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Utility allows users to compare and manage files, folders, and archives

Utility allows users to compare and manage files, folders, and archives

Vote: (59 votes)

Program license: Trial version

Developer: Scooter Software

Version: 4.4.6.27483

Works under: Windows

Also available for Mac

Vote:

Program license

(59 votes)

Trial version

Developer

Version

Scooter Software

4.4.6.27483

Works under:

Also available for

Windows

Mac

Pros

  • Deeply compares different files or folders and shows you the differences.
  • Allows you to merge the compared files or sync them so one overtakes the other.
  • Works with almost every file type.

Cons

  • The user interface has a learning curve, but it shouldn't be that difficult for most users.
  • The free license has a limited time and it will expire.

Beyond Compare is a file management tool that is able to detect the differences between files. That may not sound immediately useful, but this program dives deep to see the differences in source code, version history and even usage history. This is useful for developers, business users and anyone who needs detailed information about how similar files might differ.

Basic Features

Beyond Compare is a unique file management tool that is able to look deeply into files and see how they differ. For example, you might have two text documents filled with similar code and you only need one of them. Beyond Compare will go through the documents and immediately highlight the differences. It could be as small as a single line of code that's different, but Beyond Compare will find it and tell you. This is much faster than going through the file yourself and finding the differences.

Even if the files have the same contents, Beyond Compare can see if one file was accessed at a different date than the other one. It can also check for version histories, how the file was used and much more. While regular users might not get much use from this, these differences are very important to developers and business users.

Numerous Files

While Beyond Compare is able to check the source code of files, that doesn't mean it's restricted to text documents with programming. You can compare nearly any type of file with Beyond Compare. This means you can check text documents, audio files, videos, programs and much more. There are very few restrictions. You can even compare whole folders to see how they differ.

After Comparing

You might think that Beyond Compare only shows the differences between files, but that's not true. It does so much more than that. You can sync the files so that the changes from one file are reflected in another. You could also do a three-way merge. This takes the differences between the file and merges them all together into a single file. This can be very useful if you like coding from two files and want them combined.

There are many other tools like this that will make your job much easier.

Free and Paid Versions

There are both free and paid versions of Beyond Compare. The features are the same between the two, but the free version has a limited license that will expire. You will then need to buy a license to continue using the program. This is good because it lets you see if this program really meets your needs.

User Interface

The user interface is somewhat accessible depending on your technical skill. It's not the hardest program to use, but it's also not the most accessible. This makes sense because the program was made more for advanced users. While the interface takes time to learn and master, you'll find that the interface is quite intuitive.

The features are fairly easy to find and use. Not only that, but everything is clearly explained so you should know what everything does.

Pros

  • Deeply compares different files or folders and shows you the differences.
  • Allows you to merge the compared files or sync them so one overtakes the other.
  • Works with almost every file type.

Cons

  • The user interface has a learning curve, but it shouldn't be that difficult for most users.
  • The free license has a limited time and it will expire.