Beyond Compare is another great file comparison tool that uses its intelligent technology to compare files and folders. It uses simple, yet strong commands that highlight the difference you are looking for ignoring the ones you are not interested in. It helps merge changes, synchronize files, and even produce reports. Beyond Compare is a directory compares utility and a file compare utility wrapped in one. Synchronize files between laptop and PC, home and office, etc. Compare directory trees side-by-side with.
These settings control what is considered a difference in a folder session.
Quick tests
These comparison tests can be performed simply by reading folders and are much quicker than tests that require reading individual files.
Compare file size
Marks files as different if file sizes differ.
Compare timestamps
Compares files' date and time last modified. Timestamps must differ by more seconds than the second tolerance to be considered mismatches.
Ignore daylight saving difference ignores exact hour differences. This is useful for dealing with the way that different file systems handle Daylight Savings Time.
Ignore timezone differences ignores timestamp differences that are multiples of an exact hour.
Compare filename case
Marks files as different if character capitalizations differ.
Compare file attributes
Archive compares files' archive attribute. Since merely copying a file can change its archive attribute, you should normally disable this option.
System compares files' system attribute.
Hidden compares files' hidden attribute.
Read-only compares files' read-only attribute.
Align filenames with different extensions
Lines up files whose filenames are the same except for the extensions.
Align filenames with different Unicode normalization forms
Lines up files whose filenames are Unicode equivalent.
Tests that require reading files
Compare contents
Enables size or content-related comparisons.
CRC comparison compares files using their CRC values.
Binary comparison compares files byte-by-byte.
Rules-based comparison compares files based on their file format associations. Allows you to ignore differences in line endings, whitespace, or source code comments.
Skip if quick tests indicate files are the same improves comparison speed by only performing the slower, more thorough tests when timestamps are different.
Compare versions
Compares version information, typically stored in application files (.exe, .dll, .ocx, etc).
Override quick test results
Beyond Compare File Formats Pdf
Marks files as matching if a content comparison determines they match even if there are differences in timestamps or other quick tests.
There are several ways to compare folders and files.
If you want a quick look at what has changed between two folders, it might be sufficient to just look at the dates and sizes of the files. If you are validating a CD copy, then a byte-by-byte comparison of every file is important. If you are comparing versions of source code, perhaps you want to consider only significant changes and ignore differences in whitespace or comments.
Beyond Compare Exclude File Types
Session settings define how, overall, a Folder Compare session should compare folders when the session is loaded. Comparison criteria include file timestamps, sizes, attributes and contents. Once the session is loaded, you can selectively recompare files by picking Actions > Compare Contents or by opening the files in a file session.
Generally, these criteria are used to compare files, and not folders directly. For instance, a folder's timestamp does not affect the comparison. A folder is classified as 'newer' if it contains newer files. Folders are compared by aggregating the comparisons of files within them.
Certain facts about a file can be determined quickly while others take some time. In the Session Settings dialog, the Comparison tab is organized into Quick tests and Requires opening files. File systems typically provide fast access to file names, sizes, and timestamps (the date and time last modified). But to get the CRC of a file, the entire file will need to be read. Keep this in mind when selecting folder comparison criteria.
The display aligns files and subfolders of the same name, left and right. Pick View > Ignore Folder Structure to align files regardless of what subfolder they are in.
You can modify the alignment by defining alignment overrides.
See also