3-way Folder Compare?

[Chris]

We plan to include 3-way folder merge in Beyond Compare 4, although version 4 doesn't have a release date set yet.

[gcol]

as a feedback, this missing feature will make me buy a competing product instead of beyond compare

[dhempy]

Please give us just the basics.

This post will be something a little different than just another "Bump," I hope.

Please DO NOT try to perfect this feature request and cover all the bases, and perfect the likely challenging folder merge functionality. We've been waiting five years for that, apparently.

Please DO take the bread-and-butter folder compare functionality that is the heart and soul of Beyond Compare and simply give us n-way panes in that interface. That is 95% of what I need, and I suspect most users in this thread are in a similar situation. If I had only "Copy to pane" and "copy to all panes" functionality, without all the fancier suggestions in this thread, I would be a happy camper.

I currently have a project that has three variant live servers, one staging environment, all four with a local development copies. None of these are not clones, so copying sets of files is a manual process. I have a workspace with eight tabs to manage those copies, and it is cumbersome and not difficult to miss files. Having an eight-way compare would save me an hour a day. Even having a three-way compare would be helpful.

This is my first post here, but I've been watching this thread for several years. This sounds like a no-brainer to add to such a great product.

If there is something else blocking this feature (I suspect patent infringement, licensing obstacles, etc.), it would give us some relief to know that, instead of simply sitting here wondering how this profound feature request and years of, "we're actively working on it," could not bring it to market.

FWIW, we are a long-time multi-seat user of Beyond Compare Pro. I cannot count how many people I've recommended your product to...and will continue to do so.

Thanks for your attention,
-dave

[Belgrath]

any update on this feature.. another year added

[Aaron]

3-way Folder Merge is in our BC4 public beta, if you would like to help us beta test it:
http://www.scootersoftware.com/beta.php

[dhempy]

This is exciting Aaron!

Can you give us a little guidance on how to get to it? I've installed the beta (build 17905) and it looks a little different. I can't find how to access the 3-way. The Help file shows some screen shots of it, and references two buttons (hide/detach center pane) but I haven't found those icons. I even tried modifying my tool bar to include them, but don't find them in the list. Right-clicked on everything, etc. Selected 3 files and hit compare...nothing.

How do you get to the 3-way compare?


Thx,
-dave

[Aaron]

The 3-way Folder Merge is designed to merge from 3 inputs into a 4th output. The center pane is the common ancestor of the left and right panes. The comparison can be configured in the Session Settings, and the Merge button then allows you to merge from the 3 inputs into: Left, Right, or Other (4th) location.

It's not a full 3-way Compare, since the center pane does need to be a common ancestor of the left and right. It's a bit more specialized for specific scenarios, like this:
http://www.scootersoftware.com/suppo...arallelupdates

In this case, Apple 1.0 would be the common ancestor, and Orange 1.0 and Apple 2.0 would be Left and Right. The output would be a 4th location, Orange 2.0.

[dhempy]

Thanks, Aaron. I've never used the Text Merge function before, so had to go find it.

I normally only deal in whole files across directories, and was really hoping that I could compare three (or more) directories at once. I hope that is on your roadmap.

I'll play with the Merge function. I'm sure it will be useful, too.

-dave

[Belgrath]

3-way Folder Merge is in our BC4 public beta, if you would like to help us beta test it:
http://www.scootersoftware.com/beta.php

I've been playing around with it this evening, can you point me to a thread where I can make a few suggestions or perhaps inquire if my requests are already being looked at... very excited to see the folder merge actually in action and it's exactly what I've been looking for as a final output in deltas; I have questions as to how to go about copying and synching from the left/center/right now though...

[Aaron]

Certainly, if you navigate to the top level of the forum, there are main BC2, BC3, and BC4 subforums (we're in BC3 now). Here's a direct link for BC4's: http://www.scootersoftware.com/vbull...splay.php?f=38

You can also email us at [email protected] if you wanted to include private screenshots, etc.