I would like to know if there is a (free) tool to compare local files with a distant repository. Something with a good gui would be great.
2 Answers
If you add the FTP directory as a Network Place, it can be treated as a local drive.
This means that any directory compare tool can be used, of which there are heaps.
If you need more info, alert me by adding a comment below.
Total Commander is not free but can be evaluated for some times.
You can compare local files with files stored on a FTP site. The "Synchronize Dirs" feature is great at that, comparing directories recursively. For files with differences, you can compare easily their content (if they're text-based).
As explained in this review:
Another useful feature is synchronization of the contents of two directories (or directory trees). Try it and you'll ever use the brain-damaged Microsoft Briefcase again. Even better: one of these directories can be on the remote FTP server; this is lifesaver for these of us who keep developing their Web sites on their PCs, and need to move the updated files to the server, while purging the "stale" ones from it.