Start WinMerge and select from -menu, click yellow folder icon from toolbar or press Ctrl-O. File/folder selection dialog opens:
Two topmost fields in Open dialog are for selecting files/directories to compare. Comparison objects can be specified in one of four ways:
Enter the path names directly into the edit fields
Click the
button and use the file chooser to navigate to the desired objectExpand the combo box and select a previously entered path (WinMerge remembers the last 20)
Drag & drop something into the edit field from Explorer
Folder can be selected from Windows Open dialog (opens when Filename field in Windows Open dialog contains text "Directory Selection" selecting button selects currently visible folder. Open dialog always shows backslash "\" at end of folder name.
-button is selected) by browsing into folder and selecting -button. It does not require selecting a file. When![]() |
There can be only file & file or folder & folder selected to open for compare. If there is file & folder or other one of files/folders cannot be found WinMerge disables -button in dialog. |
Filter -field can be used to select files by extension to compare. Default value is "*.*" which includes all files. But listing one or more extensions restricts compare to only files with those extensions. Multiple extensions are separated with space or semicolon. For example: *.cpp;*.hpp;*.c;*.h
File filters are much more powerful way to select files and folders. Use Filters field to see available filters and to choose the filter.
button next toIf Include Subfolders-checkbox is checked WinMerge compares all subfolders and shows all files and folders it founds in one view. Otherwise only current folder is compared and subfolders are listed so user can browse into them.
Unpacker selection is for plugins.
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Status of currently selected files or directories is shown with text in bottom of the dialog. If one of the paths is invalid this text tells which one it is. |
If two folders were selected in Open-dialog folder compare is opened. Folder compare shows list of files and subfolders it finds. Using
-menu items, toolbar items or context menu items files and folders can be managed in many ways.If selected file exists in both sides (and it is not a binary file) it can be opened to file compare. File can be opened by:
selecting
from menuselecting
from context menudouble-clicking with mouse
pressing Enter key
After file compare is closed file's status is updated to folder compare.
File compare shows two files side by side. Different lines are highlighted with background color. One or more consecutive different lines form one difference (or "diff"). WinMerge mostly works with these differences, not separate lines.
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Notice how WinMerge fills missing lines in other side. Similar lines are always side by side. This is different to most other compare/merge programs and can take a while to learn. |
WinMerge has an simple integrated editor. Typing, copying, cutting and pasting text works. If Automatic rescan is enabled then WinMerge updates file differences while files are edited. If Automatic rescan is disabled files can be updated selecting from -menu, clicking toolbar button with two yellow arrows or pressing F5 key.