Programs

Comparison of the similarity of two texts. A guide to data comparison software How to compare Excel files

Good afternoon dear friends! As a result of creating a text file, we have to subject it to multiple changes. And it is noteworthy that some non-final version of the document can be agreed W interested L itom 1. As a result, the final text file, which is agreed upon by another ZL 2, may differ significantly from the previously agreed version ZL 1 . And such situations can be repeated every day. A W L maybe 10. Let's study a tool that will insure us and partially automate the process of comparing two documents.

How to compare two documents at the same time in Word?

Continuing the course Microsoft Word I will tell you how to compare two text documents for differences at the same time. Knowing this function of the MC Word editor will help you make sure that the concept of the text is unchanged, or vice versa, find out what exactly has changed and where. Each character (letter, punctuation mark, even space) will be highlighted during the comparison procedure right in the document. So let's go...

As an example, let's take the most difficult tongue twister that I had to meet, and randomly change the words in different parts of our document so that I can show how to compare two text files. One of the documents (original) I will call "1", and the other, respectively, "2".

How to compare two word document and shine a change?

First, open Microsoft Word
Go to tab "Review", In chapter "Comparison" press "Compare"

A drop down box will appear in front of you. "Version comparison" into which you now need to upload two types of documents: original and modified.

After choosing two versions of a text document, click "OK"

The results of the comparison will open in a new window, and it will look something like this:

All deleted and inserted words will appear in the highlighted square with the number "1". To the right, the zone with the number "2" Shows the compared document with the presence in the text and the words deleted and inserted in their place. The workspace with the number "3" shows us the original document (before the changes were made), while the space with the number "4" shows us the modified document with the changes made.

The remaining working field with the number "5" is a set of tools necessary for editing the final version of the developed document.

By pressing "Accept" / "Reject" for the first time, you select the word that you will accept or reject, by pressing the second time you will change to one of the proposed options.

Red strikethrough words are marked for deletion, and red underlined words will be replaced.

How to compare two documents if there is no Word?

What to do if there is no Word at hand. Many people, having the most common text editor available, do not know about its huge potential, which goes beyond text formatting. And if you don’t remember how to compare or if you have another text editor, then there is only one way out, to mark the words marked for deletion / insertion in one of the following ways:

- fill the text with red color for deletion, green for adding (you can choose arbitrary colors, but for this operation these are the most common).

- strike through the deleted text / underline the inserted text, etc.

Suddenly, if you want to download Microsoft Word, then go to the following link:

If you want to learn more about the possibilities of the Word, then go here

For all other questions, you can contact in the comments.

Need to compare two files Microsoft Excel? Here are two simple ways do it.

There are many reasons why you might want to take one. Excel document and compare it with others. This can be a labor intensive task.

it requires a lot of concentration, but there are ways to make your life easier.

Do you need to take a close look by hand or do you want Excel to do some heavy lifting

on your behalf, here are two easy ways to compare multiple sheets.

How to Compare Excel Files

Excel allows users to display two versions of a document at once to quickly distinguish between them:

First, open the workbooks to be compared.
Switch to View > Window > Side View.

Comparing Excel files by eye

To get started, open Excel and any workbooks you want to compare. We can use the same technique to compare sheets in the same document

or completely different files.

If more than one sheet is received from the same book, it must be separated in advance. To do this, go to View > Window > New Window.

This won't split the individual sheets permanently, just open a new instance of your document.

This menu will list all tables that are in this moment open. If you only have two open, they will be selected automatically.

Make your choice and click Good. You will see both tables appear on the screen.

If it's more convenient you can use Arrange everything button to switch between vertical and horizontal configuration.

One important option to be aware of is Synchronous scrolling switching.

Enabling this setting ensures that when one window scrolls, the other will move in sync. This is important if you are working with a large table.

and you want to keep testing one against the other. If for some reason the two sheets are not aligned, just click Reset window position.

Comparing Excel Files Using Conditional Formatting

In many cases The best way comparison of two spreadsheets might be to just display them all at the same time. However, it is possible to automate the process somewhat.

Using Conditional Formatting

We can check Excel for discrepancies between two sheets. This can save a lot of time if all you need to find are the differences between one version and another.

For this method, we need to make sure that the two sheets we are working with are part of the same workbook. To do this, click right click mouse over the name of the sheet you want to move and select Move or copy.

Here you can use the drop down menu to decide which document it will be pasted into.

Select all the cells that are filled in on the worksheet where you want any differences to be highlighted. Fast way to do this is to click the cell in the top left corner and then use the shortcut

Ctrl+Shift+End.

Switch to Home> Styles> Conditional Formatting> New Rule.

Select Use a formula to determine which cells to format and enter the following:

A1sheet_name!A1

Just don't forget to lay out "sheet_name" for any other sheet name. This formula only checks when a cell on one sheet does not exactly match a corresponding cell on another sheet, and flags each instance.

Above you can see the results. All cells containing changes have been highlighted in red, making it quick and easy to compare two sheets.

Let Excel do the hard work

The above technique demonstrates one way you can let Excel handle some of the heavy lifting. Even if you pay close attention, there is a chance that you may miss a change if you do this task manually. Thanks to conditional formatting, you can be sure that nothing is leaking onto the network.

Excel is good at monotonous and detail oriented work. Once you get the hang of it, you can save yourself some time and effort by using techniques like conditional formatting and a little ingenuity.

Do you have any advice for comparing documents in Excel? Or do you need help with the processes in this guide? In any case, why not join the conversation in the comments section below?

It happens that you have two almost identical texts, and you need to clearly see how exactly they differ. A common example: you “recorded” an interview from a recorder and sent it to a demanding interlocutor for proofreading. And he, instead of highlighting his edits with color, simply cut out some phrases, added new ones, and swapped paragraphs.

As a result, you seem to be reading your own interview, but you don’t recognize him “in makeup”. Compare manually two large text difficult - can it be made easier? site tell you how.

Such tasks often face programmers, so file comparison programs can highlight syntax when comparing program codes of different programming languages. We need such programs to allow comparing texts in the usual .txt format and, preferably, in Word format.

For comparison, we took several paragraphs of our article and replaced some words, swapped phrases. Now let's compare.

Microsoft Word

V Microsoft program Office since version 2007, you can compare two files without leaving Word. Go to the menu item Reviewing - Compare - Compare ... (comparison of two versions of the document). We specify two files, click the "More" button and mark the parameters by which you want to compare the text, and also choose where to view the changes: in the first file, in the second or in the new one.

The program highlights deleted text with red strikethrough, inserted text with red underline, and moved paragraphs with green. In a separate panel on the left (not shown in the screenshot below), you can track the changes for each word, as well as see a summary: in our case, 57 corrections, of which 26 insertions, 29 deletions, 2 moves.

WinMerge is a free cross-platform file comparison utility that can be used on a rich "zoo" operating systems starting with Windows 98. latest version– WinMerge 2.14.0 – exists both as an installer (6.14 Mb) and as a portable assembly. The out-of-the-box program can only compare plain text files, and if we want to work also with office documents (texts in .doc, .docx, .odt formats, tables in .xls, .xlsx, .sxc formats, PDF files and other office files in exotic formats), you need to download the Xdocdiff plugin. The plugin is connected as follows:

1) Unpack the archive with the plugin

2) Files xdoc2txt.exe and zlib.dll are copied to the folder with installed program WinMerge

3) Copy the MergePlugins folder along with the amb_xdocdiffPlugin.dll file entirely to the folder with the installed WinMerge program

4) Run WinMerge, go to the menu Add-ons - List, check the box "Enable add-ons"

5) Go to the Add-ons menu - check the box "Unpack automatically"

That's it, now you can open two of our files: if you want - the usual "teekstash", if you want - "Word".

The program will warn you that you can also specify archived files, but you will have to download an archiver plugin for this. However, we are not afraid of its absence, we refuse future similar notifications and get a window with our two texts. On the left side of the window there are two long columns: these are the thumbnails of our texts. The paragraphs in which changes were found are highlighted in yellow. Since there were such changes in each of the three paragraphs of our original text, both columns are shaded in yellow. Specific modified words are highlighted in light yellow.

But the program has many settings, so it's easy to highlight the words in some other color.

There are many programs for comparing files, including text ones, their main drawback is the price. Compare it! costs $29 for a license, Beyond Compare - $30, Compare Suite - $70, DiffDoc Professional - as much as $399.95. Let's look at the example of this last, most expensive program, how much better it is than the free WinMerge.

Download the program (7 mb), run. The result is very similar to the one given to us. Microsoft Office 2007, only the layout of the columns is different. Red strikethrough - the text that has been changed, red underlined - the text to which the original has been changed (red strikethrough); blue strikethrough - cut text, green - moved (or added "from scratch") text.

It turns out that there is practically no difference. If the user honestly bought an expensive Microsoft office suite, then there is no point in spending another $ 400 on the official purchase and registration of this program. Even the “trial” version does not need to be used if the same functionality is provided by the standard Word, especially since the unregistered version of DiffDoc Professional reminds you of the need to purchase every 15 minutes.

Finally, let's check out one of the many online text matching services: DiffNow

The service seems to support the download of doc files, “swallowed” them, wrote Files compared successfully (“file comparison was successful”), but instead of a normal result, it produced a binary set of zeros and ones, in which, however, highlighted the differences. Therefore, it is better to copy and paste the text manually. The site highlights changes like this: brown - changed text, blue - deleted, burgundy - added, purple - changed words in the changed sentences. The service supports various settings (including the ability to replace colors), but we couldn’t get rid of one drawback with any settings: the text is stretched in a programmer’s way, you have to use horizontal scrolling.

Free Solutions

Data synchronization requires programmers, system administrators and time, and related skills. However, the right tools are just as important. Version control, project management, backup, merging and visual comparison of files is far from full list tasks, one way or another related to synchronization.

The guide includes 10 programs that can be called universal in many respects: they are not tied to a specific service or application, they allow you to perform the above (and less specialized) tasks not only through GUI, but also in the mode command line.

The comparison criteria looks like this:

Interface: support for display modes, saving sessions, customization options for the toolbar, columns
Functionality text editor, work with the source code
Merge and synchronization methods, possibility of three-way comparison
Export reports, create patches (diff)
Additional functions: integration with third party applications, support for extensions, protocols, etc.

Smart Synchronize

Smart Synchronization - cross-platform program to compare data, directory structures and their contents. In fact, the program is free for non-commercial use, however, a single-user license costs 39 USD.

Comparison modes are presented in the welcome window of the program. In addition to the file selection dialog, here you can view the history and select a saved profile. Also in the settings (Preferences) filters are configured: file filters - to filter files by name and extension, and directory filters - allow you to create a list of exclusions.

To compare files, a two-pane side-by-side mode is used with synchronous scrolling of the contents of both panels. There are few conventions in SmartSynchronize, but thanks to the linking lines, the comparison and merging operations are very intuitive. SmartSynchronize specifies where and in what direction a segment will be added from one file to another. Inserting text is done with one click, eliminating the need for a context menu.

Document encoding and syntax can be defined manually, syntax highlighting is provided for many programming and markup languages, line numbering, and other editorial features inherent in IDEs.

In general, SmartSynchronize is highly configurable, but all the settings are divided into different sections of the menu, which takes some getting used to. Lacks display modes, toolbar settings.

In the directory comparison mode, a list of files and the status for each of them are displayed, a preview is available at the bottom of the window. The method of comparison - by content or only by size and time - is determined in the settings Edit → Preferences. The number of information columns (file type, date) cannot be increased, although the existing ones can be disabled.

SmartSynchronize implements both one-way data merging with the left or right side, as well as regular synchronization. The configuration can be saved for later loading by taking a snapshot of the file structure. As the developers explain, the program does not recognize file attributes, so it makes no sense to use it as a backup utility. Working with archives is also not provided, as well as with remote directories.

In addition to the above, there is an additional, three-way merge method, 3-Way-Merge, which allows you to merge the differences between multiple versions of files, with each of the three documents being editable independently.

Comparison functions are undoubtedly in demand by programmers in version control. Therefore, in conclusion, it is worth referring to an alternative solution of the same company -. The program is a CVS client with integrated SmartSynchronize toolkit.

Summary. SmartSynchronize offers a good toolkit for working with files and directories, which in some places is not customizable and does not go beyond the basic capabilities.

[+] Three-way merger
[+] Convenient text editor
[-] Lack of documentation
[-] Inability to synchronize remote directories and archives

WinMerge

WinMerge is a program for comparing and merging files and directories in Windows OS. It can be used as a standalone tool or in conjunction with projects. WinMerge has a built-in text editor with support for programming languages, highlighting and line numbering.

There are two modes of working with data, united in a dialog for selecting files and folders. When comparing, two types of filters are available: file filters and string filters. This allows you to use various add-ons and operate regular expressions, filtering out the required data types when comparing.

In the file comparison mode, both files are displayed in the window, in the left and right parts. A map (“Locations”) is provided for easy navigation through the content. Rows that have differences are marked in color and can also be viewed in the Differences panel. Basic merge operations are available in the Merge section.

The functionality of the text editor deserves special attention. Appearance amenable to modification. In addition to syntax highlighting and line numbering, work with scripts is provided, and functionality can be expanded through add-ons. Additions relate to the unpacker, view and script editor.

When comparing directories, the results are displayed in a tabular list. It contains information about the name of the file (catalog), its location, comparison result, date, extension and other information. You can customize the display using columns. If necessary, you can activate the recursive mode or switch to the tree view for easy navigation.

WinMerge allows you to perform the same tasks different ways- including using drag and drop or through the Explorer context menu. You can create projects for quick access to data and settings. WinMerge works in command line mode, and the program can also be used in conjunction with version control systems (TortoiseSVN, visual studio, Rational ClearCase, etc.).

Summary. WinMerge is a program primarily focused on working with projects. Integration with SVN, a functional editor, filters and extensions - all this perfectly complements the basic features when comparing data.

[+] Extension support
[+] Function editor
[+] Integration with third-party applications
[−] No three-way comparison

meld

Meld is a cross-platform program (OS X, Linux, Windows) for synchronizing files and directories. With its help, both two- and three-way comparisons are carried out. First of all, the Meld toolkit will be useful for developers, as integration with version control systems is possible: Git, Bazaar, Mercurial, Subversion and others.

Despite multi-platform support, the app is far from stable on Windows. Let's say tabs and windows don't always open and close correctly. Perhaps the problems are related to the PyGTK library included in the installer. It took some time to launch the program and only on behalf of the administrator. Errors occur constantly, in confirmation -.

In the process of comparing files, you can use a text filter or search (regex syntax is supported). Syntax highlighting is provided (using the library), line numbering, white space accounting and other options that need to be activated through the settings, since they are disabled by default. Inserts, changes and conflicts in the document are highlighted, quick navigation through the list of changes and export in diff format is possible. The connection between files is easy to track using connecting lines and merge the necessary sections with one click.

Scanning directory files is very slow. This is because the comparison is based on content, not size and timestamp. The problem is solved by checking the box next to the corresponding option in the settings. The set of available columns is very limited: size, modification date and resolution. Although you can use the file filter, viewing a long list of files still turns into a routine process: you cannot instantly stop scanning, collapse the file tree, or quickly move to the necessary elements.

Developers will be interested in the third mode of the application - Version Control View. Meld supports a command line interface, so it integrates with Git, Bazaar, Mercurial, Subversion, and more.

Summary. The Meld program has proven to work well in a Linux environment, which cannot be said about functioning in Windows. Unstable operation and inconvenient interface, lack of sessions, insufficient configuration flexibility... On the other hand, the program's tools are not bad, and a quality adaptation of Meld for Windows is perhaps only a matter of time.

[+] Three-way comparison
[+] Support for version control systems
[-] Slow and unstable operation in Windows
[-] Inconvenient and uninformative interface

diffuse

Diffuse is a cross-platform product for Windows, OS X, Linux and BSD, similar in interface to Meld (based on the PyGTK library), but with functional differences. Declared integration with Bazaar, CVS, Darcs, Git, Mercurial, Monotone, RCS, Subversion and other environments.

Continuing the comparison with Meld: Diffuse is characterized by stability, there are no sudden freezes. Detailed documentation is available, the interface is translated into Russian. However, directory comparison is not included in the toolkit, the program contains only the functions of comparing files and editing them. In Diffuse, you can find several modes of merging: - two-, three- and multilateral. Thus, there can be any number of sources of comparison, the only question is speed and convenience. Regarding the second aspect, we can only say that there are no sessions here - accordingly, working with big projects in Diffuse is questionable.

Differences are marked in color, a Comparison Summary is available near the scroll bar, and buttons on the control panel are used to navigate through the list of changes. Line numbering and syntax highlighting with manual switching are enabled by default. Unlike other similar editors, in Diffuse you cannot immediately select an arbitrary section of text, for this you need to double-click on the content. Otherwise, you can select text and perform other actions only line by line.

Obviously, there are no differences between files in Diffuse relinking, so merging lines is done in a less intuitive way. All available commands are collected in the "Merge" section, where you need to go every time for lack of commands in context menu. In SmartSynchronize or other mentioned solutions, many operations are performed in one click.

Working with version control systems is possible through the command line, a list of commands with a description is given in .

Summary. Functionality of this kind is in demand when merging several text documents. The program is devoid of the shortcomings inherent in the closest analogue of Diffuse - Meld. But, unfortunately, directory comparison and reporting were left out.

[+] Convenient operation with strings
[+] Integration with CVS
[+] Multi-window merge
[-] No sessions
[-] Marking changes is not intuitive

Perforce P4 Merge

P4Merge is not often mentioned among other free products (for example, compared to WinMerge). In addition, it is not easy to find this program among other components of the Perforce complex. Perforce is a commercial cross-platform version control system with a wide range of applications, not least due to plug-ins and integration with various products (IntelliJ IDEA, Autodesk 3D Studio Max, Maya, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office, Eclipse, emacs, etc.). However, P4 Merge can work autonomously from the Perforce server, just download the program from the developer's website to use it for free.

The main operations are file comparison (Diff) and merging (Merge). The document editor is extremely simple: there is numbering, but no syntax highlighting. You cannot edit files in two panels "on the fly", you need to select one of the panels, turn on the editing mode and then save the changes. Differences are marked, navigation buttons are used to navigate between them. The easiest way to navigate changes is with connector lines. In general, the P4 Merge interface is not convenient enough: it does not contain a summary of the differences, statistics on changes are presented as a summary figure, without detail, to view the changes, you need to use manual refresh.

Listing other features of the program, it is worth mentioning the comparison of images. V this mode two useful features: Highlight differences and merge two files into one. At the same time, it is not clear why the editor menu contains unclaimed commands, such as changing the encoding, comparison methods, and others that relate to comparison text files, but not images.

Summary. Of course, P4 Merge has many functional limitations, especially when compared with paid products. The application can be considered purely as an addition to the Perforce server. Perhaps, in search of the necessary tools, you should pay attention to other components available on the developer's website.

[+] Merge diagram in Merge mode
[-] Weak functionality
[-] Inability to edit on the fly
[-] Missing merge commands

Laziness is the engine of progress, no matter how strange it may sound, some inventions greatly simplify our lives. In my article I want to tell you how to compare two files in accessible ways.
And I decided to write about this after one case when I needed to find out what changes the developers made to the procedure for the database during the new update.

And two programs that have settled with me for a long time helped me in this:
1.Total Commander
2.Notepad++

File comparison in TotalCommander

Let's say we already have two files that we need to compare.
1.Then select them in TotalCommander

2. Go to the FILE menu — -> Compare by content.

3. In the window that opens, we have two areas in each of which you can see the contents of the files.

As a result, lines with changes are highlighted in gray, specific differences in red.

To move to the next block of differences or return to the previous one, TotalCommander has the buttons "Next difference" and "Previous difference" in the menu. Here you can also activate the editing mode by pressing the "Edit" button, after that you can change the font, copy lines from window to window, and in case of an erroneous action there is a saving "Rollback" button.

After editing, the program will ask what to do with the files: save or not save.

Compare files in Notepad++

Notepad++ is in my opinion the best notepad that everyone should have. It has great functionality, expanding through plugins.

So, how can Notepad++ help us compare files? The answer is simple: you need to download the right plugin.

Open the item "Plugins" -> "Plugin Manager" -> "Show Plugin Manager".

In the manager that opens, a large list of various plugins will be poured out. Choose " Compare " and install.

open two files in Notepad++.
We make both files open in tabs next to each other.
On the menu bar, go to Plugins —> Compare —> Compare, or use the hotkeys - Alt + D and run the plugin.