Important folder comparison/merging features are indicated in the image below. Explanatory text for each feature can be found below.
Note that only two-way comparison/merging is shown. The Professional Edition of Merge also supports three-way comparison and merging.
1. Revisions (Time Machine) buttonClick this button to open any earlier revision of the current folder stored by Time Machine. Open the same folder in both the left and right comparison panes, then use this button to compare a folder with an earlier revision of itself. 2. Three-way comparisonClick this toolbar button to change to a three-way folder comparison view. 3. Browse for folder buttonClick the ... button to browse for a particular folder, or choose a folder you have previously used from the drop-down list. Alternatively, type a folder path directly into the entry field or drag and drop a folder from the Windows Explorer. 4. Removed folder and filesThis file is present only in the left folder hierarchy. This is indicated by the background colour and the absence of an adjacent file in the right folder hierarchy. 5. Inserted filesThis file is present only in the right folder hierarchy. This is indicated by the background colour and the absence of an adjacent file in the left folder hierarchy. 6. Changed fileChanged pairs of files are indicated by a particular background colour. The icon of the most recently changed file of each pair is adorned with a small red dot. 7. Change countIf enabled from the View menu, the change count column indicates the number of changes between each pair of files. 8. Overview stripThis gives you an immediate idea of the extent of the differences between the folder hierarchies 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. |
9. Context menuRight-click the file comparison window to display a context menu containing shortcuts to useful features. 10. Selected rowsYou can select multiple rows of pairs (or triplets, for three-way comparisons) of changed files and then choose Launch File Comparisons For Selection to open file comparison windows for them all. 11. Select changed rows buttonThis selects all the pairs (or triplets, for three-way folder comparisons) of changed files. Choosing this followed by the adjacent Launch File Comparisons for Selected Rows button is a quick way to open file comparisons for every pair of changed files. 12. Launch comparisons for selected rows buttonClick this button to open file comparison windows for all the selected pairs (or triplets, for three-way folder comparisons) of files. 13. Copy from buttonClick this button to open the Copy Files dialog. This enables you to merge folders by copying the selected files from the right folder tree to the left. You may also copy the files to an alternative destination. 14. Column separatorDrag column separators in the header area to change column widths. 15. Collapse folderYou can collapse folders in which you are not interested by clicking the folder icon. Click again to expand. 16. Status bar (includes change summary)Although hidden in this screenshot, the status bar shows the number of each type of change (removals, insertions and changes) between the folder hierarchies being compared. |