WinMergeU - CLI - How to get the output of two file comparision in command line arguments?

[pcakhilnadh]

Hi There,

I am trying to compare two text documents based on the documentation using command-line arguments as follows

WinMergeU file1\t1.txtfile2\t1.txt

The output opens in a UI screen. I wanted the comparison result to be shown on the commandline or in a output file.
Is it possible by any menas?

[sdottaka]

WinMerge can output the comparison result to an HTML file. To output the comparison result to an HTML file, use the -or option as shown below.

"c:\Program Files\WinMerge\WinMergeU.exe" file1\t1.txt  file2\t1.txt -or c:\tmp\report.html

If you don't want to see the WinMerge window, specify -noninteractive as follows:

"c:\Program Files\WinMerge\WinMergeU.exe" -noninteractive file1\t1.txt  file2\t1.txt -or c:\tmp\report.html

[sdottaka]

You can set DiffContext to display/output only the lines with differences. Please refer to the following.
#2117

[sergeevabc]

@sdottaka, indeed, adding /cfg DiffContextV2=0 (what an unmemorable key, now I have to carry the manual around) did the trick, the diff report was reduced from 200 MB to 0,01 MB. But it is so stretched across the screen that it is not particularly convenient to work with. Is it possible to output diff not side by side, but underneath each other, as in the following example done by riff?

[sdottaka]

You can output in a riff-like format from the Tools → Generate Patch menu item, but unfortunately you cannot output from the command line.

[sergeevabc]

@sdottaka, for some unknown reason WinMerge outputs the patch in ANSI instead of UNICODE, and at the same time changes some chars in the filename (e.g. vögel.txt becomes vogel.txt).

--- C:/birds.txt	Thu Jan 25 23:37:19 2024
+++ C:/vogel.txt	Thu Jan 25 23:38:40 2024

[sdottaka]

The problem may be resolved by setting the default codepage to 65001 (UTF-8) in the Options window as shown below.

[Meena1983]

@sdottaka I am looking for a solution where I can compare two folders and get the individual file comparison reports in another folder. I am unable to find options for this.

"C:\Program files\winmerge\WinMergeU.exe" "C:\Users\12513\Desktop\source" "C:\Users\12513\Desktop\modified" /r /e /x /s /u /wl /e /unpacker "PrettifyXML" /maximize /minimize /or "C:\Users\12513\Desktop\Result\compare.htm"

Can you please let me know if there are any options?

[sdottaka]

Answered #2034.
Unfortunately /unpacker "PrettifyXML" does not work for folder comparisons.

[Meena1983]

Thank you! I will work on comparing files individually.

[HarshalNCT]

Are there any pre-requisite for using winmerge on commandline @sdottaka ? because I tried this command "C:\Program Files (x86)\WinMerge\WinMergeU.exe" -noninteractive D:\Projects\document1.txt D:\Projects\document2.txt -or D:\Projects\comparison_report.html but it still opens winmerge UI and report doesn't gets created or saved

[sdottaka]

In my environment, this command line "C:\Program Files (x86)\WinMerge\WinMergeU.exe" -noninteractive D:\Projects\document1.txt D:\Projects\document2.txt -or D:\Projects\comparison_report.html works.

As a prerequisite, your WinMerge version must be at least 2.16.0 or higher.

[HarshalNCT]

I have used WinMerge-2.16.42.1-x64-Setup.exe for setup. Is it correct am I missing something ?

[sdottaka]

If you installed WinMerge-2.16.42.1-x64-Setup.exe, the installation destination will be "C:\Program Files\WinMerge" instead of "C:\Program Files (x86)\WinMerge", so try changing the path.