comparing files on local and remote server

Question

I'm using filezilla for my ftp client.

But i'm missing a feature i had dreamweaver years back that would list the difference between mylocal and remote sites.

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend either good software for this or an alternate ftp client.

Answer 1

I use SyncBack SE, which I am afraid is shareware rather than free, but can synchronise for network or local or ftp folders, or just compare with lots of customisation options, it can even be scheduled. It's for windows, and can be found at

http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/sbse.html

I have a lot of sites using DokuWiki and other text file based CMS's and it's ideal for backing them up as only the changed files a done and it can be used from PC to FTP to update files which have been edited on the PC.

Answer 2

Try Beyond Compare. The latest version has FTP capabilities.

http://www.scootersoftware.com/file-synchronization.php

Answer 3

There was already a similar question on stackoverflow here -

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2829983/ftp-diff-viewer

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

What kind of comparison do you need? If you only need to see if any files are new/missing/updated (by tmestamp), FileZilla already has that built in.

If you need to compare the contents of the files, then you'll need one of the tools from other answers. If you have some kind of remote access to the server, something rsync-based will probably be much faster since the server can help determine differences without you having to download all the data back to your PC.

Answer 5

The Total Commander can also do file comparisons and is capable of FTP.