WinMatch 32 Compare Directories Side-by-Side

WMatch32 (by PC Magazine)


	Featured Utility PC Magazine's WMatch32 v1.1

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WMatch 32 Compare Directories Side-by-Side (by PC Magazine)

WMatch is an all time Zipguy favorite, and has been, since 1995 when he discovered it in the Nov. 1995 issue. He used it happily for a long time. Sadly, like an aging prizefighter, it was getting old in the tooth, because it did not support Windows 9x's LFNs (Long File Names).

Fortunately, it has been updated so that now it does! It is simply the easiest tool to use when trying to compare the contents of similar folders (directories). Not only that, but once you've figured out what you need to do to get the folders in sync, it also lets you move/copy/delete (groups of) files from/in the "source" folder to get the files the way you want them.

Here's some of the reaons why the ZipGuy likes it so much:

Freeware (with source code included)! However you must download it yourself from PC Magazine (or www.hotfiles.com ) and are not allowed to distribute it.
Do a search on "wmatch" and get the 32bit version.
Simple and easy to use, and is not cluttered with a lot of options.
Is specifically designed for the task of comparing similar directories and moving files around (or deleting them). That's all it does, and it does it really well.
Lets you visually see what is different (and the same) with a glance.
Once you make up you mind what to do with a group of files, it lets you define a group of files and then move/copy/delete that group. So you can do thing like copy the newer files to the target folder.
Eliminates the manual comparing of directory lists.
Great for updating a production directory from a testing one, once testing is over
Superb for fixing a problem like "Opps! I just copied 24 files into my Windows directory by mistake!"
Note the comparison is based on the name, date and size. NOT THE FILE CONTENTS!

As they say a picture is worth a thousand words...

Things crudely marked in Brown are only in the source directory	Things crudely marked in Green are only in the target directory
Blue files are newer	If both files on the same line are black, then, they have identical names, sizes and dates
The Check marked files (crudely marked in yellow) were selected manually and are about to be copied to update the target directory on the right.	Notice that only the All files (crudely marked in pink) are being shown. You can look at just "Different" or "Alike" files also

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