Object Compare
How to: Compare Two Files

Files are treated as objects by Object Compare, described by properties. In addition to using each file's properties to determine if they have changed, Object Compare can also compare same sized files byte-for-byte. By default, only the file size is compared for performance reasons.

Note: The way files are compared can be customized using Rules or the Options dialog.

Files can be compared stand alone or as part of a larger folder comparison.

To compare two files stand alone:

Open Object Compare, and select Tools -> File Viewer from the main menu.
In the File Viewer dialog, select File -> Select Left Side from the main menu.
In the Select Left Side dialog, navigate into the Computer of interest and select the file to use as the base object. Note the Select Left Side dialog will only enable the OK button when a valid file has been selected.
On the main menu, select File -> Select Right Side.
In the Select Right Side dialog, navigate into the Computer of interest and select the file to use as the version object. Note the Select Right Side dialog will only enable the OK button when a valid file has been selected.
To start the comparison, select File -> Refresh from the main menu.

Note: The menu commands above are also available on the toolbar.

Check the differences between each line using the color coded display.

To compare two files as part of a larger folder comparison:

Open Object Compare, and perform a folder comparison as described in How to: Compare Two Folders.
Right click two different files of interest in the Workspace tree and choose Open In File Viewer from the context menu.

The File Viewer window loads and automatically compares the two selected files. Check the differences between each line using the color coded display.

To compare two files stand alone:

To compare two files as part of a larger folder comparison:

See Also