Compare files, either line by line, byte by byte or blocks of code.
Compare files, either line by line, byte by byte or blocks of code.
Questions tagged [file-comparison]
52 questions
233
votes
19 answers
How to compare the differences between two PDF files on Windows?
Do you know a good way to compare PDF files side-by-side and show the modifications between the two?
I'm looking for Windows software to accomplish this. It would be great if you can post both free and not-free products.
Nelson Reis
- 413
20
votes
4 answers
How to check if two DVDs are exactly the same?
I have two DVDs and if I open the DVDs and copy the content to the HDD and compare the respective files on the HDD it shows no difference. As I know DVD does also have some additional content (this content includes information saying if the DVD is…
Mega
- 201
19
votes
6 answers
How to compare mp3, flac audio data in a file, ignoring header data (ID3 tag) etc.?
I've backed up some audio files up in 2 places and added ID3 tags into one backup but not the other, since time has passed my own memory has faded on whether the backups are actually the same, but now one has ID3 data and the other doesn't, basic…
therobyouknow
- 4,258
16
votes
3 answers
How do I compare two folders recursively and generate a list of files and folders that are different?
tl;dr and an example
I'm looking for a way to compare two folders recursively and output the relative paths all files (and folders) that are different (by size or by timestamp, à la rsync).
For example, say I…
Andrew Cheong
- 1,818
12
votes
3 answers
Beyond-compare wont ignore line-breaks?
I have this comparison :
I want those line to be treated equal.
but it showes me they are different.
I already applied those settings :
What am I doing wrong ?
Royi Namir
- 5,888
6
votes
3 answers
How do I compare the contents of two folders on a Mac?
Here's my deal in a nutshell:
I use a Macbook and a PC, where I sync 2-3 large folders between the two with Windows Live Mesh.
About 5 days ago my Macbook battery died, and I just upgraded to a Macbook Pro. Upon running Windows Live Mesh, it gives…
delvec
- 63
5
votes
2 answers
Diff two files side by side, new lines on left column for no match
This has been getting the good half of my day and I am sure such a solution must exist (if not, then I am programming one), but alas, here is the question.
I have two files, hpc.sorted.modules.txt and bduc.sorted.modules.txt. What I want to…
Adam
- 151
5
votes
3 answers
Identify differences between MP3 files
I have 2 old similar directory trees with MP3 files in them. I am happily using tools like diff and Rsync to identify and merge the files that are only present on one side, or are identical, I'm left with a bunch of files that are bitwise…
Thingomy
- 109
5
votes
1 answer
How to configure BeyondCompare to mark newline differences as unimportant?
Newline additions in the middle of a line in BeyondCompare are marked as important. I want them to become unimportant. How to do that?
Example:
A:
B:
B:
Jader Dias
- 16,236
5
votes
3 answers
BeyondCompare doesn't ignore difference in line endings (DOS/UNIX)
I am using BeyondCompare 4 on Windows 10 to compare two directories with thousands of files.
They are the basically same, but one exported from Windows, and another one from Linux. The only difference is that
Windows (DOS) uses CR/LF at the end of…
Gonçalo Peres
- 911
4
votes
3 answers
How to compare two files and output lines which do not appear in the first?
If I have a file A containing a list of fields:
2017-04-23
2017-04-30
2017-05-07
2017-05-14
2017-05-21
2017-05-28
2017-06-04
2017-06-11
2017-06-18
2017-06-25
And another file B containing a list of…
Zhro
- 957
3
votes
1 answer
Free file comparison tool for Windows, with simple interface similar to Kompare
There's a ton of file comparison programs, but I'm looking for something specific and haven't found it yet. I need a graphical file comparison tool for Windows, suitable for non-power users - it should have an intuitive, simple and non-overwhelming…
Jan Warchoł
- 209
3
votes
2 answers
I want to compare 2 files down to the folders orders and contents
I want to compare two big folders – some 300 GB. I backed up my data, and I fear I might've changed some of the new copied folders contents by moving them accidentally.
I want to compare the new copy which I access a lot to the original down to the…
ramyy
- 39
3
votes
2 answers
Remove difference b/w PC and Unix Text in beyond compare
My problem is I'm try to compare two folders which are almost same but some little difference.
But when I compare both of the folders then it shows difference in each file.
When i open the file its not showing any difference except on the top One is…
Sumit Singh
- 139
3
votes
1 answer
Free WinMerge alternative with more clear line comparison
I use WinMerge to compare text files, usually alogn with TortoiseSVN.
It is pretty good.
The only thing which is inconvenient for me is very rough line comparison.
For instance, if I have two long lines without spaces and the only symbol is…
sergtk
- 490