Beyond Compare 5.0 Beta
5.0.0.29328 - April 12, 2024
Notable Changes
- After upgrading, settings will be incompatible with previous v5 betas. Make a backup if you may need to run older betas.
- Added support for importing BC v4 settings.
- macOS: Fixed 'Follow symbolic links' so it copies symlinks as the target file.
- Fixed crashes when scrolling in text compare and when closing app on Linux.
- Fixed file content being endlessly repeated when loading a comparison.
Appearance
- Linux: Fixed comboboxes autosizing too narrow.
- Linux: Fixed menu separators in dark mode being too difficult to see.
- Linux: Fixed various dialogs being too narrow and showing the Ok/Cancel buttons overlapping the Help button.
- Linux: Fixed checkboxes in list tables being hard to see in dark mode (e.g., Preferences > Commands).
- macOS: Fixed checkboxes not drawing in list tables (e.g., Preferences > Commands).
- macOS: Further improved appearance of buttons in the Picture Compare and the Text Compare Find panel.
File Views
- Fixed file content being endlessly repeated when loading a comparison.
Folder Compare
- macOS: Fixed 'Follow symbolic links' so it copies symlinks as the target file instead of as a symlink.
Misc
- macOS: Fixed mouse hover hints not updating/dismissing when moving from between cells/lines in a compare.
- Fixed error message when trying to register using a license key for an older version.
Settings
- Added full support for importing BC v4 settings.
- Windows: Updated first run to prompt to import v4 settings automatically.
- Improved behavior when settings files are from a older/newer version than is currently running.
Text Views
- Delete previous char/word at start of line below an orphan gap now deletes preceding line terminator.
- Delete next char/word in an orphan gap now moves to next line.
Crashes
- Linux: Fixed crash that would prevent the process from exiting when closing the last window.
- Fixed Folder Compare crash when using Actions > Quick Compare command.
- Fixed Text Compare/Merge crash after a vertical scroll.
5.0.0.29206 - March 28, 2024
Notable Changes
- Deleting in folder compare/sync will now use the recycle bin by default.
- Changed FTP/FTPS/SFTP server character encoding default from "Detect" to "UTF-8".
- macOS: Fixed setting last modified times when copying files to exFAT volumes.
- Windows: Fixed shell extension support for non-Explorer apps on Windows 10 and earlier.
- Various improvements to appearance, scaling, and stability.
Default Settings Changed
- Folder Compare and Sync sessions set "Use Recycle Bin if Possible" by default. This will affect existing sessions.
- Changed FTP/FTPS/SFTP profile "Server > Encoding" default from "Detect" to "UTF-8".
Appearance
- macOS/Linux: Fixed various edits showing black-on-black text in dark mode.
- macOS/Linux: Fixed right-aligned labels drawing past the edge of various dialogs.
- macOS/Linux: Fixed appearance of buttons in the Picture Compare, on the Text Compare Find panel, and the Text Compare gutter arrows.
- macOS/Linux: Fixed Options > File Manager Integration drawing in dark mode.
- Linux: Reverted fix for dark mode menu separators being difficult to see. Will be addressed again later.
- Linux: Fixed treeviews not displaying ▸ button to expand/collapse folders when using the hardcoded light/dark mode appearances.
- Windows: Fixed character encoding combobox (e.g., Text Compare > Session Settings > Format > Left encoding override) drawing the separator line in the edit area in dark mode.
Folder Compare
- macOS: Fixed setting last modified times when copying files to exFAT volumes.
FTP
- Changed FTP/FTPS/SFTP profile "Server > Encoding" default from "Detect" to "UTF-8".
- SSH public/private key generation in Profiles dialog now supports ed25519 and EcDSA keys and will generate ed25519 keys by default.
- Windows: Fixed misalignments when filenames included invalid character sequences.
High DPI Scaling
- Linux: Fixed trial mode nag dialog scaling.
- Improved scaling in Table Compare grid.
- Fixed overly large color spots in Folder Compare.
- Fixed size of resize hit area between column headers.
Installer
- Windows: Portable installs will now default to 64-bit versions on 64-bit Windows. Silent installs can use the /32 switch to force a 32-bit version.
- Linux: Fixed apt warning about missing i386 info in BC5 .deb repository after installing amd64 build.
Misc
- Windows: Fixed shell extension support for non-Explorer apps on Windows 10 and earlier.
- macOS: Fixed using [Spacebar] to click buttons.
- Linux: Updated readme's list of dependencies for Debian/Ubuntu and RedHat.
- Windows: Adjusted order of Explorer extension's commands so they're consistent across different selection types.
- Removed outdated pricing information from Help.
Table Compare
- Colored spots in column headers, row number cells, and sheet tabs are now only shown when there are differences to make them stand out more.
Crashes
- Fixed crash when expanding archive types that use the 7-zip libraries.
- macOS: Fixed Picture Compare crashes when opening ProRAW and DNG images.
5.0.0.28983 - February 21, 2024
Notable Changes
- File encoding auto-detection now matches against the entire file instead of just the first 64KB.
- Added protection against SSH Terrapin vulnerability.
- Linux: Enabled apt (.deb) and yum (.rpm) repositories for BC 5.
- Various other fixes and enhancements.
Appearance
- Linux: Fixed detection of system light/dark color scheme on Ubuntu and other distros that don't update the Qt5 theme.
- Linux: Made dark mode menu separators more visible.
- macOS/Linux: Improved visibility of Picture Compare labels and slider controls.
- Windows: Fixed scaled width of horizontal splitters in file views.
Archives
- macOS: Fixed 7-zip and various other archive types on M-series CPUs.
- Windows: Fixed reading/writing .bcss snapshots on systems where the system ANSI encoding is UTF-8.
- Windows: Fixed .cab archive extraction in 64-bit builds.
- Updated 7-zip library to 23.01 on all platforms.
- Windows: Updated UnRAR DLL to v6.24.
- macOS/Linux: Updated UnRAR library to 6.2.12.
File Views
- File encoding auto-detection now matches against the entire file instead of just the first 64KB.
- macOS/Linux: Fixed switching between over/under and side-by-side layouts hiding one of the panels.
FTP
- Updated SFTP/TLS/cloud storage library.
- Added protection against SSH Terrapin vulnerability.
- macOS: Fixed SFTP connection hang on M-series CPUs.
Installer
- macOS: Fixed Check for Updates failing if the
Beyond Compare.app
bundle was renamed. - Linux: Enabled apt (.deb) and yum (.rpm) repositories for BC 5.
- Linux: Creating an empty
/etc/default/bcompare
file will prevent the .deb package from adding the Beyond Compare repository and public signing key to the system configuration. - Linux: Uninstalling the .deb package will now remove the repository and public signing key configuration files if they were added automatically.
Misc
- Windows: Disabled path autocompletion for URLs that aren't supported.
- macOS: Removed ability to run on macOS 10.11 and 10.12.
Table Compare
- Updated Excel reading libraries.
Text Views
- macOS: Fixed gutter getting out of sync with main content area when scrolling.
Text Merge
- macOS/Linux: Fixed support for detached Output window.
5.0.0.28767 - January 9, 2024
Notable Changes
- General polish, bug fixes, and improved stability.
Appearance
- Fixed file view crosshatching for missing lines being too bright in dark mode.
- Improved appearance of the mini window thumbnails in Folder Compare confirmation dialogs.
- "Check for Updates" dialog now matches light/dark mode.
- macOS: Fixed path edit coloring in dark mode when a remote profile is loaded (e.g., SFTP, cloud).
Command Line
- Fixed scripting error dialogs closing immediately after being shown.
File Views
- macOS/Linux: Fixed file format conversion errors incorrectly reporting that the converter app isn't found.
- Drag & drop now opens on the correct side when dropping on editor scrollbar and statusbar areas.
Installer
- Windows: Fixed updates prompting to reboot or failing with an access denied error when BCClipboard is running.
Misc
- macOS: Added M-series native 'bcomp' executable.
- macOS: Fixed window jitter when resizing using the mouse at the top of the window.
- macOS: Fixed drag & drop always loading items on the left side of the view.
- Windows: Updated license in installer.
Text Edit
- Fixed unnecessary scrolling when editing.
- macOS: Fixed cases where scrolling was allowed past the end of the file.
Text Compare
- Fixed viewport position when changing display filters.
- Fixed "When loading new files, go to first difference" when both files begin with a large amount of matching lines.
Text Merge
- Fixed word wrap to wrap all input lines to the same height.
- Fixed support for "When loading new files, go to first difference" option.
Crashes
- Windows: Fixed Table Compare hang when editing a cell in dark mode.
- Fixed Text Compare/Merge crash when enabling word wrap while scrolled to the right.
5.0.0.28643 - December 11, 2023
Text Views
- Fixed scrollbar maximum calculations.
- Fixed excessive flicker and cases where changes weren't redrawing the display correctly.
- Fixed copying a gap to the other side leaving the caret at an odd position.
- macOS: - Fixed "### filtered lines" repeating past the end of a filtered display.
Crashes
- Fixed Text Merge crash when input files don't have a trailing line terminator.
- macOS/Linux: Fixed potential crashes in 64-bit builds.
5.0.0.28625 - December 7, 2023
Text Views
- Fixed "Next/Previous Edit" jumping to the wrong location.
Crashes
- Fixed Text Compare crash when refreshing if the comparison is scrolled and there's a selection.
- macOS: Fixed crash when clicking/hovering over column headers.
- macOS: Fixed crash when clicking the toolbar Session dropdown.
5.0.0.28589 - November 29, 2023
Appearance
- Fixed gutter selection arrows in light mode so they're correctly colored instead of white.
- Windows: Fixed scaled width of vertical splitters in file views.
- Linux: Fixed column headers being too short.
Explorer Context Menu
- Windows 11: Context menu is now only installed using the embedded .msix file.
- Windows 11: Top level context menu now supports drive letters.
- Windows 11: Fixed support for \netshare and media devices
- Other minor polish and improvements.
File Views
- Added Ctrl + / ⌘+ and Ctrl - / ⌘- keyboard shortcuts for "Display Font Increase/Decrease" and Picture Compare "Zoom In/Out".
Misc
- macOS: Improved handling of mouse cursors.
- macOS: Improved various issues on secondary monitors.
Settings
- macOS: Fixed assigning shortcuts that involve the [+] key.
Text Views
- macOS: Fixed blurry text on macOS 14 Sonoma.
- macOS: Fixed Line Details showing incorrect lines when navigating in the main editor.
- Linux: Fixed gutter width when line numbers are hidden.
- Fixed line details scrollbar not updating correctly.
- Fixed scrolling horizontally when using the mouse to drag and select text.
- Fixed changing display filters leaving the editors scrolled too far.
Text Compare
- Fixed Find Next and Next Difference so matching lines outside the current viewport scrolls enough to show the match near the top of the view.
Crashes
- Fixed Text Compare crash when enabling word wrap.
- Fixed Table Compare crash when closing.
- macOS: Fixed crash in caret handling after closing a file compare.
- macOS: Fixed crash when opening Preferences on macOS 10.13.
5.0.0.28324 - September 15, 2023
Notable Changes
- macOS: Fixed various cases where the editor would display incorrect data or scrolling artifacts.
- After a search the matched text now flashes brighter to make it easier to see, before switching back to the normal selection color.
- Fixed hex compare incorrectly marking some single byte matches as differences.
- General improvements to stability, high DPI support, and dark mode appearance.
Per Monitor Scaling
- Windows: Icons and images will be now sized correctly for all monitor scaling factors rather than only using prescaled images at fixed sizes.
- Windows: Fixed modal dialogs on non-primary monitors with different scaling factors not disabling their parent window and not taking focus when they're first shown.
Appearance
- Adjusted dark mode color scheme to make it more readable and improve contrast.
- Increased dark mode saturation and contrast of dynamically recolored icons. Folder "Older" and "Exact" coloring are much more different now, more closely matching their text colors, and Newer/Orphan coloring is less washed out. Icons can be closer to pure white.
- Changed unfocused selection color to gray and added ability to customize it.
- Dark mode default color for the folder compare log is now based on the active theme rather than using hardcoded colors.
- Windows: File "Open" and "Save As" dialogs and folder "Open" dialog now follow system dark mode and support per-monitor DPI scaling better.
- Windows: Made it more obvious when menu items are checked in dark mode.
- Windows: Fixed white flash when first opening a dark window.
- Linux: Fixed Options dialog's side panel coloring when using a dark system theme.
File Views
- After a search the matched text now flashes brighter to make it easier to see, before switching back to the normal selection color.
- The "current" editor now uses the active selection color even if it doesn't have focus (e.g., when focus is in the "Find Text" panel).
- Windows: Fixed using Ctrl+Shift+Mouse Wheel to change viewer font size.
- Windows: Using Ctrl+Shift+Mouse Wheel to change viewer font size now forces an immediate repaint to smooth out the zoom.
- macOS: Fixed comparison results icon not showing in the status bar.
Hex Compare
- Fixed single byte matches being incorrectly marked as differences.
Misc
- Appearance > Theme Mode is now Imported/Exported/Reverted to Defaults as part of the "Colors, Fonts" settings rather than "Program Options".
- Updated pdftotext to 4.04.
- macOS: Fixed mouse wheel scrolling the entire viewer when the cursor was over the titlebar, toolbar, or status bar.
- macOS: Fixed dragging viewer windows when clicking on the window caption.
- macOS: Fixed double clicking on the titlebar to maximize/restore a viewer window.
- Windows: Fixed "Import Settings"/"Restore Factory Defaults" not showing the "Delete existing..." checkboxes, and the Source Control integration file operation dialog not showing the "Keep files checked out" checkbox.
- Windows: Fixed some flicker when first showing a maximized window.
Options
- Windows: Fixed "Explorer Integration" saying it's a portable install if BC was installed and registered by an administrator and then run by a limited user.
- Windows: Fixed "Apply" button not enabling when toggling commands in the "Explorer Integration" table.
Text Views
- When changing display filters, making edits, etc, the text editor now preserves the top line instead of trying to maintain the "current" line's position in the view.
- Fixed graphical glitches when changing the current line.
- Fixed caret not showing immediately when opening a new compare/editor view.
- Fixed "# Filtered Lines" bars scaling too large, and not resizing when moving between monitors with different DPIs.
- macOS: Fixed various cases where the editor would display incorrect data or scrolling artifacts.
- macOS: Fixed selection color not dimming when window loses focus.
Crashes
- Fixed crash when clicking in text compare after loading binary data.
- Fixed crashes when changing between light and dark themes.
5.0.0.28069 - June 29, 2023
Significant New Features
- Word wrap in Text Compare and Text Merge.
- Dark mode.
- Table Compare can compare multiple Excel sheets and has other enhancements.
- Text Merge manual alignment supports multi-line selections.
- Windows: Per-monitor DPI scaling.
- Windows: Explorer context menu integration enhanced and supports Windows 11.
- Linux: Upgraded to QT 5.
- macOS: Native Apple M series support and additional performance improvements.
Additional Enhancements
- Version Compare supports more header fields, and has better MUI and error handling.
- Media Compare (formerly MP3 compare) has been enhanced and supports additional file types (FLAC, MP3, MP4/AAC).
- Media Compare, Picture Compare, and Version Compare now launch Hex or Picture Compare when double clicking on tags.
- "Open Clipboard" command added to Registry Compare, Media Compare, Version Compare, and Text Edit.
- SSH keyboard interactive authentication now combines multiple prompts into a single dialog.
- Command line now supports using /fv="Hex Compare" for archive files.
- Fixed reading BC scripts saved as UTF-8 without a byte order mark.
- Mouse wheel scrolls the control under the mouse cursor rather than the one that has focus.
- Windows/Linux: Titlebars now show "Administrator:" or "(Root Session)" when run elevated.
- Windows: Loading a base folder that contains a Windows shortcut file named "target.lnk" will no longer automatically redirect to the target of that shortcut.
- Windows: Fixed various issues with control and menu appearance on Windows 11.
- macOS: Copies within a single file system now make linked copy-on-write clones, so the file data isn't duplicated until one of them changes.
Default Settings Changed
- Table Compare default comparisons have been significantly improved. Existing sessions won't yet import.
- Windows: File views now assume UTF-8 instead of ANSI encoding for files unless it detects extended characters.
- FTP/FTPS/SFTP use binary transfers for all files instead of doing ASCII ones for some file types. The previous "Auto" behavior still exists as an option.
- Windows: "Tools > Source Control" dialog (MSSCCI integration) is now hidden by default since most version control systems no longer support it. It can be manually re-enabled in "Options > Toolbars, etc".
- Increased "Binary size for binary compare" from 65KB to 4MB.
- "Limit next difference files to current folder" is now off by default.
- Added "Ignore Same", "Favor Left", and "Favor Right" buttons to Text Merge toolbar.
- Removed Text Compare "Full Edit" toggle. Full editing support is always enabled.
Table Compare
- Autodetection of file formatting and column type has been improved.
- Multiple MS Excel sheets and multiple HTML tables can be compared with tabs. Sheets will be aligned based on their names.
- Default comparison uses a standard alignment rather than a sorted one.
- Individual cells are colored based on their differences.
- CSV files support editing on a cell-by-cell basis.
- Existing v4 sessions will not import yet.
Windows Explorer context menu extension
- Works in the top-level menu in Windows 11.
- Added "Compare Using Hex Compare" for archive files.
- Added support for right clicking on the desktop or in the background of a folder view to act on that folder.
- Using "Select Left File" and then right clicking on a folder now supports comparing a file of the same name within that folder.
- "Edit" command is now enabled for a selection of up to 15 files.
- Added "View Patch", "Compare to Clipboard", and "Open for Compare" commands.
Windows Installer
- Added /DisableUpdates switch to disable check for updates for the current user or all users.
- Install mode prompt (All Users, Current User, Portable) is now shown before the UAC prompt, so it no longer needs admin privileges for non-admin installs.
- "All Users" installs no longer prompt to run the Clipboard Compare on startup. Previously this only affected the installing user.
Picture Compare
- Mouse now uses a precise + cursor when over images and the two images that the mouse isn't over show smaller cursors in the same relative positions.
- Mouse wheel scrolls the view rather than zooming. Shift+Wheel will scroll horizontally and Ctrl+Wheel will zoom in and out.