Sunday, September 16, 2007

Best Visual File Comparison Software

If you're a software developer, you probably already have your own favorite file comparison software. Even if you're not a software developer, file comparison software can be very useful. A utility to compare files and directories makes my day-to-day work very efficient. I use it to compare and merge source code, web pages, settings files and other text files. I also use it to perform code reviews and audits. Without this tool, I don't think I can survive.

So, who is the guy makes me can't live without? The Araxis Merge... I have tried other file comparison software, these are the key few differentiators why Araxis Merge is the best:

  1. User Friendly (Araxis UI is very common sense)
  2. File Merging Ability (Very user friendly, try it you know what I mean)
  3. Directory Comparison (Cool, I like this most. )
  4. Binary File Comparison (Wow, not only text file comparison)
The only disadvantage of this guy is Araxis Merge is not free. Oppss, sad news is I have been trying other free file comparison softwares and none of them is comparative to Araxis Merge. These are the free file comparison softwares that I have tried so far:
Yes, this is still something better than nothing. It can do most of the basic stuff. Nevertheless, the Araxis Merge is much more better. Maybe I have already get used to it but I'm still searching for the free one. So, what is your favorite file comparison software? Perhaps you can just share with us?

6 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Araxis? Hmmmm! Looks like worth a try. I have been using WinMerge so far.

ChampDog said...

Ya, just give it a try. Let me know your comments. My first diff tool I was using is WinDiff which comes together in Visual Studio few years back. Later, I switch to Araxis and until today I've never ever try other visual diff tools that are better than Araxis. It is just very user friendly.

Peky said...

I agree! :D

Anonymous said...

BeyondCompare is the best comparison tool out there. Not free but not expensive either. Been aroudn for a long time and coming out with a new major version (3.0) soon. You can try during beta. Pretty cool

Anonymous said...

p.s.
http://www.scootersoftware.com is where you can find BeyoneCompare.

ChampDog said...

Thanks for the recommendation. Will give it a try. :)


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