Diff Anything 1.8 is live on the Mac App Store and Microsoft Store. This release is about the moment two copies of a folder have both changed, such as a project on your laptop and on a USB stick.
What's new:
Much faster on large files and folders; folder results appear as they are found
A Preview pane under the folder list shows the changed lines of the file you click, and follows the arrow keys
Each folder shows its size on both sides and how many of its files differ, and a filter lists entries by content, moved or renamed, or permissions only
With Pro: Update both gives each folder what only the other has and the newer of each changed file, with a preview, nothing deleted, and one undo
With Pro: move files to the Trash or Recycle Bin, rename them, and set their dates from the list, each with undo
Applying a YAML or XML change keeps the rest of the file exactly as written
A revised budget arrives with updated the numbers. Before approving it, you need to know which hours, totals, and dates changed.
I make Diff Anything. In this worked example, two versions of a project budget have six changed cells across Budget and Timeline: development hours rise from 70 to 86, testing hours from 15 to 19, both totals increase, and the launch moves from 15 May to 29 May.
To review the revision:
1. Open the older Excel workbook on the left and the revision on the right.
I wrote up the check I use before wiping a laptop or deleting originals: compare the original folder with its backup in Diff Anything and read what is missing, changed, only in the backup, or moved.
The part people miss: a copy can differ in content while its name, size, and date still match. For an exact copy check, turn on Compare hashes, turn off data-aware comparison of JSON and YAML and archive-content comparison, and check hidden files and ignore patterns.
Guide with a 2:30 walkthrough: https://martingruner.com/blog/ch...
How do you verify your backups today: spot checks, a backup app's own report, or a full comparison?
