Utilities | Diff TextFiles

Open a window to compare two text files.

The files to be compared are read from the disk; so in order to compare a file that has been modified in the IDE save the file first before making a comparison.

This first version of this utility has no knowledge about the syntax used in the files; no distinction is made if two comments are different for example.

After specifying the two files to compare and optionally selecting an option, press the Ok button to start the comparison. The differences will be shown in the TextFile difference window. If for some reason the analysis takes too long, the process can be aborted by pressing the Esc key. When the comparison is finished, the differences between the files are shown as modifications, additions and deletions. The bottom part of the window shows the counts in each category. Selecting a changed line will color the two corresponding lines using the same color scheme to highlight the differences.

Parameters:

Input file 1

File name for the file shown in the left pane. Click the button next to this field to use an Explorer dialog to locate the file.

Input file 2

File name for the file shown in right pane. Click the button next to this field to use an Explorer dialog to locate the file.

Ignore character case

Toggle the option if the difference between upper and lower case is significant.

Ignore white space

Toggle the option to treat multiple blanks as a single blank. When enabled, a leading blank or a trailing blank is ignored. A Tab character is treated as a single blank.

Ok button

Start the comparison; a new window will be created showing the differences between the two files

Cancel button

Close the window

TextFile difference window

The following menu options are available in this window:

File | Esc

Abort the comparison

File | Exit

Close the difference window and return.

View | Previous Changes        Ctrl+P

Move the line selection to the previous change

View | Next Changes        Ctrl+N

Move the line selection the the next change

Options | Ignore case

Toggle the option if the difference between upper and lower case is significant.

Options | Ignore white space

Toggle the option to treat multiple blanks as a single blank. When enabled, a leading blank or a trailing blank is ignored. A Tab character is treated as a single blank.