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Can anyone recommend some good file compare software that is free and runs on Windows? What I'm mainly looking for is something that will show the differences between two files line-by-line (or even better, character differences) and allow selective merging of each difference to either file. Compare It and Araxis Merge does these, but they are paid programs. Is there anything out there like this that is free? Thanks.

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Hasn't this question been asked before? There seem to be countless questions about this subject. – alex Sep 18 '09 at 13:29
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You can find a complete list of file comparison software over on wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_comparison_tools – alex Sep 18 '09 at 13:33
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also: superuser.com/questions/34962/… – fretje Sep 18 '09 at 13:41
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Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! In the end, I decided to stick with the file compare function built into Notepad++. Even though it doesn't do everything I would prefer, it is convenient, as Notepad++ is my favorite text/source editor. – Jim Fell Nov 19 '09 at 14:46
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We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context. Don't just give a one-line answer: please explain why you're recommending it as a solution. Answers that don't explain anything will be deleted. See Good Subjective, Bad Subjective for more information.

closed as not constructive by slhck♦ May 16 at 21:45

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2 Answers

up vote 19 down vote accepted

Give WinMerge a spin; it does everything you are asking for.

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+1 Great program. – alex Sep 18 '09 at 13:31
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+1 WinMerge rules – Peter Lillevold Sep 18 '09 at 14:12
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Good program, I use it alot. – Jim C Sep 18 '09 at 15:08
Care to elaborate on this answer? – Ivo Flipse♦ Jul 15 '12 at 18:59
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I really like DiffMerge by SourceGear.

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Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. – KronoS Jul 13 '12 at 4:37

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