There are many file compare tools around but they seem to either belong to part of a larger SCM system or they only allow it to diff/merge files rather than text that is just pasted into it adhoc.

If you want a tool that will give you a good easy-to-visually parse listing, automatically show the differences and allow you to synchronize them and then cut and paste the synchronized code back into you IDE, when, Compare Suite utility is ideal for your needs. You can use Compare Suite to compare also directories, not just files. When comparing files, the diff highlights the lines and characters that do not match. You can edit the files in the diff view using many of the features available in the editor window. I notice that the diff is automatically updated as you edit.

The ability to just cut and paste code snippets into separate windows is vital, in my view. I use this all the time for merging what appear to be duplicate pieces of code. It looks like Compare Suite also has this facility, but its display doesn’t update in real time.

From other side, Compare Suite utility is well designed and very easy to use. On top of that it has an exclusive feature that I didn’t find in any other tested application: it integrates with others IDE and allows you to select the files to compare right clicking on them. It’s a pricey tool, but it’s come in very handy so far.

Ideally I would also like it to have the ability to allow merging of 3 separate pieces of code (e.g. 1 original and two separate changes). Compare Suite is primarily a diff tool, but it does a bunch of other things as well. It is not exactly a merge tool, but it does allow merging documents in a sophistic way.

Compare Suite supports comparing a lot of different file formats such as compare xml, compare docx, compare php, compare pdf and etc. Compare Suite is windows software.

Link: Compare Suite

Tags | Programming, Reviews, Software, Tools, Windows