Understanding the Folder Compare Display

The Folder Compare display uses color cues to highlight the differences between the two base folders. By default, the color meanings are:

	Black	Match
	Red	Newer or mismatch
	Gray	Older
	Blue	Orphan (does not exist on other side)

To change the default colors, select Options from the Tools menu and under Folder Views select Compare Colors.

In the following example, the file on the right side is colored red to show that it is newer. The icon in the center column

shows that a content comparison has found differences.

The content comparison results can override the file colors. For example, the above line would change to all black if the content comparison returned an exact match. You can change this behavior by disabling the Override quick test results option on the Comparison tab of the session settings.

	Binary match	The files are byte-by-byte the same.
	Binary mismatch	At least one byte is different between the files.
	Match	Although the files have some binary difference, a rules-based comparison found them to match.
	Similar	A rules-based comparison found only unimportant differences.
	Mismatch	A rules-based comparison found important differences.

Some file types, such as zip archives, can be a container for other files. Beyond Compare can handle these like regular folders. The following example shows our compiled help file with a newer version on the right side. Notice the special "zipper" icon.

You can double-click the file to expand it and compare each of the contained files.

Folders are colored to give you hints about their contents. For instance, the comparison below lets you know that the folders contain at least one file that is newer on the right (red), and that both sides have at least one orphaned file (blue).

Folders may appear hollow when you first start the comparison. This happens when the background scanning process has not yet completed those folders. They will change color when the process is finished.

A folder will be yellow if auto-scan is turned off and you haven't opened the folder yet. Once you manually open the folder (and possibly its subfolders) it will be colored appropriately.

Folder icons will include a small arrow glyph if the folder is a junction point or symbolic link. Folder icons will include a small red "X" glyph if there was an error trying to open the folder. The following example shows a folder with both conditions.