vdiff32

(Visual Diff) graphical version of diff utility 

Command

SYNOPSIS

vdiff32 [-bicMmnsw] [-d1|-d2|-d3] [-t1 title1] [-t2 title2] [-F merge_file] [file1 [file2]]

DESCRIPTION

The vdiff32 command is a graphical version of diff. It features a full graphical user interface as well as a side-by-side display of the two files being compared. Differences between the files are highlighted in color.

When both file1 and file2 are specified, vdiff32 compares the two specified files. When only file1 is specified, vdiff32 launches with the Compare Files dialog open showing file1 as the default choice for File 1 and letting you enter or browse for File 2.

Complete instructions on using vdiff32 are available through its online help feature.

Options

-b 

ignores white space at the end of each line (except the newline) and treats all consecutive strings of white space elsewhere in a line as equivalent (effectively, reducing all strings of white space to a single space for the purpose of comparing lines). For example if one file contained a string of three spaces and a tab at a given location while the other file contained a string of two spaces at the same location, vdiff32 would not report this as a difference.

-c 

launches vdiff32 in cascading windows mode. This is the same as starting vdiff32 normally and then selecting Cascade from the Window menu.

-d1 
-d2 
-d3 

deletes one or both of the files being compared on exit. -d1 deletes file1. -d2 deletes file2. -d3 deletes both file1 and file2.

-F merge_file 

specifies merge_file as the default name to use when saving a merged file.

-i 

ignores the case of letters when doing the comparison.

-M 

starts vdiff32 in "merge mode". That is, the specified file1 and file2 have been loaded, compared, and the Merge command has been performed upon them. This option has no effect if both file1 and file2 are not specified on the command line.

-m 

immediately displays the Compare Files dialog (which lets you select the two files to be compared) when vdiff32 starts. If you have specified file1 or file2 on the command line, those files will be the defaults displayed in the dialog.

-n 

terminates vdiff32 immediately if file1 and file2 have no differences. Normally, if the two specified files compare as identical, a message appears stating that fact and vdiff32 launches with no files loaded.

-s 

suppresses the display of the message indicating that files are identical and continues as though they were not identical. This option overrides the -n option.

-t1 title1 
-t2 title2 

specifies a title to be used instead of the file name. -t1 specifies the title for file1 and -t2 specifies the title for file2. These titles are used in the vdiff32 title bar and other places where file names may appear.

-w 

ignores white space (not including newlines) when making the comparison. For example, the following two lines are equivalent: 

a b  c d
abcd

DIAGNOSTICS

Possible exit status values are:

0 

Successful completion.

>0 

An error occurred.

PORTABILITY

Windows 8.1. Windows Server 2012 R2. Windows 10. Windows Server 2016. Windows Server 2019. Windows 11. Windows Server 2022.

AVAILABILITY

PTC MKS Toolkit for Developers
PTC MKS Toolkit for Interoperability
PTC MKS Toolkit for Professional Developers
PTC MKS Toolkit for Professional Developers 64-Bit Edition
PTC MKS Toolkit for Enterprise Developers
PTC MKS Toolkit for Enterprise Developers 64-Bit Edition

SEE ALSO

Commands:
cmp, comm, diff, diff3, diffb, dircmp, patch

PTC MKS Toolkit 10.4 Documentation Build 39.