ExamDiff Pro Usage Tip: Quickly Deleting Items From Lists

All user-generated lists in ExamDiff Pro enable you to easily delete list items.

For this example, I'm using the Recent Files list, but this applies to Recent Directories, Name Filters, and all of the Ignore lists in Options | Compare.

To quickly delete a list item, simply highlight an item and press Delete:

When the confirmation dialog pops up, click Yes and voila - the item is deleted!

Moved Blocks

One more ExamDiff Pro feature that we are working on is moved block recognition. A moved block is any diff block that appears in both files but in different locations in the files.

Moved blocks are clearly visible due to the pink (as opposed to gray) coloring of their diff bars. If a moved block is selected, its diff bar is striped yellow and pink, as shown below:

Note that the diff combo bar description is slightly different for moved blocks and includes both a description of the diff itself and a description of the move (the latter part is only shown if the moved block is on the left side of the diff, because all descriptions are relative to the first file).

The first screenshot below shows the context menu for the diff bar of a moved block. From this context menu you can enable and disable the display of moved blocks, and can also locate the matching block. If you click on Select Matching Moved Block, ExamDiff Pro aligns the files (if possible) so that the two matching moved blocks are aligned, as shown in the second screenshot below. Note that it is possible for two matching moved blocks to have an unequal number of lines, if some of those lines are ignored.

Finally, view filters can now also filter moved blocks, as shown below.

Diff Bar Improvements in ExamDiff Pro

Another major feature that the next version of ExamDiff Pro will include is an improved Diff bar (formerly known as the Current Diff bar).

All differences are now displayed on the Diff bar (as opposed to only the current difference being displayed before). The current difference is still clearly visible due to its yellow shading in the Diff bar, while other differences are shaded gray:

Each Diff bar now contains a green arrow at the top. Clicking the arrow copies the entire diff block to the other file, for easy merging of differences. In these screenshots, I clicked on the arrow in the second diff block of the first file:

Clicking on the Diff bar of the current diff block selects the text in the difference, while clicking on the Diff bar of any other diff block makes that diff block current. These features all combine to make it easier to view, select, and merge differences in files.

Fuzzy Matching

We've spent the past few months working diligently on the next version of ExamDiff Pro, and one of the biggest features that we're adding is fuzzy matching. In essence, fuzzy matching enables ExamDiff Pro to intelligently align lines that are similar but not identical.

Let's see it in action. Take a look at this pair of files with fuzzy matching disabled: the changed block shown looks rather ugly, and the similarities between the two files are difficult to see.

Previously, the only way to align similar lines was to use manual synchronization, as shown below. However, manual synchronization can be time consuming. Fuzzy matching can now do the same thing, automatically.

We can enable fuzzy matching from the new Options | Compare | Advanced panel. Settings on this panel allow you to automatically enable fuzzy matching for files below a certain size (because fuzzy matching can slightly slow down comparison for large files) and to set the fuzzy similarity threshold (lines with a lower % of similarity will not be matched).

After enabling fuzzy matching and hitting Re-compare, you would get something like this:

As you can see, similar lines are now automatically matched, and the comparison view is much cleaner.

FtpVC 2.5 Release!

I'm pleased to announce that we have finally released FtpVC 2.5, the long-awaited update to our popular serverless version control system.

As you open FtpVC 2.5, you'll find that the user interface itself looks more modern now and features more customizability: the Folders and Output panes are no longer fixed, but can now be docked, floated, and hidden at will. (Note that the following screenshots have been taken in Windows Vista, which FtpVC 2.5 fully supports.)

Another improvement in usability is that FtpVC can now be minimized to the system tray. Simply check "Minimize to the Taskbar Notification Area" under Settings | Misc, and when you minimize FtpVC, its icon resides quite snugly in the tray:

This release isn't short of function, however! Most importantly, we have completely overhauled the Find Checkouts and Find By Status features. They are no longer restricted to a single directory; instead, when one of them is selected, FtpVC enters a new mode, denoted by special folder icons, as shown below. Under "Find mode," all directories are filtered to display only the type of files that you are looking for, and to exit the mode simply refresh.

Other new features include the ability to copy main view items and History items to the clipboard, a project option for comments to be required, improved support for SMTP and Unix symbolic links, and a much faster file compression algorithm.

I hope you all enjoy FtpVC 2.5!