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How to Compare Two Text or Configuration Files

When reviewing configuration changes or edits, a diff view makes intended changes and accidental edits easier to find than reading the entire text by eye.

Flow of arranging comparison conditions, arranging files to the left and right, and checking text differences
Flow of arranging comparison conditions, arranging files to the left and right, and checking text differences

Conditions to meet before comparison

  • Character codes such as UTF-8 and Shift_JIS
  • Line break codes such as CRLF and LF
  • Treatment of tabs, spaces, and trailing blanks
  • Whether to format or sort the files before comparing them

Steps to check the differences

  1. Place the reference file on the left and the modified file on the right.
  2. Select the text encoding and choose whether to ignore whitespace, letter case, and line-ending differences.
  3. Run a comparison to see the number of additions, deletions, and changes.
  4. Move between differences and review the surrounding logic or settings, not just the changed lines.

If there are too many differences

CauseRecommended Action
Line break code is differentIgnore line breaks or use the same format
automatically formattedAlign before and after formatting or ignore white space difference
Line order changedAlign the key or item order before comparing
The characters are garbledReload with correct character code

Ignoring whitespace differences can make it easier to see, but it should not be enabled in formats where whitespace is meaningful, such as Python or YAML.

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Open the Text Diff Checker