File and folder compare tool

[guyinpv]

Description of the new feature / enhancement

I think a good new utility would be a quick way to select two files or two folders and run a compare on them. When comparing two text files, it could list the differences in a side-by-side view like any normal compare tool does.

Comparing two folders would list all the files that are orphan on each side, with a button to copy it over. And for different files, it could open the file compare view and also allow one file to be copyed to the other side to overwrite it.

I know a tool like this could get incredibly complex depending on features. I'm thinking Beyond Compare for example. But Windows already has the ability to compare files using something like the 'fc' or 'windiff' commands. This would simply be a visual wrapper over tools like those.

Scenario when this would be used?

I do file and folder compares all the time, and have been a Beyond Compare user for a decade or more. I think if this were done in a simple and elegant way as part of Power Tools, I wouldn't need a complex app when all I want is a simple compare for differences/orphans and a file diff viewer. I use a combination of manually checking folders (right-click->properties->compare file/folder counts and bytes), or Notepad++ to compare two files, or Beyond Compare to be a little more fancy.

PowerTools could make this much quicker. For example, right-click folder and there would be an option like "Folder Left Compare" and then right-click some other folder and it would have "Folder Right Compare" or whatever it might be. Another method would be when using the shortcut hotkeys, it would popup a small window with a "left/right" selector where we could browse for the folder paths, or drag/drop a folder onto each side to automatically get the path. It could work similarly for individual files with a drag/drop screen or path selector.

Supporting information

Very handy for coders. I may have multiple copies of a project and want to see what changed. Or I need to troubleshoot why a plugin or some code or new update caused and issue, so I compare an older backup of the plugin to the new copy to see what's changed. Or I'm backing up files off a thumbdrive or phone or something and find that I already copied it once, but not sure if I changed anything in the meantime. Or some else may have access to the same set of files and so I need to compare to a copy I have and see if they changed anything. Note that using a folder "sync" tool to mirror one folder to another is not helpful in cases where I need to see the differences, not simply copy all the missing/different files from one place to another without looking first. Though a sync tool could be another helpful addition ;)

[bluntspoon]

100% agree, this would be a great addition to PowerToys. 😎

[TheJoeFin]

/dup #14950

[microsoft-github-policy-service[bot]]

Hi! We've identified this issue as a duplicate of another one that already exists on this Issue Tracker. This specific instance is being closed in favor of tracking the concern over on the referenced thread. Thanks for your report!