it will then open the next file that has differences.

Because I had to navigate the tree structure in WinMerge and keep track of which directories I'd already opened and done, I think I overlooked some changes. Plus, it is time consuming - too much clicking.

It is entirely possible that WinMerge may be able to do some of the things I needed - but I couldn't figure out how to do it. With Beyond Compare, I was able to streamline my workflow. The user interface was exactly what I imagined I wanted, before I went "shopping."

[kitchin]

re: the Hibbes comment, diff for the Windows command line is available here:
http://unxutils.sourceforge.net/

[dank]

I see. I've never felt the need to compare more than individual files, so it's been fine for me.

I don't follow the line number concern...

Dan

[Wassercrats]

I see that even Beyond Compare doesn't list all of the line numbers like a decent text editor could. Say you find a difference that you want to correct and you want to open the file that needs correcting in your favorite text editor. You'll need to know the line number. It's easier if the number is right there next to the line in the diff without having to do anything to make it appear.

Say there's a line that you're not sure is in the latest version of a file, so you do a diff. You'll want it to be as easy as possible to find that line.

[dank]

Sure, it's convenient to have the line number handy, but we're talking fractions of a second of saved time over a search for a distinctive portion of the desired line or one surrounding it.

Dan