Jason Sexton
September 2004
Visual Comparer 1.30 provides a quick way to compare and edit two similar text files. While the application has had several revisions, it is still in its first version.
Comparison of files is especially useful for making changes to multiple versions of programming source code. Microsoft Visual Studio used to ship with a comparison tool called WinDiff, but it was not included in Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. Visual Comparer fills this gap with a sturdy and feature-filled replacement.
It’s worth noting that WinMerge is another popular comparison tool. Furthermore in a team development environment usually the source control application, such as Visual SourceSafe, provides a comparison and merging tool. Neither of these tools is as feature-rich as Visual Comparer.
I was immediately pleased that I was able to find two similar documents in a Windows Explorer search results window, and drag them directly into an open Visual Comparer window. Color coding and symbols both on and adjacent to the text immediately identify deleted, added, and changed lines, as you can see in the image below. I was also pleased to see that the file modified dates and file sizes were instantly visible, reducing confusion over which file is which.
When you move the cursor, both windows synchronize vertically and horizontally. This is helpful for navigating left and right through HTML source documents that tend to be very wide depending upon the previous creation tool. You can easily toggle through several views to display one or the other document at nearly full-screen width. I noted that this and all other features as far as I could tell supported both mouse use (as in toolbars and menus) and keyboard shortcuts to match the way you work.
Despite Visual Comparer’s feature set it manages to be a fast-loading and easy tool to use. I most commonly resort to file comparison when something’s wrong and I’m trying to fix it quickly. For instance, I need a tool like this if a change to a program doesn’t work and I have trouble returning the code to its previous state. My course of action is to find a previously saved version of the code and compare the changes line by line. This is not a time to be burdened with a complex tool, so Visual Comparer is most likely to be the tool of my choice next time I’m in such a situation.
It takes no time to pick up and use Visual Comparer, so if you’re a developer longing for a quick comparison tool with nice features, I recommend having it on hand. I did have trouble finding the merge feature and figuring out how to use it. Merging is understandably a difficult thing to implement and there are cases where there is no choice but to prompt the user regarding which change is preferred, but it is something I would like to see improved in a future version of Visual Comparer. It would be nice to have a Merge toolbar button readily available by default, and to be able to merge the entire files.
Pricing:
$29.00 (US)
Company Website or URL: www.visual-comparer.com
Requirements:
Windows
Copyright (c) 2004, Jason Sexton, All Rights Reserved
