Merge

File comparison and merging

Merge enables you to compare and work with different revisions of text files, such as program source code, xml and html files. Merge can extract and compare the text from Microsoft Office, OpenDocument, PDF and RTF files. XML files can be shown with special formatting, helping you to see changes more clearly. It supports files with ascii, mbcs and Unicode character encodings. A colour-coded side-by-side comparison makes it easy to pinpoint at a glance similarities and differences between files. Linking lines are drawn between the documents showing clearly how they are related.

Point-and-click merging lets you choose the parts of each file that you would like to add to a final merged version by simply clicking buttons. The in-place editor with unlimited undo enables complete control over the merged file as you create it. The file comparison display dynamically updates as the merge progresses.

Merge shows detailed highlights of changes within lines. It can be configured to ignore differences in whitespace and line endings, as well as changes in lines matching specified regular expressions. The latter is useful for ignoring unimportant changes such as timestamps or expanded version control keywords.

Binary and image file comparison

Merge doesn¿t just compare text files. Use image comparison to compare various types of image file and instantly see which pixels have been modified. Binary comparison enables you to identify differences in data files at a byte level.

Three-way comparison and automatic merging

Merge Professional edition adds advanced three-way visual file comparison and merging to the Standard Edition¿s two-way visual file comparison and merging. This is particularly useful when more than one person is working on the same set of files.

Automatic Merging enables swift reconciliation of even the largest files. Three-way file comparisons can be launched directly from a three-way folder comparison, allowing efficient integration of entire branches of source code.

Integrated folder hierarchy comparison and synchronisation

Merge supports folder hierarchy comparison and synchronisation, enabling you to compare and merge entire directory trees. This is ideal for detecting changes in different versions of source code or web pages. You can even use the efficient byte-by-byte comparison option to verify the contents of recordable cds or usb thumbsticks.

The Professional Edition of Merge supports three-way folder comparison, enabling two revisions of a folder hierarchy to be merged with their common ancestor or some other folder hierarchy. This can be especially useful when used in conjunction with a source code control or software configuration management system.

Direct access to FTP sites and configuration management systems

An ftp plugin gives Merge file and folder comparisons direct access to files located on an ftp server. It is therefore possible to use a folder comparison to synchronise a local copy of a website¿s content with the main site itself, provided the main site is running an ftp server.

Plus on Mac, Merge integrates with Time Machine, so you can open any earlier revision of a file or folder. Open the same file or folder in both the left and right comparison panes, then use the Versions button to compare a file or folder with another revision of itself.

Merge plugins for Perforce, Subversion and Visual SourceSafe (Windows only) are also provided. These give Merge read-only access to files and folders located in Perforce depots, Subversion repositories and Visual SourceSafe databases. Therefore, for example, a Merge folder comparison can be used to compare a Perforce client workspace against the depot. Alternatively, different branches (or the same branch at different points in time) within a depot can be compared directly.

Report generation

File comparison reports (examples: two-way, three-way) can be created in html, html slideshow, xml or unix diff format. html reports are particularly useful for archiving and distribution. Folder comparison reports (examples: two-way, three-way) can be created in html or xml format. A folder comparison report can, optionally, include file comparison reports for some or all of the files involved in the folder comparison. Thus it is possible to generate a report that is a complete record of all the differences in all of the files involved in a folder comparison.

Print support, automation and other advanced features

Other features include the ability to print a hard copy of file and folder comparisons, and to customise the behaviour and appearance of the application, including fonts, colours, whether the display is split horizontally or vertically, and more.

A full Automation API, AppleScript API and Command-Line Interface are included, allowing close integration with other applications (such as source code control and software configuration management systems) or your workflow.

Comprehensive online documentation is supplied with the product and is also available from the Araxis website. Context-sensitive help is provided for every menu item, dialog and dialog control.

For legal and publishing professionals

Instantly identify every change between different contract or manuscript drafts. Directly open and compare the text from Microsoft Office (Word and Excel), OpenDocument, PDF and RTF files. Copy text from other applications (such as Microsoft Word) and paste it directly into a text comparison window.

For software engineers and web developers

Compare, understand and combine different source file versions. Work quickly and accurately, whether you are comparing individual files or reconciling entire branches of source code. Use three-way comparison to integrate changes made by you, and those made by a colleague, with a common ancestor version (Professional only). Synchronise a website with its staging area via ftp using the supplied ftp plugin.

For release and quality control managers

Compare different source code branches to give total confidence that you know and understand every change made to every file for a specific release. Compare product releases to be certain that only the expected files have been modified. Create an html or xml report of changes for audit purposes.

For code reviewers and auditors

Identify in context every change made between two or three source code hierarchies. Create a standalone html or xml report of your findings. Add bookmarks and comments to a file or folder comparison, then save it as a single-file archive for emailing to other team members for review.

Other users

Whether you are working with multiple revisions of text files or need to keep multiple folder hierarchies in sync (for example, between a desktop and laptop machine), Merge could help save time and reduce errors by helping you to work quickly and accurately.

A licence must be purchased for each machine where the product is to be used. The only exception to this is that the primary user of a computer for which a licence has been purchased may make a second copy for his or her exclusive use on a second computer. This means that you can buy a single Merge licence and then use it simultaneously on both a Windows PC and a Mac, provided you are the only person using that licence.

Features exclusive to the Professional edition

The sole difference between the Standard and Professional editions of Merge is that only the Professional Edition contains features related to three-way comparison and merging.

• Three-way comparison and merging - compare and merge changes in two updated revisions of a file with their common ancestor (or any other file)
• Automatic merging - automatically merge two modified files into a common ancestor
• Conflict highlighting - after an automatic merge, any conflicting sections of the files being merged are flagged for manual processing
• Three-way folder comparison - identify file insertions, removals and changes between two folder hierarchies and a common ancestor (or some other) folder hierarchy.