Once XCode is installed, FileMerge is located at the root of the / Developer / Applications / Utilities / FileMerge Mac OS X installation. Now that Xcode and Filemerge are installed on your Mac, you’re ready to compare the two files. Just launch FileMerge, select two files to compare (and merge if you want to do it) and see how awesome it works. After choosing the option, the PowerMyMac will then ask you to scan your Mac for it to find all the duplicate files that you have. So from here, all you have to do is to click on the “Scan” button and the process will then start. Scanning your files may take some time.
FileMerge
Being part of its developer toolset, Apple's own merge tool comes at no additional costs. It might not be the most elegant tool, but it's definitely a solid one that does the job of comparing & merging text.
Beyond Compare
Originally a product for Microsoft Windows, the Beyond Compare team has contributed a fine diff tool to the Mac platform. Like Araxis Merge and DeltaWalker, it goes beyond (pun intended) comparing simple text and also allows diffing Word and PDF contents. In its 'Pro Version', it also supports merging.
Araxis Merge
One of the few diff tools that works with more than just text and image files, Araxis Merge lets you also compare office documents (like MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, or ODF). It comes in standard and professional editions, and for people working on both macOS and Windows, it's great to know that a single license is valid for both platforms.
NEW: Image Diffing in Tower! Our popular Git client Tower now supports Image Diffing for a variety of formats (including PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, JPEG2000, and HEIC). In both the Working Copy and various History / Changeset views, you can now see the actual images - and how they were changed! Try it yourself - for free!
DeltaWalker
Just like Araxis, the DeltaWalker app also lets you compare office files. However, it goes one step further by letting you compare file archives like ZIP, JAR, and TAR files. Also, if you're regularly performing comparisons on a folder basis, DeltaWalker shines with a great performance in this area. DeltaWalker supports macOS, Windows and Linux.
Kaleidoscope
Although it has changed hands (i.e. owners) multiple times, Kaleidoscope is still one of the best diff & merge tools for the Mac. Its beautiful user interface and great image diffing capabilities are what set it apart. Kaleidoscope is also available for the iPad.
Free Alternatives
In case you're looking for a free alternative to the standard FileMerge app, you should also have a look at P4Merge and DiffMerge.
Both can't compare in terms of features and user interface with their commercial competitors - but make for a valid alternative on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Integrations
Another aspect to watch out for is integrations: before choosing your favorite tool, you should make sure that it plays nicely with the rest of your tool chain. I can already confirm that all of the mentioned tools work seamlessly at least with Tower, our own Git client.
If you don't need the power of a dedicated Diff tool application, the integrated diff views in Tower might be absolutely sufficient for you:
In case you don't know Tower: it's the Git desktop client for Mac and Windows that helps thousands of developers and designers to easily & productively work with the Git version control system. Try it 30 days for free!
Conclusion
Diff & merge apps are amongst the most underestimated tools. But a good one can be really helpful in a lot of situations. Try one of the above and see for yourself!
Get the Git Cheat Sheet
Download one of the web's most popular resources on Git! It's free!
Filemerge Macos
| Click here to return to the 'View non-Mac Roman files in FileMerge' hint |
Not sure I understand the need for this one. FileMerge works fine on UTF-8 files for me.
Ditto here. I've never had a problem with UTF-8 files of a wide variety of (text-based) formats, even those created on other OSes.
Is it possible the original submitter has something else wrong with their files?
I'm no longer text, I've now become...
MACRO, MAN!!!!!!
(Sorry, had to, that filename just looked different to me.)
Hilarious! :D
The real hint would be is that you merely need to set the text encoding extended attribute correctly, something that Xcode and most current Mac text editors will already do on their own. Or you can just drop into Terminal and set it yourself: xattr -w com.apple.TextEncoding 'UTF-8;134217984' filename
Yes, that's the real problem, files not having the right attributes. FileMerge can handle a variety of file encodings.
I have to admit, I never had problems with file encoding and FileMerge and I definitely use a lot of file stored on non-HFS systems and edited by non-Mac computers.
Filemerge Mac Big Sur
If you are using Subversion for SCM in Xcode, then all extended attributes are lost on check-in. In this case the original hint is very useful (unless someone knows a way to put HFS extended attributes into subversion properties).
Filemerge Mac Download
How to do in reverser format? Mac-Roman to UTF ?? Is there any script available?