Welcome to Compare It!

Welcome to Compare It! Welcome to Compare It!

Compare It! is a full-featured visual file comparison and merging tool.

  • About Compare It!
  • Installing and Removing Compare It!
  • What's New
  • Quick Start
  • Compare It! User Interface Basics
  • Compare It! Application Window Illustration
© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved


About Compare It!

Compare It! is a full-featured visual file comparison and merging tool that allows you to compare and work with different versions of the same text file. A color-coded side-by-side comparison makes it easy to understand the differences between two files at a glance.

Main Features

  • The overview bar helps you to see an overall picture of changes.
  • Differences are shown within lines.
  • The full-featured editor has wordwrap, syntax highlighting, undo, search & replace, and bookmark functionality.
  • Windows/DOS, UNIX, and Mac text files are supported.
  • A Unicode version for full support of national fonts is available.
  • You can customize colors, fonts, file and line compare options, and even filters for the Open File dialog box.
  • Compare It! has unique features to integrate with your file manager.
  • Navigation and merging are difference-based. You can use your mouse or keyboard for actions.
  • Compare It! has an enhanced implementation of the File Open Dialog.
  • Multiple users are supported.
  • Compare It! is easy to install, delete, move or take with you.
  • You can print comparison results and generate HTML and text reports with various options.
  • Converters support helps you to compare non-text files.
  • Zip archives support lets you compare a file with its archived copy.

Want More?

Check out the future releases topic, and feel free to send me your great ideas.


Installing and Removing Compare It!

Since Compare It! does not use your Windows registry and or any additional DLLs, installing and removing Compare It! is very simple.

To install or remove Compare It! with an installer

  • To install, run wc3setup.exe and follow the instructions to install.
  • To remove, use the Add/Remove Programs function in the Windows Control Panel.

To install or remove other versions of Compare It!

  • To install, unpack the original archive file (you may need a tool like WinZip) to any folder. You can create a new folder for Compare It! (and, optionally, Synchronize It!) or use any existing folder.
  • To remove, delete the following files:

    • wincmp3.exe
    • wincmp3.ini
    • wincmp3.chm

Note: If you implemented multi-user functionality, you must also delete other users' configuration files.


What is New

What's New

This topic lists the improvements that were implemented with each consecutive version of Compare It!

Version 4.2

  • New comparison options - ignore accented characters, not ignore quoted spaces;
  • Updated doc\xls conversion library;
  • Search\replace now can be limited to modified lines only;
  • Encodings support;
  • Various UI fixes.

Version 4.1

  • Comparison profiles: define different comparison option sets and quickly toggle them by keyboard shortcuts or command line parameters;
  • Basic XML formatter;
  • "Move block" command for quick moved blocks relocation;
  • Printouts can include total number of pages;
  • HTML reports are now in UTF8 format (in Unicode version);
  • SelectFiles dialog now includes combo for pre-selecting viewer type;
  • Special handling for using AutoMatch rules with "Never align" option;
  • Better support for custom syntax files;
  • Autodetect for built-in converters;
  • Unused converters can be completely turned off and hidden.

Version 4.01

  • Fixed problems with some xls files
  • Fixed bug with converters: now converted file will be loaded into appropriate engine: text/image/binary

Version 4.0

  • Alternative viewers: binary and images comparison, more to come later;
  • Auto-match rules;
  • odt, docx\xlsx files support;
  • IFilter support;
  • Easily ignore comments;
  • Separate mode;
  • Reports generation for multiple files;
  • Vista support;

Version 3.86

  • Bug fix release.

Version 3.85

  • Added changes blocks count display in status bar;
  • New DocWrap feature will help you to compare texts with changed lines layout;
  • Selection margin is now optional;
  • Extended file attributes on remote systems are preserved;
  • ManualMatch anchors can be toggled on/off with same key, just as IgnoreDiff marks;
  • added popup menu for LinesView;
  • Improved multiple monitors support;
  • Autodetect supported file types - xls, doc, pdf, rtf;
  • Several small interface tweaks and bug fixes.

Version 3.81

  • Several bugs with LinesView were fixed;
  • Added support for PDF and MIF files.

Version 3.8

  • Additional "Lines View" pane to show changes within lines;
  • Font size can be quickly changed by Ctrl + Gray Plus/Minus;
  • Added ability to customize standard converters just as your own;
  • Improved Excel files parsing;
  • Options Import/Export feature added;
  • Optional Drag'n'Drop in editor;
  • Added ability to pad line with blanks during editing.

Version 3.75

  • Added option to force Partial matching usage in a whole file;
  • New RegExp filtering rule - Ignore lines non-matching to RegExp;
  • New command line parameters: /r1, /r2, /xls, /doc;
  • New Option to disable file selection on start;
  • Added new report type - Composite, similar to that of WinDiff;
  • Underlined font attribute can be used to highlight changes;
  • It is now possible to print just selection or visible page;
  • Added ability to show changes mark - notifying you that there are some inline changes beyond visible line width;
  • Statistics will include same lines count.

Version 3.7

  • MS Excel (*.xls) files support;
  • Updated HTML report layout using CSS;
  • Additional RegExp replace options;
  • Overview bar can be hidden;
  • Specific files types can be shown with fixed font;
  • Fixed/non-fixed font usage can be quickly toggled;
  • Syntax highlighting colors can be changed;
  • Added ability to quickly toggle convertor usage;

Version 3.55

  • Added ability to ignore line wraps;
  • Added experimental partial matching engine;
  • Printout can include file information (date, size, type);
  • Various small fixes and improvements.

Version 3.53

  • Fixed bug with word-wrapping on print preview;
  • Added shortcut list in Help menu.

Version 3.52

  • Fixed bug with print preview;
  • Added file type indicator in Info pane;
  • Notify of different CRLF endings, even if files are same.

Version 3.51

  • Improved word wrap quality and speed;
  • Other bug fixes;

Version 3.5

  • Added support for all fonts, without fixed-width limitation;
  • Improved Search and Replace function;
  • Added Ignore Diff feature;
  • Optional new Adaptive line comparison engine;
  • RegExp usage improved with substring replacements;
  • Relative path can be used for backup folder;
  • Optional usage of balloon-like messages for notifications;

Version 3.3

  • Limited [image] MS Word files support;
  • Added syntax highlighter for HTML;
  • Header/footer can be switched off for printing;
  • Increased maximum number of Manual Match anchors to 25;
  • Other small improvements and bug fixes;

Version 3.2

  • New reports added: HTML2, Same, Merged;
  • File lists support for printing and report generating tasks;
  • Generate comparison reports for multiple files in folders;
  • Option added to specify number of context lines for Changes only mode;
  • Merging is now possible in Changes only mode;
  • Improved moved sections detection;
  • Context menu to display system file's properties is available by right-clicking file title;
  • Option added to use mouse wheel in left pane for horizontal scrolling;

Version 3.1

  • Detect and visualize moved sections;
  • Added ability to specify print margins;
  • Added ability to use bold/italic/crossed font attributes along with coloring;
  • Added alternative regexp usages;
  • Files names are now included in title for easy navigation;
  • Added option to ignore special escape characters;
  • Variuos bug fixes and small improvements

Version 3.04

  • Toolbar customization is back;
  • Added option to control Edit Mode state on program start;
  • Optional alternative font for printing;
  • Optional read-only files protection;
  • Bug fixes

Version 3.03

  • Added ability to choose printer and printing options from print preview.
  • Bug fixes

Version 3.02

  • Bug fixes
  • Selecting printer name to use when printing from command line.
  • Option to mark out current line.

Version 3.01

  • Bug fixes
  • When generating report in batch mode you can choose to delete report if files are same. See Command Line help for details.

Version 3.0

  • Optional registry usage for settings storage
  • Bug fixes

Version 3.0, Beta 3

  • Custom syntax files support
    Compatible with free ConTEXT editor
  • Now also available in Unicode version

Version 3.0, Beta 2

  • Zip archive support
    See Zip File Support for details
  • Search and replace
  • Manual match support
  • Recent files list
  • "Ignore Nothing" mode
  • Option to disable syntax highlighting
  • Further editor improvements and performance improvements

Version 3.0, Beta

  • New, full-featured true editing engine
  • Word-wrap support
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Merge buttons bar, referred to as the MergeBar
  • Converters support
  • PaneInfo bar with cursor positions and file date
  • Filtered view (view changes only)

Version 2.89

  • Regular expression support in search
  • Fixed a number of bugs

Version 2.87

  • HTML report generation
  • Batch mode printing and report generation, see command line for details
  • Auto-backup directory support, see Auto Backup for details
  • Difference statistics can be included in report and printout, see Print Options dialog box for details
  • Several small interface improvements
  • Fixed strange bug with caret line painting in Windows 95

Version 2.85

  • Option to ignore inserted empty lines, see Comparison options for details
  • Regular Expressions editor detects bad-formed expressions
  • Search text function improved
  • Landscape printing
  • Even more comparison engine improvements
  • Visual indication if regular expressions were applied
  • New Merge menu with common merge commands

Version 2.83

  • Improved speed for big files
  • Fixed several bugs with keyboard shortcuts and comparison engine

Version 2.82

  • Unicode version speed improved

Version 2.82, Beta 2

  • Regular Expressions can now be switched on/off individually
  • Optional toolbar button for quick regular expression editing
  • Fixed editing bugs in Unicode version

Version 2.82, Beta

  • Custom keyboard shortcuts
  • Unicode version added
  • Improved line comparison engine

Version 2.8 Final

  • Column range for comparison
  • Select command in pop-up menu to quickly select current text section
  • New command line switches: /n, /r, /h, /=Alias
  • Font of Find combo box reflects which text search options are in effect (see Search for dialog box and Replace dialog box for details)
  • Printing with word wrap
  • Options dialog was redesigned

Version 2.8, Beta

  • Faster comparison of large files (over 1 MB)
  • Printing with various options (see Print Options dialog box for details)
  • Several interface bugs fixed
  • "Edit mode by default" option was removed - now Compare It! will restore last used editing mode.

Version 2.75

  • Few bugs fixed
  • Simple Unicode support
  • Mouse wheel support (Use CTRL to jump between changes)
  • Find next change in line (ALT + F7/ALT + F8)

Version 2.70

  • New comparison engine
  • Improved regular expressions support
  • Optional toolbar button for regular expression switching
  • Ability to switch to horizontal split view
  • Ability to switch sides
  • Paste command fixed
  • Ignore non-words and all spaces
  • ESC to close application is now optional
  • Editor improvements

Version 2.61

  • Fixed problems with regular expressions editor
  • Added \s, \S support to regular expressions

Version 2.6

  • Customizable tools
  • Support for files with single LF as line break
  • Support for regular expressions for ignoring parts of strings
  • Few interface improvements

Version 2.51

  • Fixed bug with resource leak and big file loading
  • You can now drag a file using the title bar

Version 2.5

  • Multilingual interface
  • Can show line numbers
  • Some interface improvements

Version 2.0

  • /1 Command line switch
  • If run with single filename as parameter, Compare It! will ask for the second one
  • "Select files" mode
  • Several small improvements
  • Customizable toolbar

Version 2.0, Beta

  • Show changes within lines
  • UNIX/MAC/DOS files support
  • Improved editor
  • Multiuser support


Quick Start

Compare It! is easy to use. This topic explains the basic steps.

To use Compare It!

  1. Select two files.
    You can do this in a number of ways:
    • If you are using 2 panels file manager, you can run Compare It! by passing two file names as parameters. See Using Compare It! with File Manager for details.
    • If you are using Windows Explorer, you can drag-and-drop files you want to compare to an open Compare It! window.
    • You can select the files to compare in the Enhanced Open File Dialog Box by choosing File > Open.
    After you select the files to compare, Compare It! performs the comparison and shows you the differences, side-by-side and color-coded.
  2. To edit the files, switch on the Edit mode (by pressing F9).
    Now you can modify your files, or merge them by differences. Try the ALT + ARROW (UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT) keyboard shortcuts to navigate through changes and copy changes from one file to the other.

These steps are covered in detail in Comparing Files.


Compare It! User Interface Basics

Read this topic to familiarize yourself with the user interface of Compare It! and with terminology used in this help system.

The Compare It! application window is divided into five areas: the menu bar, the toolbar, and three content panes.

  • You use the commands on the menu bar to perform actions in Compare It!
  • The toolbar buttons and combo box let you quickly access functions without having to use the menu commands.
  • The three content panes are referred to as the Overview Bar and the Source and Target panes.

Click here to see an illustration of the Compare It! application window.

Overview Bar

The Overview Bar is used to show an overall picture of the file changes. It uses the same colors as the source and target file panes, so you can quickly determine the types of differences found.

Note the black rectangle that represents the your current position in the file. You can click anywhere in the Overview Bar to jump to that location in the file.

Tip: Right-click in the Overview Bar to jump directly to the nearest difference. This can be very useful in large files, when one change could be represented with a line height of only 1 pixel.

Source and Target Panes

The source pane, on the left, shows the source file. The target file is shown in the right pane, the target pane.

The title bar of the source and target panes shows the name of the file open in the pane. The color of the title bar is matched to your system default active/passive window title color, so you can easily see which pane is active.

Compare It! may display an icon in the title bar of the source and target panes to provide the following information:

  • Red Shield File is read-only.
  • Blue Shield Compare It! is functioning in read-only mode.
  • Archive file The file was extracted from an archive file. See Zip File Support for more information.
  • Converted file The file was converted to text form by a converter.
  • Changes only Changes Only mode is active.
  • Unicode file This file includes true Unicode characters. See Unicode Support for more information.

In addition, one or more icons can be displayed at the right corner of the title bar to notify you that something have affected comparison itself:

  • Regular expressions were applied to the file;
  • Column range is used.

Tip: To edit the source or target file in another application, click and drag the title bar to that application.

Tip: You can click title bar with right mouse button to display popup menu with system file's Properties.

Virtual Lines

To keep the compared files synchronized, Compare It! uses the concept of virtual lines. These lines are not present in the file, they are only used so you can find differences faster. Virtual lines are shown as areas of cross-hatches, as shown below. If you don't like hatching, you can disable it by setting same text and background colors in Options/Colors.

Some examples of how virtual lines are used are:

  • Adding virtual lines in the source file to match lines added in the target file or the other way around, adding lines in the target file to match lines added in the source file.
  • Virtual lines are automatically added while you are editing a file. For example, as soon as you add one line in the source file (marked by a pencil icon), a virtual line is inserted in the target file.

Color Usage

Compare It! uses different colors to visually identify different kinds of changes made. The standard implementation of Compare It! uses the following default colors: blue for changed lines, green for lines that exist only in the source file, and red for lines that exist only in the target file.

You can change these colors to suit your preferences.

MergeBar

The MergeBar in the source and target panes is used to mark changed lines, and in the target pane, it displays arrow icons that let you copy current differences between the source and target files. Note that you cannot use these arrows to copy single lines, unless the current difference is only one line.

  • Copy current difference from source to target Click this icon to copy the current difference from the source file to the target file
  • Copy current difference from target to source Click this icon to copy the current difference from the target file to the source file
  • Copy current difference from target to source This icon appears next to each line that was changed after you used one of the "copy" icons above.

    • while CTRL is pressed
  • Insert current difference from source after target Click this icon to insert current difference from the source file after changes section in the target file
  • Insert current difference from target after source Click this icon to insert current difference from the target file after changes section in the source file

    • while SHIFT is pressed
  • Insert current difference from source before target Click this icon to insert current difference from the source file before changes section in the target file
  • Insert current difference from target before source Click this icon to insert current difference from the target file before changes section in the source file

    • while CTRL + SHIFT is pressed
  • Delete current difference from source Click this icon to delete the current difference from the source file
  • Delete current difference from target Click this icon to delete the current difference from the target file

Status Bar

In addition to providing standard status information, the status bar allows you to switch edit modes for the source file or the target file, or both. Select or clear the appropriate check box in the status bar.

Note: Use these check boxes to protect the individual files from editing. If you want to switch the editing mode for the application, use the Edit Mode toolbar button.

Status bar will also provide you with color encoding legend, along with number of changes blocks of each type:
Note: You can temporary toggle displaying number of different lines instead by pressing CTRL. In this case numbers will be same as in Statistics.

There is also current Comparison profile indication in Status bar. To change profile, click it's pane with left or right mouse button and select new profile from popup menu

File Info pane

Info pane provides you additional information about each file: modification date, current cursor line and column, and file type. File type is combined from two indicators - CRLF style and text type.

CRLF style

Historically text files on different platforms are using different special characters to mark line ending in file - this is called CRLF style. Compare It! can handle all such endings (also when saving files), and you can see CRLF style of a file in info pane as follows:
  • WIN - Windows platform, CRLF sequence (characters #13#10);
  • UNIX - Unix platform, LF only (#10);
  • MAC - Macintosh platform, CR only (#13);
  • WN2 - this style should be unused as errorneous, however I have seen such encoding on Windows;
  • UKN - unknown style - used if file consist on single line.
Single file could, of course, include mix of different endings; especially if it has been edited on different platforms. In this case Compare It! will display first encountered ending style.

Text style

Second part of file type indicator is Text style, which could be one of these:
  • TXT - plain text file;
  • UNI - Unicode text, either big- or little-endian;
  • UTF - UTF8, special type of Unicode encoding.


Compare It! Application Window Illustration

The following image shows an example of the Compare It! application window.

Compare It! Application Window


Using Compare It!
  • Comparing Files
  • Merging Files
  • Editing Files
  • Setting Options
  • Printing and Generating Reports
  • Keyboard Shortcuts, Toolbar Buttons, Menu Commands


Comparing Files

Compare It! lets you use different methods to select files to compare:

  • Command line
    Simply pass 2 file names as parameters and Compare It! will open them.
    See also: File Name AutoComplete
  • If run without parameters, Compare It! allows you to select source and target files using the Open File dialog.
    You can also select files at any time by pressing CTRL + O.
  • Drop files into the Compare It! application window to compare them: one-by-one or both files at once.
  • Using the Select Files mode, accessible by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + O
  • You can choose a recently compared file pair by choosing File > Recent and selecting the file pair.

As soon as you have selected the files to compare, Compare It! will compare the files and show the results. Comparison should not last very long, unless your files are very large. As an example, a comparison of 2 registry exports of 5 MB each should not take more than 10 seconds.

Viewing Differences

After the compare process is complete, the two compared files appear in the source and target panes. The differences are highlighted in different colors.

See Keyboard Shortcuts and Toolbar Buttons for details about how to perform actions in Compare It! using keyboard shortcuts and toolbar buttons.


Merging Files

Edit Mode

Compare It! can work in edit or read-only mode. To switch from edit to read-only mode, press F9 or use the Edit Mode toolbar button.

Differences-Based Editing

While Compare It! has an internal editor, which is powerful enough to do most simple editing, you will rarely need it, because you can do differences-based editing. This type of editing will help you to copy blocks of changes from one file to another with a single mouse click or a key stroke.

To copy differences to the source or target pane:

  • Use the ALT + LEFT ARROW / ALT + RIGHT ARROW keys or toolbar buttons.
    -or-
    Select the Copy command from the popup menu.
    -or-
    Click the appropriate icon in the MergeBar.

To copy a single changed line:

  • Use the CTRL + ALT + LEFT ARROW / CTRL + ALT + RIGHT ARROW keys or toolbar buttons.

To add a changed block of lines to the second file:

  • To insert the block after the current section, hold down the CTRL key and click the appropriate icon in the MergeBar.
    -or-
    To insert the block before the current section, hold down the SHIFT key and click the appropriate icon in the MergeBar.

To copy a changed block of lines to the clipboard:

  • Right-click or press SHIFT + F10 to display the context menu, then click Copy Diff.

Replacing Files

Sometimes, after viewing changes you may decide to keep just one file instead of merging them.

To replace the target (right) file:

  1. Select the target file by clicking in the target pane.
  2. Choose File > Replace right file.
    A confirmation dialog box appears. This dialog box provides you with the full path and file name information about the file you are about to overwrite.
  3. To replace the target file and close Compare It!, click Yes.
    -or-
    To replace the target file and leave Compare It! open, click No.
    -or-
    To cancel the replace operation, click Cancel.

To replace the source (left) file:

  1. Select the source file by clicking in the source pane.
  2. Choose File > Replace left file.
    A confirmation dialog box appears. This dialog box provides you with the full path and file name information about the file you are about to overwrite.
  3. To replace the source file and close Compare It!, click Yes.
    -or-
    To replace the source file and leave Compare It! open, click No.
    -or-
    To cancel the replace operation, click Cancel.

Rescanning Files

After you have made changes, you can rescan files to minimize confusing areas.

To rescan files:

  • Press F5.
    -or-
    Choose View > Rescan.
    -or-
    Click the Rescan button on the toolbar.


Editing Files

Internal Editor

Compare It!'s internal editor has most standard editing functions, so you will find it very easy to understand. To understand how Compare It! shows source and target file content in the panes, please review the Virtual Lines topic.

Syntax Coloring

To simplify working with source code files, Compare It! supports syntax highlighting. Currently only C++, C#, Java, Delphi and HTML languages are supported internally. To extend this list, you can use custom syntax files. To disable syntax highlighting, choose Options > Enable Syntax, or press F11.

Word Wrapping

You can switch word wrapping mode by choosing View > Wordwrap, or by pressing CTRL + W.

View Whitespaces

In order to see changes in whitespaces, such as blanks and tabs, you can enable display of these characters. Choose View > View whitespaces to switch to this mode.

Bookmark icon Bookmarks

You can use bookmarks to store the current cursor position to return to that position later on. Bookmarks are shown in the user interface as blue rectangles, shown above.

To set a bookmark:

  1. Position your cursor in the line where you want to add the bookmark.
  2. Press CTRL + F2.

To remove a bookmark:

  1. Position your cursor in the bookmarked line.
  2. Press CTRL + F2.

To jump to the next bookmark:

  • Press F2.

Search

Use CTRL + F3 to search for the word at the current cursor position, F3 to search for the next occurrence and SHIFT + F3 to find the previous occurrence. You can also press CTRL + F to change search options, such as specifying of word limits and case-sensitivity during search.

Replace

Compare It! also supports a replace function. Use CTRL + R to open the Replace dialog.

Regular expressions

You can use regular expressions in both Search and Replace functions.

Clipboard

The editor fully supports all clipboard operations, so you can use the standard key combinations to copy, paste, and cut text fragments.


Setting Options
  • General
  • File Filters
  • Comparison
  • Editor
  • Colors
  • Language
  • Keyboard
  • Converters
  • Viewers


Options Dialog Box: General

Options Dialog Box: General Options: File Filters

To set general options:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click General.
  3. To specify method of files selection right after program start, choose appropriate option in On Start list.
  4. To change number of context lines for Changes Only mode, use appropriate edit box.
  5. To enable auto backup support, select the Use backup folder check box, use the browse button to select a folder, and define how long (in days) you want to keep the backup files.
  6. You can also change options for MS Word files processing.
  7. You may also toggle usage of balloon-like messages for "Files are same" notification. You may find this kind of messaging very useful, since it does not require any additional keystrokes for closing.

Note: The "Use ESC to exit" and "Use ALT+Arrows for navigation" options (available in earlier versions) are no longer valid. You can now customize all keyboard shortcuts.

© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Options: File Filters


Options Dialog Box: File Filters

You can set custom filters for Compare It! to use when you access the Enhanced Open File dialog box.

To add a file filter:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click File Filters.
  3. Click the Add button.
  4. In the Name field, type a description for the file type.
    This is the description you will see in the Files of type drop-down list in the Enhanced Open File dialog box.
  5. In the Mask field, define one or more file masks.
    You can use a space, a comma, or a semicolon as a delimiter.
  6. By setting Use fixed font option you may force using alternative (fixed) font for this file type.
  7. From the Compare as drop-down list, select a comparison profile for these files.
  8. From the Syntax drop-down list, select a value.
    -or-
    To define a custom language, from the Syntax drop-down list, select Custom, and then use the browse button that appears next to the new field below Syntax to select a syntax file.

To delete a file filter:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click File Filters.
  3. Select the filter you want to delete and click the Delete button.

To move a file filter:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click File Filters.
  3. Select the filter you want to move and use the up and down arrow buttons to move the filter.


Options Dialog Box: Comparison

You use the Comparison page of the Options dialog box to set comparison options for files and lines in files.

After you set comparison options, you must rescan the files you are comparing, for the options to take effect.

Comparison profiles

Most file comparison options are grouped into Profiles, so you can quickly toggle them later. See details

To set file comparison options:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click Comparison.
  3. Select Profile you want to edit.
  4. Use the check boxes under Ignore blanks to define which blanks Compare It! should ignore during comparison:

    Select ... | To ignore blanks ...
    all | all spaces
    leading | at line start
    trailing | at line end
    not-word | between letter and not-letter
    multiple | change in number of spaces
  5. To ignore special escape characters, like Form Feed (0x0C), set the Ignore special characters option.
  6. To ignore added empty lines during comparison, select the Ignore inserted empty lines check box.
  7. To ignore wrapped lines, select the Ignore line wraps check box.
  8. To ignore case during comparison, select the Ignore case check box.
  9. If you define a value (N) in the Min string length to match field, the same lines of length below N will not break a block of changed lines.
    This can be useful for programmers, otherwise just set it 0.
  10. To specify line columns to compare (for example, ignore first 5 characters), select the Use columns range check box and enter a number in the field.
    See Defining Column Ranges for details.
  11. To toggle moved sections detection, use Find moved section check box.
    See Moved sections discussion for details.
  12. To automatically use partial matching engine in whole file, set Force partial matching check box.
    See Partial matching for an explanations.
  13. To ignore comments in programming languages files - set Ignore comments check box.
  14. To force Separate mode for all changes, set Never align mismatches check box.
  15. If you want to use regular expressions to ignore parts of lines in files, select the RegExps page.
    Use this page to add and remove regular expressions. Please note that RegExps list is shared between all Profiles.

See Also:

Comparison Profiles
Regular expressions


Options Dialog Box: Comparison

Options Dialog Box: Advanced Comparison options

This page lets you edit options common to all Profiles, including line comparison settings.

Common file comparison options:

  1. To toggle moved sections detection, use Find moved section check box.
    See Moved sections discussion for details.
  2. To automatically use partial matching engine in whole file, set Force partial matching check box.
    See Partial matching for an explanations.
  3. Set Remember last profile option to force using same profile, which was used in previous program session.

Line Comparison

Exact comparison can be more confusing than useful. Here is an example:

This is sample string
And here is another one

These lines are completely different, but the comparison shows you some of the same symbols. The Min chars to match and Min % of line to match options help to avoid visual noise caused by matching characters being highlighted, even though the complete lines are very different.

To set line comparison options:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, select Lines Comparison page.
  3. To automatically use line comparison, select the Use line comparison check box.
  4. Min chars to match option tells the program to ignore any matching substrings, if they are shorter than the specified length.
  5. Min % of line to match option turns off inline highlighting unless the sum of all matching substrings is more than the specified percent of the line.
    In the example above, the sample lines have lengths of (21 + 23) = 44 symbols, and the total length of matched fragments is (5 * 2) = 10, and there is only about 23% match.
  6. With Use adaptive comparison checkbox you can toggle usage of Adaptive line comparison algorithm.


Options Dialog Box: Editor

To set options for the editor:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click Editor.
  3. To set the tab size for the editor, enter a number in the Tab size field.
  4. Use the check boxes to other editor options using the information below:

    Select ... | To ...
    Kill blanks on line end | Remove trailing spaces when a file is loaded.
    Virtual spaces in editor | Use the "virtual spaces" feature that allows you to move the cursor after the line end.
    Save spaces, no tabs | Replace tab characters with spaces when file is saved.
    Pad with spaces | Use spaces to pad line when new character is inserted after the last one. Without this option padding is done with tabs/spaces combination.
    Cycled search | Perform continuous searches in a files. When you perform a search, the search engine will continue cycling through a file to find occurences of the search term. The status bar informs you when the end of file was passed during a search.
    Mark out current line | Mark current line with rectangular frame to simplify visual identification.
    Scroll left pane horizontally... | Mouse wheel in left pane will scroll both files horizontally.
    Edit Mode state You can specify Edit Mode state after start:
    - Always start in Edit Mode;
    - Always start in Read Only Mode;
    - Save Edit Mode state: restore Edit Mode as it was during your last Compare It! usage.
    Do not edit read-only files | You will not be able to edit file with read-only attribute.
    Show change marks | Display small arrow on right edge of line, if there are some inline changes beyond visible width. Clicking on this mark will bring you to next change.
    Support Drag and Drop | Enable drag'n'drop editing.
    Use Selection Margin | Toggle Selection Margin - left-most free space on each pane, used for quick text selection with mouse.
  5. Under Font, click the font button (which shows the current font in use) to define the default font for the editor.
  6. Fixed Font option lets you choose alternative font.

To set alternative font for printing:

In order to print more on one page, or to make printout more readable, you can choose another font for printing. Select File > Print Options menu item, page Font.

Using font decoration to highlight differences.

Compare It! allows you to set bold/italic/striked font attributes for in-line changes highlighting, as well as for other special file sections. Check Colors options page for these settings.


Options Dialog Box: Colors

You can define text and background colors for different types of information shown in Compare It! You can also set various font attributes for better visual identification of changes.

To set color options and font attributes:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click Colors.
  3. In the Item list, select the type of information for which you want to define a color setting.
  4. Use the Text and Backgrounds drop-down lists to select colors.
    The text box above the Text drop-down list shows you an example of the text and background as you make your changes.
  5. Select desired font attributes, you can choose from bold, italic, striked, underlined.
  6. Repeat steps 3 - 5 for each item.

You can also set color for Moved blocks connection lines.

Note: Click the Defaults button to reset all definition to the standard color palette settings.

Note: Using bold/italic font attributes may not work correctly on some fonts.

Tip: If you don't like cross-hatches, used to visually identify virtual lines, you can set same color for text and background of virtual lines.


Options Dialog Box: Language

Use this page of the Options dialog box to select the interface language for Compare It!

Each language is stored in a single file, usually named language.dic.

Additional languages are available from our web site. After downloading a language package, unpack the desired language file to the folder where Compare It! is located. A language file should have a .dic extension, then it will appear in the Available list in the Options dialog box.

To set language options:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click Languages.
  3. In the Available list, select the language.
  4. Click the OK button.
  5. Restart Compare It!

Note: Be the first to create a translation for your native language and receive a free license!


Options Dialog Box: Keyboard

You can modify all keyboard shortcuts used in Compare It! to suit your preferences.

To customize keyboard shortcuts:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click Keyboard.
  3. In the Commands list, select the command.
    The current key combination is shown in the Current keys list.
  4. Click in the New shortcut key field and press the single key or key combination you want to assign to the command.
    If the new keyboard shortcut is already assigned to another command, Compare It! shows this under Currently assigned to as soon as you press the single key or key combination.
  5. Click the Assign button to assign the keyboard shortcut to the command.

To remove a keyboard shortcut:

  1. In the Commands list, select the command.
  2. In the Current keys list, select the keyboard shortcut.
  3. Click the Remove button.

To reset default keyboard shortcuts:

  • Click the Reset All button.


Options Dialog Box: Converters

What is a Converter?

Sometimes you may need to compare non-text data files. If you try to do this with Compare It!, you will not get a reasonable comparison picture. However, in many cases such files can be presented as plain text files.
For example, database files can be viewed as list of columnar data, text from a word processing document can be extracted with minimal formatting and so on.

Programs that can do such conversions (from non-text data to text form) are called Converters. If you have such a program, the obvious solution will be to convert your files to text before using Compare It! for the comparison. However, repeating this step manually for many files is time-consuming and tedious work.

Another example where a converter program can be useful is the preprocessing of text files. Consider the comparison of XML files with similar content but different source formatting. A converter could apply some standard XML formatting to make file comparison much easier.

How Can Compare It! Help You?

You can tell Compare It! to automatically preprocess files of a certain type with the specified converter program. Any program that can do format conversion without any user interaction can be used for automatic preprocessing with Compare It!

Built-in converters

Compare It comes with set of ready-to-use built-in converters; you can always disable some of them, if you do not need it, or modify their files mask. For detailed description of built-in converters read this

To define a Converter:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click Converters.
  3. Click the Add button.
  4. In the Name field, enter an optional name for the converter.
  5. Use the Mask field to specify which types of files this Converter will preprocess.
  6. In the Command field, use the browse button to select the Converter program.
  7. Use the Arguments field to specify parameters for the Converter.
    Placeholders {$Source_File} and {$Converted_File} will be replaced by the appropriate file names with full path.

Note : You cannot edit converted files in Compare It!, since saving a file in text form will destroy the original file. If a file was converted, Compare It! shows a "converter applied" icon Converter applied in the title bar of the source or target pane.

Controlling Converters usage

Each converter can be in one of three states:

  • Active: Converter will be automatically applied for specified files. If autodetect option is available and set, it will be also applied for files with unknown extension, if format matches. Converter can also be selected manually
  • Disabled : Converter will never be used for specified files. It can only be selected manually from menu
  • Hidden : Converter is not applied automatically, and it's removed from menu, so you can not select it manually. Main purpose for this mode is to hide unused built-in converters.

Where to find Converters?

First place to look for converters is our site. We already have several converters ready:

  • LineSorter - to sort lines before comparison;
  • Dfm2Text - converts Delphi/Builder form files;
  • Bin2Hex - converts binary files (*.exe, *.dll) to readable hex dump. Useful to compare binary files of same size;
  • Ini Sorter - helps you to compare ini files by sorting keys and sections, while keeping structure and comments;

Next step in your quest for converter will be search in major search engine. Suggest you are looking for converter from dbf database format to text. Try searching for dbftotxt, dbftotext, dbf2txt, dbf2text. For wide spread formats there is a good chance that such tool already exist.

Finally you can contact us and ask for converter development. We will research possibilities of your format conversion and will try to do this for reasonable price.


Alternative Viewers

Using Alternative viewers

Unlike converters, which extract text from various formats and pass it to the text comparison engine, viewers can handle non-text files directly. Appropriate viewer can compare and display such files according to it's contents.

Currently only 2 additional built-in viewers are available - binary and image comparison. In future more viewers will be released, custom API for independent viewers development is also planned for future.

How to enable or disable viewer

You can toggle usage of a specific viewer by toggling appropriate checkbox in Options > Viewers page.

How to invoke viewer automatically for certain file types

When you specify file mask in viewer configuration, Compare It will try to automatically load these files to selected viewer. Note that you can choose one of preset file filters, so you can edit it in single place later.

Additionaly, you can set Autodetect file type option to try identifying file type by contents.

See Also

Binary viewer
Images viewer


Printing and Generating Reports
  • Setting Print Options : General
  • Setting Print Options : Margins
  • Setting Print Options : Font
  • Generating Comparison Reports
  • Viewing Comparison Statistics


Setting Print Options

You use the Print options dialog box to define Compare It!-specific settings for your reports.

To set print options:

  1. Choose File > Print options, page General.
  2. Use the check boxes to define your settings using the information below:

    Select ... | To ...
    Use Colors | To print your report in color. If you are printing in black and white, inline changes are shown in bold font.
    Word wrap | Enable word wrapping for printing.
    Print line numbers | Print line numbers on the left side. If you use this option, we recommend that you also use Print changes only option.
    Landscape | Print in wide (landscape) mode.
    Statistics | Include the following information in your report: total number of lines changed, added, or deleted.
    Print changes only | Print only different lines along with several context lines. You can also use the context lines field to specify the desired quantity of context lines to print.
  3. Click OK.


Print Options: Margins

Setting Print Options: Margins

On this page you can change margins used for printing.
Note that actual margins on printed page could be larger than specified, depending on your printer settings.

To set margin options:

  1. Choose File > Print options, page Margins.
  2. Select your usual units of measurements: centimetres or inches
  3. Set desired values for left/right/top/bottom margins. Page picture will help you to see how these margins will look like.
    or
    You can quickly select one of three preset margins by clicking on appropriate button:
    Press ... | To ...
    None | Set all margins to 0
    Small | Set all margins to 0.5 cm (0.2 inches)
    Gutter | Set top, bottom and right margins to 0.5 cm (0.2 inches), and left margin to 2.5 cm (1 inch)


Print Options: Advanced

Setting Print Options: Advanced

In order to print more on one page, or to make printout more readable, you can choose an alternative font for printing. You can also disable printing of Header (with date) and Footer (with page number) to free some space for data

To select font for printing:

  1. Choose File > Print options, page Advanced.
  2. Use Set another font for printing checkbox to enable this feature; then click the font button (which shows the current font in use) to change the font used for printing.

To disable printing of Header/Footer:

  1. Choose File > Print options, page Advanced.
  2. Use Header and Footer checkboxes to control this page elements.


Generating Comparison Reports

To store, publish, or distribute comparison results, you must generate a report. Compare It! supports several report formats:

  • The HTML report provides you with a visual representation of the comparison, similar to the original two-panes view. To minimize file size same text is given in single column.
    This format includes in-line changes highlighting.
  • The HTML2 report is similar to HTML report, but same text is given in 2 columns, making output look identically with comparison panes.
  • The Unix diff - normal report is a text report, identical to the one produced by the UNIX diff utility, which is recognized as a standard for file comparison in the software development world.
    This report only includes changed lines with line numbers.
  • The Unix diff - unified report is also a text report, but it includes several context lines along with the changes.
  • The Same report is a plain text file, which includes common part of compared files.
  • The Merged report can be customized to include same and/or changes blocks of both files in any order. With this report you can save, for example, all changes from source files, or make merged file with changes from both sides, etc. Details
  • The Composite report repeats the structure of Windiff's comparison report: both files are merged together, changes sections are prefixed with special marks.

You use the Comparison report dialog box to define settings and generate reports.

To generate a report:

  1. Choose File > Report.
  2. In the Comparison report dialog box, define your report settings using the information below.
    Note: Depending on the type of report you select, some of the settings may not be available.

    Field | Description
    Select report file (F2) | Specify the result file here.
    Report format | Lets you select the format for the report.
    Include navigation | An HTML report can include navigation items in text, to allow jumping from one difference to another. Select this check box to include navigation elements in the report.
    Print line numbers | Select to print line numbers on the left side of the report. This option is strongly recommended to use with the next one.
    Statistics | Include information about total number of lines changed, added or deleted.
    Print changes only | Allows you to print only different lines along with several context lines. You can use the context lines field to specify the number of context lines to print.
    Use external CSS file | HTML Reports will use external CSS formatting file.
    Open after generation | Select this check box to open the report after Compare It! has generated it.
  3. Click Generate!

Generating report in batch mode

You can also generate comparison report without opening Compare It! window. All report options can be specified using command line switches, as well as report file to generate. See Command Line help for details.

Generating multiple report files

Compare It! supports file lists, so you can generate multiple reports with single program call. Details.

Generating PDF report

While Compare It! does not support pdf reports directly, you can still generate side-by-side pdf output by using additional tools. We have tested several such utilities and got best-looking resulting pdf files with these programs:

  • PDF Creator, http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator - freeware, opensource.
  • PDF Factory, http://www.fineprint.com/products/pdffactory - shareware, 50$

Both applications add virtual printer, you should just print to this printer to create pdf file. File name can be selected after printing is done. First is free, but second is far more easy to use.


Viewing Comparison Statistics

If you need numerical statistics on differences found, Compare It! will count the total number of added, deleted, and changed lines. You can then include these statistics in the printed version and add them to the HTML report.

You can also review statistics without generating a report.

To view statistics:

  • Choose File > Statistics.
    The Comparison statistics dialog box appears.

The statistic information is highlighted so you can click the Copy button to copy the information to the clipboard.


Keyboard Shortcuts, Toolbar Buttons, Menu Commands

This topic lists the main (default) keyboard shortcuts you can use in Compare It! In addition, it shows the equivalent toolbar button and menu command you can use to perform the same action.

Note: You can adjust these keyboard shortcuts to suit your preferences. See Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts for instructions.

Note: At any time you can check the full list of current shortcuts under Help > Keyboard menu

The order of the table below matches the order of the buttons on the toolbar. See other shortcuts for keyboard shortcuts and menu options that do not have an equivalent toolbar button.

Button | Description | Shortcut | Menu Command
Compare files | Open the Enhanced Open File dialog box to select files to compare. | CTRL + O | File > Compare files
Select files | Open the Select files dialog box to select files to compare. | CTRL + SHIFT + O | File > Select files
Save all | Save all your changes in both files. | CTRL + S | File > Save all
Print | Print report. | CTRL + P | File > Print
Print preview | Preview your report in a preview window from where you can then print the report. |  | File > Print preview
Switch edit mode | Switch between edit and read-only modes for the source and target files. | F9 | Edit > Edit mode
Undo | Undo your last action. | CTRL + Z | Edit > Undo
Find combo box | Go to the Find combo box. | CTRL + D |
Find next | Find next. | F3 | Edit > Find, then click Find next button
Previous difference | Move to the previous difference. | F7 or ALT + UP ARROW | View > Prev Diff
Next difference | Move to the next difference. | F8 or ALT + DOWN ARROW | View > Next Diff
Difference to destination | Copy difference to destination. | ALT + RIGHT ARROW | Merge > Copy >>
Line to destination | Copy line to destination. | CTRL + ALT + RIGHT ARROW | Merge > Line to Dest
Move to next difference after edit | Toggle on to move to the next difference after an edit operation. |  | Options > Move next
Line to source | Copy line to source. | CTRL + ALT + LEFT ARROW | Merge > Line to Src
Difference to source | Copy difference to source. | ALT + LEFT ARROW | Merge > Copy <<
Rescan files | Rescan files. | F5 | View > Rescan
Options | Set options. |  | Options > Options
Help | Access context help | F1 | Help > Help

You can customize default toolbar by choosing Options > Toolbar... menu item.

Several additional buttons can be placed on toolbar:

Button | Description | Shortcut | Menu Command
Paste | Paste text from clipboard into editor pane. | CTRL + V | Edit > Paste
Copy | Copy selected text to clipboard. | CTRL + C | Edit > Copy
Copy Diff | Copy current changes block to clipboard. |  | Edit > Copy Diff
Cut | Delete current selection and place it to clipboard. | CTRL + X | Edit > Cut
Show line number | Toggle line numbers display. |  | View > Line numbers
Horizontal view | Toggle horizontal layout. | CTRL + H | View > Horizontal view
Switch sides | Switch left and right panes. | CTRL + I | View > Switch sides
Changes only | Toggle Changes Only mode. |  | View > Changes only
Regular expressions usage | Toggle Regular expressions usage. |  | Options > Options > Comparison
Regular expressions... | Choose Regular expressions to use. |  |
WWW | Visit Compare It! homepage. |  | Help > Home page

Other Shortcuts

Description | Shortcut | Menu Command
Move to the next bookmark. | F2 | Edit > Next bookmark
Switch active panel | F6 or TAB |
Activate menu | F10 |
Exit Compare It! | ALT + F4 or ESC | File > Exit
Find the next change in the same line | ALT + F8 | View > Next line change
Find the previous change in the same line | ALT + F7 | View > Prev line change
Switch bookmark | CTRL + F2 | Edit > Switch bookmark
Find the word under cursor or selection | CTRL + F3 |
Find previous | SHIFT + F3 |
Display context menu | SHIFT + F10 or right-click |
Enable/Disable syntax highlighting | F11 | Options > Enable Syntax
Switch Ignore's usage | CTRL + F11 | Options > Ignore Nothing
Insert TAB character in editor | CTRL + TAB |
Open Search for dialog box | CTRL + F | Edit > Find
Go to line number | CTRL + G | View > Go to line
Switch horizontal/vertical layout | CTRL + H | View > Horizontal View
Swap files in source and target panes | CTRL + I | View > Switch Sides
Toggle IgnoreDiff mark | CTRL + K | Merge > Ignore Diff
Toggle ManualMatch anchor | CTRL + M | Marge > Manual Match
Open Replace dialog | CTRL + R | Edit > Replace
Increase font size | CTRL + Gray+ |
Decrease font size | CTRL + Gray- |
Reset font size | CTRL + * |


Advanced Functions
  • Adding Shortcuts to External Applications
  • Adaptive comparison
  • Auto Backup
  • Command Line Usage
  • Configuration File
  • Changes Only Mode
  • Custom Syntax Files
  • Defining Column Ranges
  • File lists support
  • Ignore difference
  • Manual Matching
  • Moved Sections
  • Result File Support
  • Unicode Support
  • Using Compare It! with File Manager
  • Using Regular Expressions
  • Using RegExp substrings
  • Word files support
  • Zip File Support
  • Enhanced Open File Dialog Box


Adding Shortcuts to External Applications

You can use the Customize command on the Tools menu to add a shortcut to one or more external applications.

To add a shortcut to another application:

  1. Choose Tools > Customize.
    The Customize it! dialog box appears.
  2. In the Tools box, click Add Tool.
  3. In the Name field, type the name of the application, as you want to see it in the Tools menu.
  4. In the Command field, use the browse button to select the executable for the application.
  5. Use the Parameters field and selection button to define startup parameters for the application.
  6. Click the Close button.
    The shortcut to the application now appears as a menu item in the Tools menu.

To remove a shortcut to another application:

  1. Choose Tools > Customize.
    The Customize it! dialog box appears.
  2. In the Tools box, select the shortcut you want to remove and click Remove Tool.
  3. At the confirmation dialog box, click the Yes button.
  4. Click the Close button.
    The shortcut is removed from the Tools menu.

How to open compared file with associated application

There is one preset tool, available when some files are opened. By invoking Tools > Open command you can start associated with current file application (like MS Word for .doc files).


Adaptive line comparison

What is Adaptive Line Comparison?

This is new line comparison algorithm, designed to simplify reading of changed lines. We call it "adaptive", since it can sacrifice precision to make result more readable.

How could it help me?

Here are just few examples where you could see advantages of adaptive comparison:

  • Using word limits:
    Adaptive | Standard
    Field is NULL | Field is NULL
    Field is NOT NULL | Field is NOT NULL
  • Repeating sequences:
    Adaptive | Standard
    00001000 10101010 | 00001000 10101010
    00010000 10100110 | 00010000 10100110
  • Using syntax information (C++ in this case):
    Adaptive | Standard
    MyFunc(A[1]); | MyFunc(A[1]);
    MyFunc(A[2], A[1]); | MyFunc(A[2], A[1]);

OK, so why is it optional?

Unfortunately, adaptive comparison does not suit all users - during beta-testing we have found that some people like its results, while others don't. In most cases standard comparison is better for plain text; on other hand programmers/web developers find adaptive algorithm very useful for source code comparison. So we decided to make this feature optional, so more people could test it.

We hope your feedback will help us to find best application for adaptive comparison, which should become smarter in future. If you have any thoughts about it, do you like it or not, let us know your opinion!

How do I toggle it?

You can switch adaptive comparison ON and OFF in Comparison options page.


Auto Backup

What is Backup folder?

Compare It! supports automatic backup creation in specified folder.

Once you activate this feature and select a backup folder to use, Compare It! will copy each file to this folder before overwriting it. Since you will probably save the same file multiple times, it will be assigned new name each time, using the following rule:

filename.ext.YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.N.ext

where

  • filename.ext is the original file name
  • YYYY-MM-DD is the current date
  • HH:MM:SS is the current time
  • N will be 1 or 2, depending whether the file was in the source or target pane in Compare It!

New: Note additional extension, added at the end of backup file name. In older versions file name ended with pane number (1 or 2). Added extension allows syntax highlighting to be used, as well as sorting by file type in file manager.

To prevent storing too many unused backup files, Compare It! will automatically delete files which are older than the number of days you specified in the General page of the Options dialog box.

Using relative path for backup

Instead of using single backup folder for all files, you may want to create backup subfolders in each folder, where your files are located. To do this, simply specify name of folder without path, like "Backup", instead of "C:\Backup".


Automatch rule

How to use automatch rule

This feature will be useful if you need to align lines which are not same, but have some common key value. If you have used ManualMatch command before, you will easily understand it - Automatch does the same, but (guess what?) automatically.

How to use Automatch?

  • Open Options > Comparison page. Select RegExp Editor.
  • Specify an ordinary RegExp rule to extract key substring
  • Make sure to specify AutoMatch rule in actions list
  • Compare It! will now apply newly created rule for all (or specified) file types.

How does it work?

Of course, you will hardly need this feature if you work with regular text files. AutoMatch can be invaluable for users working with log files of all kinds.

Consider these sample log files, each including 2 fields - key and value. Direct comparison with Compare It! does not give us a lot of information:

1 | BET31504 18777363 | 1 | BET31504 18777363
2 | BET31505 2202243 | 2 | BET31604 20408402
3 | BET31512 20442342 | 3 | BET31605 239734098
4 | BET31590 1025225 | 4 | BET31655 234603354
5 | BET31604 10301323 | 5 | BET32112 2003351
6 | BET31605 14074122 | 6 | BET35004 26933456
7 | BET31637 22712412 | 7 | BET40104 23113562
8 | BET31690 10255672 | 8 | BET41204 2463335471
9 | BET32004 5266356 | 9 | BET60505 30461244
10 | BET32037 40672534 |  |
11 | BET32112 199323523 |  |
12 | BET32547 4562235 |  |
13 | BET60505 304623523 |  |

Let's press F4 to invoke Partial Matching, now result is a bit better, but still the problem is obvious - application does not know anything about text structure, so it simply tries to match longer text. In some cases this would be enough (check lines #6, #13 in left file):

1 | BET31504 18777363 | 1 | BET31504 18777363
2 | BET31505 2202243 |  |
3 | BET31512 20442342 | 2 | BET31604 20408402
4 | BET31590 1025225 |  |
5 | BET31604 10301323 |  |
6 | BET31605 14074122 | 3 | BET31605 239734098
7 | BET31637 22712412 | 4 | BET31655 234603354
8 | BET31690 10255672 | 5 | BET32112 2003351
9 | BET32004 5266356 | 6 | BET35004 26933456
10 | BET32037 40672534 | 7 | BET40104 23113562
11 | BET32112 199323523 | 8 | BET41204 2463335471
12 | BET32547 4562235 |  |
13 | BET60505 304623523 | 9 | BET60505 30461244

So, let's tell Compare It! what is important for us in these files. We create a regExp with R1=^\w*, which matches first word of each line. Set action to AutoMatch rule, and see what we have after rescan:

1 | BET31504 18777363 | 1 | BET31504 18777363
2 | BET31505 2202243 |  |
3 | BET31512 20442342 |  |
4 | BET31590 1025225 |  |
5 | BET31604 10301323 | 2 | BET31604 20408402
6 | BET31605 14074122 | 3 | BET31605 239734098
7 | BET31637 22712412 | 4 | BET31655 234603354
8 | BET31690 10255672 |  |
9 | BET32004 5266356 |  |
10 | BET32037 40672534 |  |
11 | BET32112 199323523 | 5 | BET32112 2003351
12 | BET32547 4562235 | 6 | BET35004 26933456
 |  | 7 | BET40104 23113562
 |  | 8 | BET41204 2463335471
13 | BET60505 304623523 | 9 | BET60505 30461244

Using Automatch with "Never align" option

Situation when Automatch rule is used along with "Never align mismatches" option, is handled in special way - only rule-matched lines are aligned to each other, all other differences are separated.


Command Line Usage

This topic shows examples of how you can use Compare It! in a command line.

Syntax

wincmp3.exe [ first_file second_file [result_file] /i=UserName] [options]

Where:

  • first_file and second_file are the files to compare
  • result_file is the name of the result file
  • /i=UserName is the user name for a multiuser configuration
  • options are explained below:

    Option | Description
    /=Alias Allows you to change the visible file name.
    Example: wincmp3.exe file1.txt /=Old file2.txt /=New
    /1 Use single instance.
    If specified, Compare It! will find an already running instance of itself and pass the new parameters to that instance, instead of opening an additional window.
    /G | Generate report and exit
    /H | Force horizontal split mode
    /L | Use file lists for printing or reports. See details.
    /M | Folders comparison. See details.
    /N | Show line numbers
    /P | Print file and exit
    /R | Read only mode, edit mode will be disabled. You can also use /R1 or /R2 syntax to make just one file readonly (left and right one accordingly)
    /min | Start application minimized. When used with reports generation, keeps Compare It! completely hidden.
    /changes | Start in "Changes only" mode
    /xls, /doc | Select office converter
    /cmp:ProfileName | Select comparison profile

Additional Printing and Report Generation Options

Several additional options are available for both printing and report generation. These options can be specified as follows: /P:N2

The following printing/reporting options are available:

    Option | Description
C | Use colors (print only)
E | delete report file, if files are identical
I | Include navigation (HTML report only)
L | Wide mode (print only)
N | Include line numbers
S | Include statistics
W | Word wrapping (print only)
X | Use eXternal CSS file for HTML reports
A | Generate text report in Same format
B | Generate Composite report
H | Generate text report in HTML2 format
M | Generate text report in Merged format
T | Generate text report in Unix diff format
U | Generate text report in Unix diff Unified format

The number at the end of the command means "print changes only" with the specified number of context lines.

To select a report file, you must specify it after the /G option, as shown in the following example.

wincmp3.exe file1.dat file2.dat /G:SN3 c:\report.htm

This command will generate a comparison report to c:\report.htm, including statistics and line numbers, and only 3 context lines around the differences blocks.

Selecting printer to use

When printing with command line, you can also choose which printer to use. To specify printer name, place it just after /P command:

wincmp3.exe file1.dat file2.dat /P:CN3 "My Printer Name"

See also:
Merged report


Configuration File

Configuration File Changes only mode

Compare it! stores all its settings in a single configuration file. This means that it does not make any changes to your system. The configuration file is called wincmp3.ini and is stored in the same folder as the application executable, wincmp3.exe.

Multiuser Configuration

To work with Compare It! in a multiuser environment, you must pass the user name in the command line as follows: /i=UserName.

Compare It! will create and use a new configuration file called UserName.ini. To verify the current configuration file name, hold down the CTRL key and open the Options dialog box.

Note for users of older versions

Versions prior to version 2.0 used a configuration file located in the Windows folder. You can move this file to your Compare It! folder, so that you can easily take Compare It! with you with all your settings.

Using registry to store settings

While keeping settings in configuration file is a good choice for personal usage, corporate environment may require to keep all settings in registry, to allow true multiuser cooperation. Another problem with configuration file can be write access limitations in office systems.

To switch on registry usage, place wincmp3.reg file with any content to the same folder where Compare It! is installed.


Changes Only Mode

The Changes Only mode provides you with a view of all the differences found between files, without having to move between changes. In this mode, all identical lines are hidden, except for several context lines. Default number of context lines is set to 5, you can modify this in options. This approach minimizes the quantity of data you must look through to review changes.

Compare It! shows this icon [image] in the pane title area when the Changes Only mode is active.

You can get the same result in reports and printouts by using the Print changes only option.

To toggle Changes Only mode:

  • Choose View > Changes Only.

Editing in Changes Only mode

Due to nature of Changes only mode, there are some limitations on file editing. In this mode you can only do block/line merging operations, such as Diff/Line to source etc; you can also use Merge Bar for merging. Standard editing is not allowed to avoid conflicts with normal mode.


Custom Syntax Files

Custom Syntax Files Changes only mode

Compare It! can use syntax highlighting to simplify reading of comparison results for source code files. Syntaxes for C++, C#, Java, Delphi and HTML are supported internally, but you can add your own syntax files for other languages. The default extension for these files is chl. The format of the language files is compatible with files used by the ConTEXT editor.

To use a custom syntax file:

  1. Create a custom language definition file.
  2. Place the file (with a .chl extension) in a new "Syntax" folder.
  3. Follow the instructions in Options dialog box: File Filters to add the custom syntax file.

Custom Syntax File Format

A syntax file is a simple text file with key/value pairs, delimited with a colon (:). Here is a typical example:

Language:               CSharp
Filter:                 CSharp files (*.cs)|*.cs
CaseSensitive:          1
LineComment:            //
BlockCommentBeg:        /*
BlockCommentEnd:        */

This format is compatible with files used by the ConTEXT editor (freeware). If you need a syntax file for an additional language, be sure to check the their site, it already has a collection of dozens of languages.

Currently, only a limited set of keys is supported. This list will grow in the future:

  • CaseSensitive - whether keywords are case-sensitive (1/0)
  • LineComment - sequence to begin comment, which ends with line
  • BlockCommentBeg/BlockCommentEnd, BlockCommentBeg2/BlockCommentEnd2 - block comments
  • KeyWords1, KeyWords2, KeyWords3 - list of keywords, delimited with spaces, may continue on several lines:
    KeyWords1:              as new break switch finally case fixed throw
                        catch for try checked foreach typeof goto lock
  • StringBegChar - character to limit strings
  • CharSymbol - character to limit single character
  • UsePreprocessor - whether to use preprocessor (1/0)
  • IdentifierBegChars - which symbols can start identifier
  • IdentifierChars - which characters can be in identifier
  • EscapeChar - symbol for inserting other special symbols into text as is
© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Changes only mode


Defining Column Ranges

Defining Column Ranges File Open Dialog

Compare It! can work with specified columns of text lines.

Here are some simple examples:

1-5 | compare only first 5 characters
5-15 | compare only 10 characters starting from 5-th.
15+ | compare only the rest of the line starting from character 15 (ignore first 14 characters )

If necessary, you can use a more advanced approach. For example, defining a column range of 2-4,6,8+ will convert the string 1234567890 to 2346890 for comparison.

See Also

Options Dialog Box: Comparison

© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved File Open Dialog


Enhanced Open File Dialog Box

Compare It! has added several features to the standard Windows FileOpen dialog to enhance your productivity:

  • The title bar of the dialog box shows which file you are selecting: source ("Select first file") or target ("Select pair for ...").
  • The area above the drives drop-down list contains the following:
    • The current directory indicator, which shows you the full path to the current folder.
    • Button to select one of recently used directories, which is a list of the 10 most recently used source and target directories.
  • You can define your own file filters to use in the Files of type drop-down list.
    See Options Dialog Box: File Filters for details.
  • File list mode (details, icons, large icons) selection is sticky - you don't have to select your favorite mode each time.


File lists support

File lists support Enchanced File Open dialog

To quickly generate multiple files comparison reports or printouts, you can use Compare It! ability to work with file lists.

To use file lists:

You will need 2 text files, one with source file names, another one with target file names. This should be plain text file with full file pathes.

Example:

list1.txt | list2.txt
c:\My documents\file1.txt c:\My documents\file2.txt c:\Work\report.htm | d:\back\file1.txt d:\back\file2.txt d:\back\report.htm

Then you can invoke Compare It! with /L command line option. Since file lists support only works for printing and report generation, you have to use /P or /G switches with /L. See command line reference for details on these switches.

Example:

wincmp3.exe list1.txt list2.txt /L /P:CN3

This call will print comparison report for all file pairs in given lists.

How does Compare It! handle file pairs?

First file from list1 is compared with first file from list2 etc. If one of files does not exits, pair is skipped.

How does Compare It! handle multiple report files?

To generate report you will specify report file name with /G switch. This name will be modified for multiple reports by adding subsequent number before it's extension:

c:\reports\report.html
will turn to
c:\reports\report001.html
c:\reports\report002.html
c:\reports\report003.html
...
© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Enchanced File Open dialog


Folders comparison support

Folders comparison support File lists support

Compare It! can automatically generate comparison reports for multiple files in different folders.
For true visual folders comparison and synchronization see Synchronize It!

To compare files in folders:

Given two folders and files mask, Compare It! will print or generate comparison reports for all matched files in these folders. Files of same size and date are considered to be same and will be skipped. While printing, same files will not be printed either. To skip generation of same files reports, use /G:E option. To scan subfolders, use /R command line switch.

Examples:

wincmp3.exe c:\docs\ d:\backup\ /P:CN3 | Print colored reports for all different files in c:\docs and d:\backup folders.
wincmp3.exe c:\docs\ d:\backup\ /M "*.txt" /P:CN3 | Print colored reports for all different text files.

Repeating folders structure with reports

As alternative to multiple report files in single folder, Compare It! can repeat original folders structure, naming report files after the original file. This can be used to automatically merge multiple files, in case you have strict merging rule.
To enable this feature, specify name of existing folder as report file name.

Suggest, original folders are as follows:

c:\docs\general.txt | d:\backup\general.txt
c:\docs\january\report.txt | d:\backup\january\report.txt
c:\docs\february\report.txt | d:\backup\february\report.txt

Use Compare It! to generate multiple reports in c:\reports folder:

wincmp3.exe c:\docs\ d:\backup\ /G:CN3 c:\reports

As result, reports folder will include:

c:\reports\general.txt.htm
c:\reports\january\report.txt.htm
c:\reports\february\report.txt.htm

Note that all HTML report types add additional ".htm" extension to file names.

See also:
Command line support
Printing and report generation

© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved File lists support


Ignore Difference

If you work in Compare It! with single files pair for some time, you may want to hide already reviewed changes block, so you don't have to look at it over and over again. This is when you may need Ignore Difference feature.

Once selected difference is ignored (or hidden), it will be drawn as same text; Find Next/Prev Diff command would not stop on it; appropriate mark would also disappear from Overview bar. You can still identify such changes block by yellow margin.

Similarly to Manual Match anchors, Ignore Diff marks will survive rescan command, but will be lost once you close Compare It! or select another files to compare.

To set Ignore Diff mark:

Once current line is within changes block, choose Merge > Ignore Diff > Set Mark menu command, or press CTRL + K shortcut.

To remove Ignore Diff mark:

Once current line is within ignored changes block, choose Merge > Ignore Diff > Remove Mark menu command, or press CTRL + L shortcut.
You can also remove all such marks with single command: Merge > Ignore Diff > Remove All

To navigate through ignored blocks:

There are 3 special commands to help you navigate between ignored changes blocks, all under Merge > Ignore Diff menu:

  • Find first - go to the first ignored block within file;
  • Find next - go to the next ignored block, starting from current line;
  • Find prev - go to the previous ignored block.


Manual Matching

In rare cases, the comparison engine can do false line matching. This can happen if a file has multiple duplicate lines. To correct this problem, you can perform manual matching.

To manually match two lines:

  1. For each line, position the cursor in the line, right-click and choose Manual match > Set manual anchor.
    The anchor is shown in the user interface in a red box with a number, which allows you to use multiple anchors without problems.
  2. Repeat step 1 for each set of lines you want to match manually.
    Note: You can set up to 25 manual anchors.
  3. Choose View > Rescan to rescan the files.
    The lines with the same anchor number will be considered identical during the comparison.

Other commands available from the Manual match submenu:

Command | Description
Delete anchor | Deletes the anchor from the current line.
Show match | Find the pair anchor in the other file.
Next anchor | Find the next anchor in the same file.
Delete all anchors | Deletes all manual link anchors in both files.

See Also

Automatch rules


Using merged report

Merged report is a special report type, which can be used to combine parts of compared files in resulting text file. Sample usages include extraction of same part, automatic merging according to single rule, etc.

Structure of Merged report

Merged report is a plain text file, which includes specified portions of original files. When generating such report, Compare It! splits original files to following parts and sections according to comparison result:

Left File: | [same] | [diff] | [same] | -- | [same] | [left] | ...
Right File: | [same] | [diff] | [same] | [right] | [same] | -- | ...
 | [ sect. | 1 ] | [ sect. | 2 ] | [ sect. | 3 ] | ...

Combination of same and following changes blocks is refered as section. Note that first section of a file can consist of single changes block (in case file is beginning with changes); similarly, if file ends with same line, last section will include only one same block.

To configure Merged report, you specify which blocks and in which order to include in report for each section. Here is description of all blocks you can combine:
Same text [S] | Same section - block of text between two changes
Source diff [L] | Changes block from source(left) file
Target diff [R] | Changes block from target(right) file
Source only [A] | Block which only exist in source file
Target only [B] | Block which only exist in target file
Letter in brackets is used for command line, see below.

The report generation is simple: Compare It! scans compared files, and for each section copies selected lines to report file.

Using command line to generate Merged report

As all other report types, Merged report can be generated with command line, without user interaction. To make a report with already configured options, simply call
wincmp3.exe file1 file2 /G:M report_file .

But you can also specify configuration in command line by using shortcuts described in table:
wincmp3.exe file1 file2 /G:M+SLAB report_file .

Let's see what will make this call:

  1. Same lines are included in report (S);
  2. From 2 changes blocks, only left(source) part is copied (L), right block is discarded;
  3. When encountering source-only block, it is copied to report (A);
  4. Target-only block is also copied to report (B).

As result, report file is just source file, with "target-only" lines added.

See also:
Using command line


Moved Sections

Compare It! can optionaly show moved sections matching, similar to what well-known WinDiff does.

To enable/disable moved sections matching:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click Comparison.
  3. Use Find moved sections checkbox to enable or disable this feature.

Working with Moved Sections

Overview Bar displaying Moved Sections | When Moved section is found, you can see and identify it on overview bar, where blocks are connected with thin lines, so you could see where they are located.
Moved Sections in panes | When just one Moved section is visible on the screen, you will see it marked with dashed connection line segment. Direction of connection line points you to were matching block is located.
Moved Sections in panes | When both Moved section are visible at once, they are connected so you could see the match immediately. If caret line is within moved section, it will be connected with solid, not dashed line. This will also help you when more than one connection line is visible at the same time.

To quickly go to matching section:

Select Merge > Show Moved menu item,
or
choose Show Moved item from popup menu.

To change color of connection line:

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click Color.
  3. Use Moved section mark color combobox to select color you want to use.


Partial matching

This version of Compare It! includes experimental Partial matching engine. It can be used to visually align similar, but non-matching lines, simplifying differences review.

However such matching could take a long time, especially for large differences blocks, so it is automatically applied only for small (10 lines or less) sections. You can manually invoke partial matching analysis by pressing F4 key, or by choosing Merge > Partial matching menu item.

If you find this feature useful, you can set an option to automatically apply Partial matching to whole file in Options > Comparison. Note that enabling this feature can increase comparison time up to 30% on some files.

Ignoring line wraps

Another function, similar to partial matching, is an ability to ignore line wraps.

Sometimes for better handling of long lines you can manually wrap it to several lines in your new file version. Compare It! can ignore such changes, if you have selected appropriate option in Options > Comparison.


Comparison profiles

Comparison profile is a named set of comparison rules, such as blanks policy, RegExps usage, columns range etc. If you have several such profiles prepared and ready, you can quickly toggle comparison rules for single file, or automatically use different rules depending on file type.

All profiles management is done within Options dialog (menu Options > Options > Comparison).

How to create new profile?

To add a profile click Manage button, and choose Add command to create empty profile or Clone command to create new profile duplicating current profile's settings.

How to edit profile options?

Combobox at the top of Comparison options page includes list of existing profiles. Select profile you are interested in, and you will see it's settings. Tweak it as you need. You can edit settings on 2 pages - "Basic rules" and "RegExps". RegExps page title will help you to easily understand if RegExps are used in current profile.
Note: Regular Expressions list is shared between all profiles. You can only select which RegExps should be used by specific profile. So if you delete a RegExp from list in one profile, it will be completely deleted in all profiles. If you have deleted RegExp by mistake, simply use Cancel button to close Options dialog - this will reset all options.

You can also rename and delete profiles by selecteing appropriate commands from same menu.

Selecting working profile

There is number of way to select current profile during your work with Compare&nsbp;It!:

  • You can assign profile to specific File Filter so it will be used automatically for these files;
  • You can select profile with command line switch: so you can create shortcuts with specific rules on your desktop and drop files on it;
  • There is an option to store last used profile and automatically use it next time;
  • Current profile is shown in Status Bar - click it and choose new profile from menu;
  • Current profile combo can be included in toolbar too, you can do it in Options > Toolbar...;
  • Profile selection is also available in menu View > Compare as;
  • Finally, you can assign keys to quickly toggle profiles in Options > Options > Keybpoard.

Special profiles

There are few special profiles that you should be aware of:

  • Default profile always exists and is used for all unknown files. If you will not use Comparison profiles feature, you will work with this profile all the time.
  • Ignore Nothing profile is hidden - you can not delete or edit it. It's used to quickly turn off all comparison rules. By default this profile can be selected with Ctrl+F11 key.


Result File Support

Result file support was added to support some version control systems. Its name can be passed as a third parameter to enable the Save As Result command on the File menu. This command saves the file in the active panel as result file.


Separate mode

How to use Separate command

In some cases visual aligning different lines side-by-side is not desirable - if you don't need to compare different lines, inline highlighting will be overburden. This is where Separate mode can be used. In this mode different lines are not aligned - you will see "source-only" line + "target-only" line in place of "changed lines":

Before separate:
1 | same line | 1 | same line
2 | line 1 | 2 | line 2
3 | same line | 3 | same line

After separate:
1 | same line | 1 | same line
2 | line 1 |  |
 |  | 2 | line 2
3 | same line | 3 | same line

How to toggle Separate mode

If you need to separate all changes, you can set appropriate check box in Options > Comparison.

How to separate single changes block

You can also separate single changes block by selecting menu command Merge > Separate


Unicode Support

If you experience any problems with file names with national characters or in a national language, you should try the Unicode version of Compare It! Unicode is a special way of character encoding, it is used to display such languages as Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and some European languages.

Unicode is fully supported in Microsoft Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP and later versions. Therefore, Compare It! Unicode will work correctly only on these platforms.

You can download latest Unicode release from Grig Software at http://www.grigsoft.com.

The standard (non-Unicode) version of Compare It! supports "simplified" Unicode. It can only detect and convert Unicode text to "normal", plain text and save it back later. This should work fine if no real Unicode 2-byte characters were used. Note that even if these characters are encountered, Compare It! will load the text but refuse to save it to prevent data loss. If this occurs, a red icon Red icon, Unicode appears in the in title bar.

Is my version Unicode?

To see if your version is Unicode release, check Help > About information. Unicode version will have "Compare It! Unicode" as first line of About dialog.


Using Compare It! with File Manager

Using Compare It! with File Manager Using fixed font

File Name AutoComplete

Compare It! has a feature that simplifies its usage from file manager (FM). You can pass a directory name as the second parameter instead of passing the full name of the second file. This allows you to call Compare It! from file manager without having to find and select the target file in a long directory listing.

Syntax: wincmp3.exe d:\dir\dir2\dir3\file.ext e:\archive\month

Compare It! will try to find the second file in the next sequence:

e:\archive\month\file.ext
e:\archive\month\dir3\file.ext
e:\archive\month\dir2\dir3\file.ext
e:\archive\month\dir\dir2\dir3\file.ext

If file.ext is not found anywhere, Compare It! will let you know that it could not find the target file.

How Can I Use It?

You can get most of Compare It! and your file manager, if your file manager supports running external tools with parameters. In this case, you can define one command to compare files with the same file names, and another one to compare files using the AutoComplete feature. Moreover, Compare It! has two different icons you can use in your Compare It! for these commands. Here is an example of the configuration for Windows Commander:

Compare files with the same file name: %p%n %t

Compare files with different names: %p%n %t%m

where:

  • %p is the active panel path
  • %t is the passive panel path
  • %n is the current file name
  • %m is the file name in inactive file name.

Using Compare It! From Windows Explorer

If you are using Windows Explorer, you can create a shortcut to Compare It! in your SendTo catalog. Now you can select two files, right-click and choose Send To > Compare It! to compare the selected files using Compare It!
You can also select one file, right-click and choose Send To > Compare It! and Compare It! will ask you to select the second file.

Shortcuts in the SendTo folder are used to pass parameters to often-used applications directly from Windows Explorer. Depending on your Windows operating system, you can find this folder here:
Windows XP: .\Documents and Settings\Administrator\SendTo
Windows NT: .\WINNT\Profiles\Administrator\SendTo
Windows 95: .\Windows\SendTo

You can send files to Compare It! with SendTo command even one by one. Compare It! will understand such doubled call and compare files.

Using Compare It! with Total Commander

On our web site you will find detailed article on effective usage of Compare It! with TotalCommander: http://www.grigsoft.com/art_totcmd.htm

Using Compare It! with FAR

FAR manager can invoke external application from it's User's menu, available on F2 key. You can use this command line to configure comparison of selected files in active and passive panels: wincmp3.exe !.! !#!\!.!
© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Using fixed font


Using fixed/alternative font

Compare It! now let's you work with two different font types. You can quickly toggle font usage in editor, or automatically choose specific font depending on file type.

Recommended uses of two-fonts approach

  • Automatically using fixed font for tabular data (*.xls, *.csv), and proportional font for all others.
  • You can configure alternative font to be of smaller size, and quickly manually switch it, when you need to see more data at once.

What is "fixed" font anyway?

There are two big groups of fonts in Windows - fixed and proportional fonts. In a fixed font, such as Courier, every character occupies the same amount of horizontal space, like typewritten characters. In a proportional font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, character width varies. As result fixed fonts are clear and generally easier to read, they are also invaluable when viewing columns data. On other hand, proportional fonts are more compact and let you see more in given screen width.
Fixed font example:
String width depends only
on characters count, not on content.
123456
ABCDEF
UVWXYZ 		With proportional fonts
you can easily see the difference:

123456
ABCDEF
UVWXYZ

I already use fixed font. Why do I need the second one?

Probably you don't. We have added additional fixed font support to ensure all users can normally see differences in tabular data. But even if you current font is fixed (and default font is!), you can still get some value from it. Just make it smaller and quickly switch to alternative font when you need to see more.

To define main and alternative fonts

You can change both fonts in Editor's options in menu Options > Options > Editor.

To quickly toggle between fonts

You can switch which font to use by invoking menu command View > Use fixed font. Default shortcut is Ctrl + F12.

To associate fixed font with specific file types

In File filters you can now set an option to always use fixed font for chosen file types.


Using Regular Expressions

Using Regular Expressions Using fixed font Using RegExp substrings

Normally, when you search for a sub-string in a string, the match should be exact. So if you search for a sub-string "abc" then the string being searched should contain these exact letters in the same sequence for a match to be found.

We can extend this kind of search to a case-insensitive search, where the sub-string "abc" will find strings like "Abc", "ABC" and so on. That is, case is ignored but the sequence of the letters should be exactly the same. Sometimes, a case insensitive search is still not enough. For example, if we want to search for numeric digits, then we basically end up searching for each digit independently. This is where regular expressions come in to help.

Regular expressions are text patterns that are used for string matching. Regular expressions are strings that contain a mix of plain text and special characters to indicate what kind of matching to do. Here is a very brief tutorial on using regular expressions before we move on to the code for handling regular expressions.

Regular Expressions Syntax

Literals
All characters are literals except: ".", "*", "?", "+", "(", ")", "{", "}", "[", "]", "^" and "$". These characters are literals when preceded by a "\". A literal is a character that matches itself.

Wildcard
The dot character "." matches any single character.

Repeats
A repeat is an expression that is repeated an arbitrary number of times.
An expression followed by * can be repeated any number of times including zero.
An expression followed by + can be repeated any number of times, but at least once.
An expression followed by ? may be repeated zero or one times only.
When it is necessary to specify the minimum and maximum number of repeats explicitly, the bounds operator {} may be used, thus "a{2}" is the letter "a" repeated exactly twice, "a{2,4}" represents the letter "a" repeated between 2 and 4 times, and "a{2,}" represents the letter "a" repeated at least twice with no upper limit. Note that there must be no white-space inside the {}, and there is no upper limit on the values of the lower and upper bounds.

    Examples:
    "ba*" will match all of "b", "ba", "baaa" etc.
    "ba+" will match "ba" or "baaaa" for example but not "b".
    "ba?" will match "b" or "ba".
    "ba{2,4}" will match "baa", "baaa" and "baaaa".

Parenthesis
Parentheses () are used to group items together into a sub-expression. For example, the expression "(ab)*" would match all of the string "ababab".

Alternatives
Alternatives occur when the expression can match either one sub-expression or another, each alternative is separated by a "|". Each alternative is the largest possible previous sub-expression; this is the opposite behaviour from repetition operators.

    Examples:
    "a(b|c)" could match "ab" or "ac".
    "abc|def" could match "abc" or "def".

Sets
A set is a set of characters that can match any single character that is a member of the set. Sets are delimited by "[" and "]" and can contain literals, character ranges, and character classes. Set declarations that start with "^" contain the complement of the elements that follow.

    Examples:
    Character literals:
    "[abc]" will match either of "a", "b", or "c".
    "[^abc]" will match any character other than "a", "b", or "c".

    Character ranges:
    "[a-z]" will match any character in the range "a" to "z".
    "[^A-Z]" will match any character other than those in the range "A" to "Z".

Character classes
A character class is a special sequence to simplify common-used character types. Available classes are:

Class | Description | Equivalent
\w | Any word character - all alphanumeric characters plus the underscore. | [a-zA-Z_]
\s | Any whitespace character (spaces and tabs). |
\d | Any digit. | [0-9]
\l | Any lower case character. | [a-z]
\u | Any upper case character. | [A-Z]

The uppercase version of these classes means NOT, for example, \S is non-spacing character.

Summary of Regular Expressions Syntax Elements

The following table summarizes the syntax elements used in regular expressions.

Character | Description
^ | Beginning of the string. The expression "^A" will match an "A" only at the beginning of the string.
^ | The caret (^) immediately following the left bracket ([) has a different meaning. It is used to exclude the remaining characters within brackets from matching the target string. The expression "[^0-9]" indicates that the target character should not be a digit.
$ | The dollar sign ($) will match the end of the string. The expression "abc$" will match the sub-string "abc" only if it is at the end of the string.
| | The alternation character (|) allows either expression on its side to match the target string. The expression "a|b" will match "a" as well as "b".
. | The dot (.) will match any character.
* | The asterisk (*) indicates that the character to the left of the asterisk in the expression should match 0 or more times.
+ | The plus (+) is similar to asterisk but there should be at least one match of the character to the left of the + sign in the expression.
? | The question mark (?) matches the character to its left 0 or 1 times.
() | The parenthesis affects the order of pattern evaluation and also serves as a tagged expression that can be used when replacing the matched sub-string with another expression.
[] | Brackets ([ and ]) enclosing a set of characters indicates that any of the enclosed characters may match the target character.
{N} | Repeats expression exactly N times.
{N,M} | Repeats expression between N and M times.
{N,} | Repeats expression N or more times.

Credits

I would like to thank Dr John Maddock for the description and implementation of the regular expressions engine.

© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Using fixed font Using RegExp substrings


RegExp substrings replacements

RegExp substrings replacements Compare doc files

Regular expressions give you an ability to make complex search queries. However when it comes to replace operation, you may feel limited in abilities, since you are required to replace this complex search expression with simple text. This is where substrings come to help you.

Example

Instead of reading boring theory, let's work with typical comparison problem. Suppose we have original document with multiple dates in this format: September 12, 2003; September 25, 2002 etc. (For simplicity we will work only with September in this example). Your colleague has made some changes and, among others, changed date format to read as 12.09.2003; 25.09.2002.
So here is a problem for us - ignore date format change.
Our first approach could be very simple - replace all dates to empty string, we can do this by using "September \d{1,2},\d{4}" regexp. However in this case we will miss changes made to the date itself. What we need is to combine replace string from matched parts of search expression, i.e. from substrings.

Step 1: Mark substrings
To mark substring in search expression, we use parenthesis: "September (\d{1,2}),(\d{4})". Substrings are numbered 1,2,... as they appear in original expression. In our case if string September 12, 2003 will be matched, substring #1 = "12", substring #2 = "2003".

Step 2: Use substrings
To insert found substrings in replacement string, use $1, $2,... variables. Summarizing all this information, here is search/replace expressions to ignore date format change:
Search: September (\d{1,2}),(\d{4})
Replace: $1.09.$2

Where can I use it?

You can use this approach in both cases, when RegExps are used for replacement in Compare It!:
  • During file preprocessing before comparison;
  • In common Search and Replace operation.
© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Compare doc files


Compare Word Files with Compare It!

Compare doc files How to compare Word files Using RegExp substrings Excel files comparison

Compare It! can compare files of Microsoft Word 97 (.doc files) and higher (including docx, docm files) by converting them to text format. You don't need to have MS Office/Word installed - Compare It! converts texts independently. Please note that only text is extracted, without formatting - so you will not see changes in formatting.

Due to nature of .doc files, each paragraph is presented as single line in resulting text file. While you can use word wrapping feature of Compare It!, this format still can be inconvenient, so you can make Compare It! to automatically wrap converted text in one of two ways:

  • wrap by column - wrap at column 80, similarly as Word does. The drawback of this approach is confused comparison, if changes made cause different wrapping.
  • wrap by sentence - wrap after a dot ('.'). This unique wrapping mode looks unusual at first, but in fact it gives easiest to use comparison results. You should definitely try this mode.

As with all converted files, you can not edit or merge .doc files - file comparison is read only and your abilities are limited to reviewing changes.

To control automatic Word files conversion

  1. Choose Options > Options, page Converters.
  2. Select MS Word converter - toggle it to change defaut handling of such files.

With default settings, Compare It! will enable .doc files comparison with "Wrap by column" option.

What is the difference between built-in word wrapping and .doc files wrapping?

With standard word wrapping (menu View > Wordwrap), line numbering is not changed - you just see text wrapping to fit in pane width. You can switch this mode on and off dynamically, you can resize pane and get text re-arranged. With .doc wrapping, text line can be really broken to several lines, changing total number of lines in file. You can not change this wrapping without rescanning file.

DocWrap feature

Now same "Wrap by sentence" rule can be applied to any file - just use View > Doc Wrap mode. However please note that since this mode significantly changes text layout, editing is not possible while it is active.

See Also

Additional files formats support

© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Using RegExp substrings Excel files comparison


Compare Excel Files with Compare It!

Compare xls files How to compare Excel files Word files comparison Other files support

Compare It! can now compare files of Microsoft Excel 97 (.xls files) and higher (including xlsx, xlsm files) by converting them to text format. You don't need to have MS Office/Excel installed - Compare It! converts texts independently. Please note that only text is extracted, without formatting - so you will not see changes in formatting.

Multiple sheets are combined on single plain text page, trying to keep tabular structure.

To keep columns visually aligned, fixed font is automatically selected for converted xls files.

As with all converted files, you can not edit or merge .xls files - file comparison is read only and your abilities are limited to reviewing changes.

To view Excel files as plain text

Since viewing Excel files "as is" would not provide any readable information, you can not completely turn conversion feature off. However you can toggle convertor usage in menu View > View As > Text

Additional files formats support

© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Word files comparison Other files support


Compare PDF and other files with Compare It!

Additional file formats support Excel files comparison

With Built-in converters Compare It! can handle a bunch of files formats. Here you will find description and tips for various files comparison.

Support for all additional formats can be toggled in Options > Converters settings page.

  • MS Word and MS Excel files;

  • PDF files: to compare PDF files you may need to download additional plug-in dll from our site. After downloading, simply unpack it to the folder where Compare It! is installed (usually C:\Program Files\Compare It!).

    As with all converted files, you can not edit or merge .pdf files - file comparison is read only and your abilities are limited to reviewing changes.

  • MIF files (*). MIF (Makers Interchange Format) is a xml-based language used to describe an Adobe FrameMaker document in a text file. MIF is used to exchange information between FrameMaker and other applications. Since this format it text-based, it does not require any special processing. However multiple national characters beyond the scope of English letters are encoded so it becomes impossible to read it as plain text. Compare It! can decode such symbols to normal state for viewing, and encode it back during saving;

  • KOI8, CP866 (*) are just codepages used primary in Cyrillic texts;

  • \uXXXX (*) is a special encoding of Unicode characters in text files, used in some programming languages. This one is only available in Unicode version

  • IFilter is a system-wide protocol for extracting text from various file formats. Windows is using it for content indexing, as an example. If you are using some proprietary file formats, try searching for IFilter drivers for it. If you have MS Office installed, you can also try using this converter instead of built-in Word\Excel converters. Few other examples of public IFilters:

    • FoxIt PDF IFilter
    • MS hot fix for Office and HTML IFilters (requires XP SP2+)
    • IFilter Explorer will show you installed IFilters. They also have IFilters for .hlp, .chm and few other formats

  • XML (*) Converter will normalize your xml files by reformatting and aligning, forcing quotes and empty tag usage.

(*) Converters with this mark can process files in both directions, that is it can convert file during loading, and later convert it back during saving. So while using these converters, you still have an ability to merge, edit and save files.

© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Excel files comparison


Zip File Support

Zip File Support Other files support

You can now compare a normal file with another version of the same file that exists in a zip archive file.

For example, if you have a zip archive file called archive.zip which contains a copy of the file file.dat, you can use the following command to compare the files.

wincmp3.exe file.dat archive.zip

Compare It! shows the results of the comparison in the standard interface, and the title bar contains this icon: Archive file to indicate that the file was extracted from an archive file.

You cannot edit the file extracted from the archive file.

© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Other files support


General Information
  • What is Shareware?
  • How To Register
  • Warranty and License
  • Future Releases
  • Other Products


What is Shareware?

Yes, this program is no longer freeware. Starting with version 2.0, Compare It! is shareware. I have worked a lot, adding features you have asked for, so I hope you will understand my decision.

How can I register?

Shareware means that this software is available to you for free evaluation. You are entitled to evaluate the software for up to 30 days without obligation to pay. After 30 days, if you decide to keep the software, you must register your copy for a small fee.

The shareware (non-registered) version is a "full-featured" release. This means that the same capabilities available in the registered software are present in the non-registered software. This allows you to try out all the features to confirm that they work to your satisfaction. I have not even added a nag box, as I know how irritating that can be.

Why Should I Register?

  • The trial version is time limited, so registration will allow you to use Compare It! without limitations.
  • You will also have priority in e-mail technical support.
  • Free upgrades during 1 year and 50% off for all future upgrades.
  • Purchase Compare It! alone or bundled with Synchronize It!.
  • Registration may also entitle you to discounts on new software releases from the same author.
  • Finally, by registering the software, you provide me with the resources and incentive to support the software with updates and to develop additional quality products in the future.

How can I register?


How to Register

You can purchase Compare It! alone or bundled with Synchronize It!

Please visit www.grigsoft.com for details on purchasing and the latest information about prices and discounts!

The registration fee includes:

  • Lifetime e-mail technical support
  • 1 year of free upgrades
  • Discounts for future upgrades

We also offer great discounts for multiple licences packages. Please consult www.grigsoft.com for details.

If you need special exclusive license or pricing, please feel free to contact us. We will find a mutually beneficial solution.


Warranty and License

Shareware Warranty Statement

Author is not responsible for any damages whatsoever, including loss of information, interruption of business, personal injury and/or any damage or consequential damage without limitation, incurred before, during or after the use of this product. Author's entire liability, without exception, is limited to the customers' reimbursement of the purchase price of the software (maximum being the suggested retail price) in exchange for the return of the product, all copies, registration papers and manuals, and all materials that constitute a transfer of ownership from the customer back to Author.

Licensing Details

Compare It! is available in a number of license types.

Personal license | Due to the multi-computer nature of our software, a personal license can be used on up to 3 computers: home, office and notebook computers belonging to a single person.
Multiple seats licenses | The sets of multiple seats licenses are designed to be used within an office environment. A license for N seats allows up to N persons to use program in all their workplaces, including notebook computers.
Enterprise license | If you have a lot of potential software users, and you do not want to worry about upgrades in the future, then your choice is the Enterprise license. This license allows usage of the software for an unlimited number of seats, in multiple offices within same country. The Enterprise license is offered at special, very reasonable price.

Distribution

The trial version may be distributed freely (electronically or on physical media) as long as the files are distributed in their entirety.

The sale of and or distribution of registered copies of this software is strictly forbidden. It is a violation of this agreement to loan, rent, lease, borrow, or transfer the use of registered copies of this software product.


Future Releases

The following features are planned for future releases of Compare It!

  • 3 files compare
  • Microsoft SourceSafe integration
  • Full support of custom syntax files

If you have any additional ideas for features, feel free to send them to the author.


Other Products

If you find Compare It! useful, you should also try the companion product targeted at directories synchronization: Synchronize It!

Here is a list of features you can find in Synchronize It!

  • Archives synchronization.
  • Customizable colors, projects, configurations, filters, and so on.
    Everything you need to make Synchronize It! fit your needs best.
  • Internal binary compare option to ensure files are identical.
  • User tools for comparison, viewing, and archiving.
  • Comfortable navigation in file list panel with find and masked select.
  • Like Compare It!, Synchronize It! became shareware starting with version 2.0. Note that you can purchase both programs as bundle for very special price.


Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can Compare It! do folder comparison?
A. While Compare It! cannot handle folders comparison itself, it comes with Synchronize It!, which is targeted on precise folders synchronization. It also supports archives and sessions, and smoothly integrates with Compare It!

Q. Why can't I edit files?
A. Make sure that Edit mode is switched on (F9 key). In addition, check the icon shown in the pane title area; it will show the possible reason for a file's read-only status.

Q. How can I quickly delete a line with Compare It!
A. Press CTRL + Y.

Q. Why does ESC close the application? I don't want it to!
A. Some people (including me :-) find this feature useful. You can easily disable this by changing the keyboard shortcuts.

Q. Program does not take my license key!
A. License key and registration name are case sensitive. Please make sure you are entering your name and key exactly as it was given in your registration letter. Copy and Paste is recommended method..

Q. I'm using Unicode version but still can not display some national characters!
A. Try to change default font to one supporting your language. Unfortunately not all system fonts are fully Unicode aware.


Updates and Support

Updates and Support FAQ

Please send your technical support questions, ideas, and bug reports to support@grigsoft.com.

Also you are always welcome to participate in our support forum at [image] http://www.grigsoft.com/forum/.

Sales related questions should be sent to sales@grigsoft.com.

For any information about new versions and other cool stuff check out the author's home page: http://www.grigsoft.com/.

Note: Letters from registered users have priority. The problems they find in the application will be fixed first, and their ideas will have more importance to implement and so on. Please state your registration name, if any, in your message.

© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved FAQ


Binary comparison

How to compare binary files with Compare It! Excel files comparison

Binary comparison engine lets you compare files on byte-to-byte basis, displaying comparison results in traditional hexadecimal view. Changes highlighting and editing is similiar to that of text view, but no virtual bytes are added - place of bytes insertion\deletion is highlighted instead. You can edit files manually both by hex code and plain text, or quickly move changes blocks between files.

No align mode

During comparison Compare It tries to find and match same section in files, which could take long and is not always desirable. In some cases such scanning is not needed and all you need is to see files side-by-side to check how do bytes at same offsets match. This is exactly what No Align Mode does - files are loaded and different bytes at same offsets are highlighted. You can toggle this mode in menu Options > No Align Mode

© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Excel files comparison


Customizing HTML comparison reports

How to customize comparison reports in HTML Using RegExp substrings

Compare It! generates HTML reports using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) rules, so it's format can be easily changed. Even without any specific knowledge you can adjust colors, fonts and partially layout of reports.

To change single report file appearance

Open generated report file in any text editor. At the very beginning you will find parameters, describing colors and fonts of various report parts (Same, SourceOnly, TargetOnly, etc.).

To change general reports appearance

Make sure
© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Using RegExp substrings


Go to line

You use the Go to line dialog box to jump directly to a line in a file.

To jump directly to a line in a file:

  1. Press CTRL + G.
  2. In the Go to line dialog box, enter the line number and click Go!.


Regular expressions Dialog Box

Compare It! can use regular expressions (RE) to ignore some parts of text strings. For example, using regular expressions, you can define rules to ignore the first 10 characters or line numbers, if they are included. Compare It! will search for defined regular expression text and replace it with other text. Note that this operation will not change your file, it will only affect internal text used for the comparison.

See Using Regular Expressions for additional information about regular expressions.

How RE can affect comparison.

RE can be applied by several rules:

  • Replace - simple search and replace is done;
  • Ignore string with match - whenever match will be found in string, full string will be ignored during comparison;
  • Cut file after match - whenever match is found in line, file loading is stopped. Note that unlike other methods, this will affect how document will look on the screen.
  • Ignore lines between R1 and R2 - file is processed normally until string matching R1 (search RE) is found. Then all strings are ignored, while line matching R2 (replace RE) is not encountered
  • Ignore lines matching R2 after R1 - file is processed normally until string matching R1 (search RE) is found. Then all consecutive strings, matching R2 (replace RE), will be ignored. Line that doesn't match R2 will stop the rule.
  • Ignore lines not matching R1 - only lines, matching search RE, will be used for comparison; all other lines will be ignored. This rule is opposite to Ignore string with match
  • Automatch rule - unlike other actions, this one can be used to visually align lines automatically by selected keywords. See details.
You can select desired rule while creating regular expression.

To define a regular expression

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click Comparison.
  3. Select the Use Regular Expressions check box and click the browse (...) button next to the check box.
    The Regular expressions dialog box appears.
  4. In the Items box, click Add regular expression.
  5. In the Name field, type a name for the regular expression.
  6. In the Search field, define a regular expression to find in every text line in the file.
    Note: The background color of this field will change to red if your regular expression is not formed correctly.
  7. In the Replace field, define the text to replace the found sub-string.
    You can also leave this field empty to simply remove the matching sub-string.
  8. In the Files field, enter a file mask to use for the regular expression.
    You can also use the select button (>>) to select from predefined file types.
  9. Select the Use only once check box to apply the regular expression rule only once to each string. This means that after RE is found and replacement is done, string will not be changed by same rule anymore. If this option is not set, string would be searched for next occurence of RE.
    This is important for regular expression rules that replace text at the start of lines.
  10. Finally, set appropriate replace action for RE - this will affect how it will be used during comparison. See actions description above
  11. Click the Close button.
    Note: If regular expressions were applied to the file, Regular expression applied to file appears at the right in the title bar of the source or target pane.

To remove a regular expression

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click Comparison.
  3. Select the Use Regular Expressions check box and click the browse (...) button next to the check box.
    The Regular expressions dialog box appears.
  4. In the Items box, select the name of the regular expression to remove and click Remove regular expression.
  5. In the Name field, type a name for the regular expression.
  6. Click the Close button.

Once you have defined regular expressions, you can enable or disable them for specific comparisons.

To enable or disable a regular expression

  1. Choose Options > Options.
    The Options dialog box appears.
  2. In the Options box, click Comparison.
  3. Select the Use Regular Expressions check box and click the browse (...) button next to the check box.
    The Regular expressions dialog box appears.
  4. In the Items box, select the name of the regular expression to enable or disable and click the appropriate check box Enable or disable regularexpression at the bottom of the dialog box: click the selected check box to enable the regular expression, or click the clear check box to disable the regular expression.
  5. Click the Close button.


Replace Dialog Box

You use the Replace dialog box to find text in the source or target files and replace that text with a new string or expression.

To replace text in a file:

  1. To find and replace text in the source file, click in the source pane to make it the active pane.
    -or-
    To find and replace text in the target file, click in the target pane to make it the active pane.
  2. Choose Edit > Replace.
  3. In the Replace dialog box, use the Find combo box to define your search term or regular expression.
  4. Use the Replace combo box to define your search term or regular expression.
  5. Use the check boxes to refine your search.
    Note: You will notice that the font used in the Find combo box changes to indicate which search selections are active.
    • normal for a simple search
    • bold for a case-sensitive search
    • underlined for a full word search
  6. Click the Find next button to perform your search.
  7. Click the Replace button to replace the found occurrence with the information in the Replace combo box.
    -or- Click the Replace all button to replace all found occurences with the information in the Replace combo box.

In case you have used Replace all operation, you will see number of replacements done in a status field

Note: if you choose to search for Regular Expression, red color for edit field would notify you about badly formed expression.

See Also

Using regular expressions
Using RegExp substrings for replacement


Search Dialog Box

You use the Search dialog box to find information in the source or target files.

To find information in a file:

  1. To perform a search in the source file, click in the source pane to make it the active pane.
    -or-
    To perform a search in the target file, click in the target pane to make it the active pane.
  2. Choose Edit > Find.
  3. In the Search dialog box, use the combo box to define your search term or regular expression.
  4. Use the check boxes to refine your search.
    Note: You will notice that the font used in the Find combo box changes to indicate which search selections are active.
    • normal for a simple search
    • bold for a case-sensitive search
    • underlined for a full word search
  5. Click the Find next or the Find prev button to perform your search.

Note: if you choose to search for Regular Expression, red color for edit field would notify you about badly formed expression.

See Also

Using regular expressions


Select files Dialog Box

The Select files dialog box lets you select two files to compare. Instead of selecting one file at a time, the Select files dialog box lets you:

  • Choose files from a recently used list, by using the Source file and Target file drop-down lists.
  • Swap files Exchange files by clicking the "swap" button.
  • Drag-and-drop files Drag-and-drop files onto the appropriate area of the Select files dialog box.
  • Use the standard Open File dialog box to select files, by clicking the browse (...) buttons.

This dialog box can also be useful when you want to select another source or target file from the of ones currently being compared.

Tip: If you like this dialog box, you can set it to open on startup in the Options dialog box, under General options.


Images comparison

How to compare images with Compare It! Excel files comparison

Currently image comparison function in Compare It! are limited to simple viewing of 2 images side-by-side.

Which image formats are supported

Compare It display images without using any thrid party components, only with system images support. So list of supported image formats will depend on your Windows version; Windows 2000, XP and newer systems should support at least these files: bmp, ico, cur, jpg, gif, png.

How to use image comparison

  1. To enable\disable Image viewer choose Options > Options, select Viewers page
  2. You can toggle Image\Text mode by using menu View > View As
  3. To change image scale: click with right mouse button do display popup menu or press Ctrl+Num+ / Ctrl+Num-

How add support for other image formats

You can use Converters feature to work with other image formats. As an example, here you can find instructions on configuring nConvert tool.

nConvert now is a part of XNView - good freeware image viewer application. You can find it here.

  • Download and install nConvert
  • In Compare It! open Options > Converters, add new converter
  • In Mask field specify all images you want to support, ex. "*.tiff, *.tif".
  • In Command field specify your local path to nconvert.exe
  • Finally, in Arguments field, type this: "-out bmp {$Source_File} {$Converted_File}"

this will make Compare It! invoke nConvert for all *.tiff images to convert them into bmp format. This image format will be recognized and loaded for image comparison.

© 1996-2010, Grig Software, All Rights Reserved Excel files comparison