Folder Comparison
WinXMerge can recursively compare two directories, showing the status of every file.
Overview
Section titled “Overview”Select two folders in the open dialog to start a folder comparison. The view displays:
- Tree-style indentation for nested directories
- File status: Identical / Different / Left only / Right only
- Modification timestamps for both sides
- File sizes for both sides
Filters
Section titled “Filters”Status Filter Bar
Section titled “Status Filter Bar”Filter the file list by clicking the status buttons above the list:
- All: Show all files
- Identical: Only files that are the same
- Different: Only files that differ
- Left only: Files present only in the left directory
- Right only: Files present only in the right directory
.gitignore Support
Section titled “.gitignore Support”WinXMerge automatically loads .gitignore patterns and excludes matching files. .git directories are always excluded.
File Extension Filter
Section titled “File Extension Filter”Filter the comparison by specific file extensions.
Compare Method
Section titled “Compare Method”Choose how two files with the same relative path are judged identical, in the Options
dialog or with the /m command line option:
- Full Contents: byte-for-byte comparison (ignore whitespace/case options are not applied yet)
- Quick Contents: currently the same as Full Contents
- Binary Contents: currently the same as Full Contents
- Modified Date: identical when both modification timestamps match exactly
- Modified Date and Size: Modified Date, and the file sizes also match
- File Size: identical when the file sizes match
- Existence: files present on both sides always count as identical
Column Sorting
Section titled “Column Sorting”Click any column header to sort the file list:
- Name
- Status
- Left Size / Right Size
- Left Modified / Right Modified
Click again to toggle ascending/descending (indicated by ▲/▼).
Actions
Section titled “Actions”- Double-click a file to open a detailed diff view in a new tab
- Right-click for context menu:
- Copy to left / Copy to right
- Delete
- < Back button to return to the folder view from a file diff
ZIP Archive Comparison
Section titled “ZIP Archive Comparison”.zip files can be compared as virtual folders, showing added/removed/changed entries based on CRC and file size.