Beyond Compare: How to handle the same files but show differences

When comparing files, Beyond Compare sometimes displays differences in the same files. The tips in this article brought by PHP editor Banana will help you deal with this problem so that you can accurately detect file differences. This guide will explore the potential causes of this issue and provide detailed workarounds to ensure accurate results in file comparisons.

Difference 1: Plain text comparison, display differences

The two text files look the same, but display differences, most likely at the end of the line. When line endings are different, binary comparison will show an error, even if the actual text is the same.

For example, Windows uses CR and LF, control characters at the end of each line, while Unix uses LF alone. Files that have been copied or edited on different systems will end with different line ending styles. You can use a Hex Compare session or Text Compare to view hex details to determine byte differences.

Processing method

In the folder comparison session operation interface, click the [Session] button on the toolbar, select session settings, and select the comparison tab. In the tabbed window that opens, enable the Compare content option and enable rule-based comparison.

Difference 2: Compare the same office software files and display the differences

Microsoft software, such as Excel files may look the same, but the file sizes may be different, and Maybe change the timestamp when viewing the file. Office includes version and timestamp information in all Office file formats. It also tracks the time when a file was last accessed. This results in file size and binary differences, even though the visible file has not changed. The way to deal with the problem is to use a rule-based comparison to compare the contents of the files.

Difference Three: Executables and DLLs, Show Differences

Two executables or DLLs can be compiled from the same source, but when compared using binary are marked as different. Most likely your compiler is inserting some kind of time and version information into the DLL, even though they appear to be the same, creating a binary difference in the DLL.

Most compilers insert information into DLL and EXE files, making it difficult to make the same binary comparison of two independent compilers producing the same code. You can quickly verify this by selecting two files and doing a text compare content test and binary compare operation.

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