Text compare doesn't restore proper order when saving changes to files
When I compare 2 text files, I'm not sure why but the compare process doesn't seem to be working correctly. What I think should, or should I say, what I need to be happening, is for the left side to stay stationary, and the right side should show changes made relative to the left side file (i.e. additions, changes, deletes).
However, what I am seeing is that both sides seem to be sorted in some way, but not necessarily in alphabetical order, and when changes are made and either files are saved, they are written as I see them in the comparison, with no comments and in unsorted order.
Questions:
1. Am I missing something?
2. Should I be selecting a different comparison type?
The problems I am seeing are mostly related to .ini or .txt files, and as long as the comments were sorted with the related sections, that would be at least acceptable. However if, for instance, I were comparing an old and new (updated) version of a program, trying to find the change that was now causing a particular error, clicking on a section of code from the older version and telling it to overwrite the same section in the newer one would wreak havoc, as the saved output would have all the statements out of order and all comments removed, rendering the entire program useless.
I have been a long time customer and use BC4 mostly for comparing directory structures. I don't have a lot of time and have just lived with this, mostly because I have found it hard to figure out what the program is doing, what it is supposed to do, and how to describe the problem. Because I can't figure out how to make the text comparisons save files in the original order, I usually end up manually comparing text files, only using BC4 to show me where changes are, but not allowing it to make the corrections I need.
Fortunately I have multiple monitors, so I have just been doing the comparison on 1 monitor, and making corrections to the real file I want to change on another monitor. However, this shouldn't be necessary and is very time consuming. Can someone please tell me how to accomplish what I need, or if it is even possible.
Just an FYI, I follow a strict rule, the source file (i.e. what you consider "correct" or "unchangeable") should always be on the left (no changes except under special circumstances) and the target file (i.e. the one that is going to be changed) is always on the right (i.e. reading order). Likewise, I have always assumed that, like in my programming analogy, the left side is always is the "reference" file and should always be displayed in its original (i.e. proper) order, and the right side may or may not be, since, with a program, it is not uncommon to add, change, move or delete sections of code around. This is especially true of functions and/or subroutines.
However, even though the location and/or order that functions and subroutines appear may change, the order of the main processing code generally stays the same. I hope this makes sense.
However, what I am seeing is that both sides seem to be sorted in some way, but not necessarily in alphabetical order, and when changes are made and either files are saved, they are written as I see them in the comparison, with no comments and in unsorted order.
Questions:
1. Am I missing something?
2. Should I be selecting a different comparison type?
The problems I am seeing are mostly related to .ini or .txt files, and as long as the comments were sorted with the related sections, that would be at least acceptable. However if, for instance, I were comparing an old and new (updated) version of a program, trying to find the change that was now causing a particular error, clicking on a section of code from the older version and telling it to overwrite the same section in the newer one would wreak havoc, as the saved output would have all the statements out of order and all comments removed, rendering the entire program useless.
I have been a long time customer and use BC4 mostly for comparing directory structures. I don't have a lot of time and have just lived with this, mostly because I have found it hard to figure out what the program is doing, what it is supposed to do, and how to describe the problem. Because I can't figure out how to make the text comparisons save files in the original order, I usually end up manually comparing text files, only using BC4 to show me where changes are, but not allowing it to make the corrections I need.
Fortunately I have multiple monitors, so I have just been doing the comparison on 1 monitor, and making corrections to the real file I want to change on another monitor. However, this shouldn't be necessary and is very time consuming. Can someone please tell me how to accomplish what I need, or if it is even possible.
Just an FYI, I follow a strict rule, the source file (i.e. what you consider "correct" or "unchangeable") should always be on the left (no changes except under special circumstances) and the target file (i.e. the one that is going to be changed) is always on the right (i.e. reading order). Likewise, I have always assumed that, like in my programming analogy, the left side is always is the "reference" file and should always be displayed in its original (i.e. proper) order, and the right side may or may not be, since, with a program, it is not uncommon to add, change, move or delete sections of code around. This is especially true of functions and/or subroutines.
However, even though the location and/or order that functions and subroutines appear may change, the order of the main processing code generally stays the same. I hope this makes sense.
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