Instant Overview of File Comparison and Merging

1. Folder comparison button

Click this toolbar button to launch a folder comparison window. Folder comparison windows let you compare and synchronize entire folder hierarchies.

2. Automatic merge button (Professional Edition only)

Click this button to merge automatically non-conflicting changes from the left and right files into the centre common ancestor file of a three-way comparison.

3. Three-way merge button (Professional Edition only)

Click this toolbar button to change to a three-way file comparison view.

4. Report button

Click this button to create a report of the file comparison in HTML, HTML slideshow, XML or UNIX diff format. HTML reports are particularly useful for archiving and distribution.

5. Move the linking lines panel

Drag the linking lines panel left or right from here to change the relative widths of the file comparison panes. Double click to re-centre.

6. Read-only and file modified indicators

The left icon Indicates that a file is read-only. Read-only files may only be edited if you have configured Merge to allow this.

The right icon indicates that the file has been edited or modified since the comparison was first performed. Note that editing is disabled by default in read-only files, but can be enabled if desired.

7. Removed block of text

This block of text is present only in the left-hand file. The connecting lines show you exactly where the text would have to be inserted in the right file to make the two files identical.

8. Merging button

Click a merging button to copy a block of text to the other file, replacing any corresponding block. Hold down Ctrl while clicking to insert instead of replacing. Hold Ctrl+Shift and click to delete a block of text.

9. Omitted line count

By default, Merge shows all unchanged lines of text. However, it is possible to omit some of the unchanged text, in which case an indication is shown stating the number of lines that have been hidden.

10. Bookmark

You can set bookmarks in a file to help keep track of important locations as you are editing.

11. Vertical scrollbar

As you scroll one file, the other is automatically scrolled to keep matching parts of the two files visible. Hold down Ctrl while scrolling to prevent this and only scroll one file.

12. Centre point marker

Merge tries to keep matching parts of the files aligned with this centre point marker as you scroll vertically.

13. In-place editing

You can edit either file directly in-place. The file comparison automatically updates as you make changes.

14. Overview strip

This gives you an immediate idea of the extent of the differences between the files being compared. Each colour-coded mark on the strip represents a difference. You can click on the overview strip to jump directly to particular change.

15. Edit marker

These show you whether a line has been edited or copied from another file.

16. Block of changed text and in-line highlighting

This block of text is different in the two files. The linking lines show the related block of text in the other file. You can change the font and colours used for blocks of changed text in the Options dialog.

Notice that only the changed text within the line is highlighted. This enables you to easily pinpoint inserts, removals or changes even in long lines of text.

17. Insertion point

A thin vertical line indicates where within the line text has been inserted in the other file.

18. Context menu

Right-click either file panel to display a context menu containing shortcuts to useful commands. The Explorer context menu for the file is also available from this menu.

19. Previous/Next change buttons

Use these buttons to jump quickly between each change in the files.

20. Linking lines

The linking lines connect corresponding parts of the files, showing exactly how they are related.

21. Inserted block of text

This block of text is present only in the right-hand file. The connecting lines show you exactly where the text would have to be inserted in the left file to make the two files identical.

22. Tab strip

The tab strip lets you switch quickly between different file comparisons if you have several open at once.

23. Status bar (including change summary)

The status bar shows the character encoding of the currently selected file and a count of the changes between the files.