ProductsDiffDogFile Differencing

Altova DiffDog® 2012 includes powerful capabilities for comparing and merging text files quickly and easily.

The file differencing features of DiffDog® 2012 allow you to compare and merge any type of text-based file, with support for Unicode, ASCII, MBCS, and any other file formats. DiffDog® 2012 also includes additional features for intelligent, XML-aware differencing.

It’s easy to select the files you want to compare. You can drag and drop them from your file explorer window or open them using browse functionally. In addition, DiffDog® 2012 remembers recently compared file and directory pairs, allowing you to re-open a recent comparison with one click.

You can also integrate DiffDog with Windows Explorer. Simply select two folders or files in Explorer, then right-click to conveniently launch a new comparison directly from the Explorer context menu.

The DiffDog File / Open dialog even lets you open local and remote FTP and HTTP servers (based on user privileges) to compare, merge differences, and edit files. Individually select the file for each comparison window from anywhere on:

• your local workstation
• a shared drive on your network
• an FTP or HTTP server

This flexibility is especially suited for comparing, maintaining, and synchronizing files on live servers with the latest updates from your local machine.

Intelligent File Differencing

When you select two files to compare, they are opened side-by-side in the intuitive DiffDog® 2012 interface. Differences between the two files are indicated by colored highlighting and connecting lines, so that you can immediately visualize the differences between the two file versions.

(If you have Microsoft Word 2007 or higher installed, you can also compare, merge, and edit Word documents side-by-side in DiffDog® 2012 word processor view. Click here for more details.)

The DiffDog® 2012 display options are completely customizable, allowing you change the colors used to highlight differences and even specify source code conformant syntax coloring based on file extension. DiffDog® 2012 even includes an option to select XML-conformant syntax coloring, as well.

Advanced navigation features such as synchronized horizontal and vertical scrolling allow you to move through either file without losing track of the corresponding differences in the other file. In addition, tool bar buttons allow you to return to the current difference or select a new current difference so that you never lose your place while reviewing, editing, or merging files.

There are several other options that can help you customize the display of your files depending on their type and the requirements of your project. Some of these configurable options include:

• Word wrap
• Line feed (end of line) indicators
• Whitespace indicators
• Bookmarks and bookmark margin
• Text folding and text folding margin
• Ability to expand/collapse all folding nodes
• Find / replace with support for regular expressions
• XML-aware functionality for comparing text as structured XML

Merging and Editing Files

In file comparison mode, DiffDog® 2012 allows bi-directional merging as well as direct editing of both compared files. DiffDog® 2012 automatically creates a back up of each file, allowing you to re-load the original file from the server or disk at anytime should you need to start over. DiffDog® 2012 also supports unlimited undo, so you can backtrack to any point in the editing and merging process. In addition, as you’re working with a file, DiffDog® 2012 constantly monitors the server where the file is stored, and, if it’s modified externally, reloads the most current version into the DiffDog® 2012 comparison window.

As you merge changes and edit your files, DiffDog® 2012 automatically re-compares the files to indicate the current differences.

In addition to these file differencing and merging capabilities, DiffDog® 2012 also provides impressive support for comparing and merging directories, and additional features for comparing and merging XML files in an intelligent, XML-aware manner.

Additionally, DiffDog® 2012 includes support for command line operations, allowing you to call its functionality from the command line to perform file and directory comparisons.



Find out how DiffDog® 2012 takes the pain out of managing multiple file versions. Download a free trial today!