Folder Compare Tool

Compare & Merge Folders and Directories

  • Side-by-side folder comparison
  • Bi-directional merging
  • Multiple comparison modes based on file types
  • One-step directory sync
  • Remembers compared folders for quick reload
  • Generate diff reports

Compare Folders

Compare and sync folders

Altova DiffDog is Windows software that makes it easy to compare and sync folders on your workstation, the local network, and even folders on local and remote FTP and HTTP servers (based on user privileges).

DiffDog provides five options for directory comparisons:

  • Quick compare mode: compares files by size and date only
  • Text comparison mode: compares actual textual content of files in each directory
  • XML comparison mode: compares actual file content with XML-aware intelligence
  • Binary comparison mode: compares non-text files such as EXEs, MP3s, JPGs, etc.
  • Extension comparison mode: automatically selects a specialized mode based on the file pair extension

You can open a file comparison directly from the directory comparison window by simply double-clicking the desired file.

DiffDog displays compared directories side-by-side as expandable/collapsible trees, and the size and date modified are indicated for each folder and file. Differences between the directories are indicated with color coding and easy to identify icons.

Sync Directories and Folders

DiffDog includes a special feature that allows you to update/merge entire directories, including sub-folders, with a single step.

The Synchronize button on the directory options toolbar opens a Synchronize Directories preferences dialog that lets you set the rules for merging files. The dialog even shows a preview of synchronization activity. You can review all the scheduled file updates across both folders, then modify the settings if you like. No changes are made in either directory until you click the Start button.

If you prefer a more customized merge of two similar directories, you can apply detailed settings to refine handling of different and missing files. The Enable manual override button even lets you select individual treatment for each file pair during synchronization.