Default colors on file diffs

[svec]

The default colors are a bit hard to read on a file diff. New lines are orange text, which is worse (in my opinion) than the BC-for-PC blue.

Can you make the Mac default colors the same as the PC?

Thanks!

[Aaron]

Hello,

We are trying out a new, default color scheme. Could you post a screenshot of your current compare and go into detail on how the current defaults are not working for you? We'd love some detailed feedback.

You can definitely customize your colors in the Tools menu -> Options dialog, File Views, Colors/Fonts, and select Unimportant Difference in the elements list.

[svec]

I've attached 2 screenshots:

1. BC 4 for Mac
2. BC 3 for Windows running on my Mac through CrossOver

I've left the colors as default for both.

In BC 4, the orange text ("unimportant changes") is much harder to read than the BC 3 blue text.

The orange text doesn't show up well against the white background: I definitely prefer the blue text.

The orange is even worse in the left-hand vertical bar (the "file at a glance" bar - I'm not sure what the actual name is, it's got the colored rectangles in it).

I can't tell BC 4's orange from red without really concentrating in that "file at a glance" bar, whereas the blue vs. red different in BC3 is easily seen.

Thanks for listening!

[rothkj1022]

Agreed, I definitely also prefer the old blue for whitespace differences.

[Aaron]

Thanks. The reason/goal for the change is that Blue is used for a specific side of compare in the Text Merge session, and we are attempting to use a more unified color scheme across session types. Purple is the other side, with Red as the conflict.

As an opinion question, if those colors are already 'in use', which color would be a suitable substitute for unimportant differences in the Text Compare?

[naiiawah]

Agreed, I definitely also prefer the old blue for whitespace differences.

Ditto!!

[rothkj1022]

As an opinion question, if those colors are already 'in use', which color would be a suitable substitute for unimportant differences in the Text Compare?

If blue is out, then perhaps a light green or grey color would work. I guess I'd have to see it to know. I tried changing the color options to make a decent recommendation but it seems you cannot change the line background color.

[Aaron]

You can change the foreground and background in the Beyond Compare menu -> Preferences, Colors and Fonts section, then select the File Views tab. In the Compare Colors, you can set Important, Unimportant, etc, with Text Color, Background Color, or Style.

[rothkj1022]

You can change the foreground and background in the Beyond Compare menu -> Preferences, Colors and Fonts section, then select the File Views tab. In the Compare Colors, you can set Important, Unimportant, etc, with Text Color, Background Color, or Style.

I did find my way into that section but could not find which was the color setting for the line highlight color. I thought it might be the background color for unimportant differences, but that seems to only be for whitespace characters.

Where is the setting to change the line highlight color?

[rothkj1022]

Ah, sorry, found it. It was "Difference Line".

[Dov]

I too was unhappy with some of the default colors, so I started messing with them to try to find a scheme I could work with (let me second that the Windows scheme has always been great). I noticed after I made a bunch of changes, that there's no way to reset the colors to their defaults (or have some kind of list of presets). I'd like to request that, so I don't have to dig into Application Support.

[rothkj1022]

I noticed after I made a bunch of changes, that there's no way to reset the colors to their defaults (or have some kind of list of presets). I'd like to request that, so I don't have to dig into Application Support.

I second this.

[glospete]

+1

[Aaron]

Hello,

First, please use the Tools menu -> Export to back up all of your current settings.

You can currently revert the entire program or specific settings (colors) to Factory Defaults using the Tools menu -> Import settings, reset to Factory Defaults.

You can also use the Tools menu -> Export, to export all of your settings first, reset, then selectively re-import. Please export everything and couple check the .bcpkg/.zip export archive for your .xml data, just in case something does not work during this process, as you might lose your settings.

In the future, you can use the Tools menu -> Export to export your colors before you make changes, then Import to try out different themes.