Find the Differences Between Two Text Files

Posted on July 28, 2010 at 5:49 am

In this technologically advanced age, we are constantly looking for ways to use our technology to save time. When working with on a group project, especially with people who do not know how to use the track changes feature in Word, finding teammates’ changes to a file is a daunting, time wasting task.

Programmers especially waste countless hours finding bugs added to code unintentionally by teammates. A site called Diff Checker can make finding the differences between lines of text an instantaneous task, saving hours of work.

diff logo

Start by uploading the first file you want to compare by clicking Choose File under File 1. Only text files will upload, so if comparing a Word or other file type, just paste the contents in the box below File 1.

file 1

Under File 2, either upload the second file, or paste its contents.

file 2

Click the Find Difference button to compare the files.

find difference

Differences are highlighted line-by-line in red on the left and green on the right. Anything left without highlighting is the same in both files.

comparison

If the files are the same, nothing is displayed from the files. Instead, a message appears on the bottom left stating the files are identical.

file identical

For comparing text files, this service works great. It would be nice if it compared other types of files, but the paste function works well enough to make up for it in most cases.

» Filed Under Cool Websites

Related Posts

Comments

Please post your comments/suggestions!