Folder Merge Commands

Beyond Compare 4

Following is a description of the Folder Merge commands, in addition to the common commands. Most of these commands are available as toolbar buttons.

Pick Tools > Options and switch to the Toolbars, etc. page to define your own keyboard shortcuts, and hide or expose commands on the menus and toolbars.

The Session menu

	Save Session	Saves the current session.
	Save Session As	Saves the current session under a new name.
	Session Settings	Opens the Folder Merge Session Settings dialog.
	Locked	Locks or unlocks current session.
	Clear Session	Replaces the current view with an empty Folder Merge.
	Swap Sides	Exchanges the left and right base folders.
	Back	Goes back to (earlier) compared base folders.
	Forward	Goes forward to (later) compared base folders.
	Browse for Folder > Left Side / Center Side / Right Side / Output Side	Browses for an existing folder on the specified side.
	Up One Level > Left Side / Center Side / Right Side / Output Side / All Sides	Changes specified base folders to their parent folders.
	Folder Merge Info	Displays merge statistics.
	Compare to Output > Left Side / Center Side / Right Side	Opens the base folder on the indicated side and the output base folder in a new Folder Compare session.
	Merge Parent Folders	Opens a new Folder Merge session based on the parent folders of the current base folders.

The Actions menu

	Open Folder / Close Folder	Opens or closes the selected folder in the comparison.
	Open Subfolders	Opens the selected folders and all their subfolders.
	Close Subfolders	Closes the selected folders and all their subfolders.
	Set as Base Folder	Sets the selected folder as the base folder on its side of the comparison.
	Set as Base Folders	Sets the two or three selected folders as the left and right or left, right and center base folders in this comparison view. (To open them in a new view use Open in New View instead.)
	Open	Opens selected items in a new comparison view. If the items are files, the view type is determined by the file format list. If exactly two items are selected, they will be compared to each other (whether or not they are across from each other) in the new view. If only one item is selected it will be compared to the item across from it, if it exists.
	Open With	Opens selected files in a new view using a specified type of file session, or opens the selected items in an external application, as defined in "Open With" Applications. Note that the Folder Merge view is not automatically updated if the items are modified by the external application.
	Open With > Associated Application	Opens selected files with the associated application.
	Open With > Text Edit	Opens selected files with the built-in text editor.
	Open With > Text Patch	Opens selected files with the built-in patch view.
	Quick Compare	Displays the Quick Compare dialog for the selected files. If exactly two files are selected, they will be compared to each other (whether or not they are across from each other). If only one file is selected, it will be compared to the file across from it.
	Compare To	Allows you to select one item, and then click on a second item to compare them in a new view.
	Compare Contents	Compares contents of the selected items using one of three methods.
	Merge	Performs automated merge of selected items.
	Copy to Right / Copy to Left *	Copies selected files, folders to the explicitly indicated side. Normally associated with Ctrl+R, Ctrl+L keyboard shortcuts.
	Copy to Side *	Prompts which side to copy selected files, folders to.
	Copy to Other Side	Dynamic command that copies selected files, folders to the opposite side. The caption and icon appear as Copy to Right, Copy to Left or Copy to Side depending on which side(s) are selected.
	Copy to Output	Copies selected files, folders to the output folder.
	Delete	Deletes selected files, folders.
	Rename	Renames selected files, folders.
	Attributes	Changes file attributes on selected files, folders.
	Touch	Changes timestamps on selected files, folders.
	Exclude	Excludes selected file, or type of file, from the current session.
	New Folder	Creates a new folder.
	Copy Filename	Copies a list of the selected items' paths to the clipboard.
	Ignored	Suppresses differences in selected items.
	Refresh Selection	Refreshes the selected items.
	Source Control	Displays a submenu of source control actions (see below). Only appears if a source control provider has been configured and all selected items are under source control.
	Explorer	Displays the file manager's context menu for the selected item(s).

Source Control Submenu

	Add to Source Control	Adds the file to the project.
	Remove from Source Control	Removes the file from the project.
	Get Latest Version	Gets the latest version from the source control repository.
	Get *	Gets a particular version from the source control repository.
	Check In	Takes your changes and applies them to the project.
	Check Out	Checks the file out from the source control repository and makes your local copy writable.
	Undo Check Out	Removes any changes you have made to the local copy and sets it back to read-only.
	Show Differences	Tells the version control system to display the comparison of the file with the one in version control. The version control system will only use Beyond Compare if it is set up to do so.
	Show History	Shows the history of the file in the version control system.
	Show Properties	Shows version control-specific properties.
	Run Source Control Application	Runs the source control application.

The Edit menu

	Expand All	Opens all folders in view.
	Collapse All	Closes all folders in view.
	Select All	Selects all visible items.
	Select All Files	Selects all visible files.
	Select Newer > Left Side / Right Side / Both Sides	Selects all visible files that are newer on the specified side.
	Select Orphans > Left Side / Right Side / Both Sides	Selects all visible orphan files on the specified side.
	Invert Selection	Selects all items not currently selected, and deselects all items currently selected.
	Refresh	Refreshes open folders.
	Full Refresh	Refreshes entire comparison.

The Search menu

	Next Difference	Positions at next difference.
	Previous Difference	Positions at previous difference.
	Find Filename	Finds filename matching search string.
	Find Next Filename	Finds next filename matching search string.
	Find Previous Filename	Finds previous filename matching search string.

The View menu

	Show All	Uses no display filter on either side.
	Show Changes	Shows left add, right add, left delete, right delete, left change, right change and conflict items.
	Show Conflicts	Shows conflict items.
	Show Left Changes	Shows left add, left delete, and left change items.
	Show Right Changes	Shows right add, right delete, and right change items.
	Show Mergeable	Shows same change and difference change items.
	Show Unchanged	Shows unchanged items.
	Show None *	Hides all files. Useful in conjunction with Always Show Folders to copy folder structures.
	Always Show Folders	Shows all folders, except those excluded by file filters.
	Compare Files and Folder Structure	Shows folders containing files or folders that match the current display filter. Orphan folders will follow the same filtering rules as orphan files.
	Compare Files Only	Shows only folders containing files to be shown.
	Ignore Folder Structure	Compares filenames regardless of which subfolder they may be in. (Also called Flatten Folders.)
	Ignore Unimportant Differences	Treats unimportant differences as same.
	Ignore Same Changes	Treats same changes as same.
	Suppress Filters	Temporarily suppresses file filters and display filters.
	Center Pane	Shows or hides the center pane.
	Columns	Shows or hides view columns.
	Legend	Displays a window that lists what the different folder colors mean.
	Log	Shows or hides the log panel.
	Toolbar	Shows or hides the toolbar.

* Hidden by default.

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