Text Comparer

The Text Comparer is a professional analysis tool for comparing two text versions. It shows you precisely which lines have been added, deleted, or modified - perfect for version control, code reviews, and document comparisons.

Getting Started

With the Text Comparer, you can input and compare two texts in several ways:

Direct Text Input: Enter or paste your original text and modified text into the two text fields
File Upload: Upload text files (TXT, DOC, DOCX, PDF) for comparison
Swap Texts: Use the swap button (↔ symbol) to exchange the position of both texts
Sample Text: Use the "Example" button for a quick demo

💡 Tip: The Text Comparer analyzes your texts in real-time. Switch between "Split View" and "Unified View" depending on how you want to compare the changes!

Main Features & Comparison Modes

Split View Mode

The classic side-by-side view with color-coded highlights:

Left Column: Shows the original text
Right Column: Shows the modified text
Green Highlight: New or added lines
Red Highlight: Deleted or removed lines
Lighter Highlight: Subtle changes within lines

ℹ️ Info: Split View is ideal for detailed comparisons when you need to see both versions in parallel.

Unified View Mode

A compact view similar to Git diffs in command line interfaces:

Context Lines: Unchanged lines are displayed with "-" prefix
Deleted Lines: Marked with "-" prefix and red color
Added Lines: Marked with "+" prefix and green color
Inline Changes: Show subtle differences within lines

ℹ️ Info: Unified View is compact and perfect for Git-like diff representation, especially when working with source code.

Hunks Mode (Chunk-based)

A GitHub-like display with grouped change blocks:

Enabled (Default): Shows only related change blocks (hunks) with context lines
Disabled: Shows every single line, including unchanged context lines
Hunk Header: Displays line numbers and context (e.g., "@@ -10,5 +12,7 @@")

💡 Tip: For large files: Enable Hunks mode! This shows only changes with minimal context, not all 10,000 unchanged lines!

How It Works & Algorithm

Text Comparison Algorithm:

The tool uses a diff algorithm to precisely identify changes between two texts:

Line-by-Line Comparison: Splits texts into individual lines
Longest Common Subsequence (LCS): Finds common parts
Inline Differencing: Shows changes even within lines
Hunking: Groups related changes (with context)

Understanding Color Coding

Color	Meaning	Example
	Bright Green (Intense) - Completely new line	An entire line was added
	Bright Red (Intense) - Completely deleted line	An entire line was removed
	Green (Medium) - Added characters	Individual words/characters within the add-context line
	Red (Medium) - Deleted characters	Individual words/characters within the del-context line
	Subtle Green (Faint) - Context with Changes	Line with partial changes
	Subtle Red (Faint) - Context with Changes	Line with partial changes
	Unchanged	Unchanged lines as context

Use Cases

When is the Text Comparer particularly useful?

Developers & Code Review: Compare code changes before commits, review pull requests
Documentation & Wiki: Compare old and new versions of documentation
Content Creator & Authors: Review rewrites and edits of texts
QA & Testing: Compare expected vs. actual outputs
Version Control: Check changes between Git branches offline
Localization & Translation: Compare original and translated text
Configuration & Settings: Compare old and new configuration files

Tips & Best Practices

Split View for Details: Use Split View when you need details and want to see both versions.
Unified View for Compactness: Unified View is perfect for copy-pasting into Git commits or documentation.
Enable Hunks for Large Files: With Hunks mode, only changes with context are shown - saves space!
Swap Texts: Use the swap button to change the comparison direction (Original ↔ Modified).
File Upload for Large Texts: Paste limits exist for very large files - use the upload function instead!
Ignore Whitespace (if available): Useful when only formatting has changed.
Review Inline Changes Carefully: Fine-grained changes show exactly which words/characters have changed.

Practical Examples

Code Refactoring Review

Original: Old JavaScript function with for-loop
Modified: Modernized version with for...of loop and additional validation

Comparison: Split View shows new lines in green, deleted lines in red

Benefit: Code reviewers can immediately see that error handling was added and the loop was modernized.

Documentation Update

Original: Old product documentation v2.0
Modified: Updated documentation for v3.0 release

Comparison: Unified View shows all changes compactly

Benefit: Quick overview of all breaking changes and new features

Configuration Migration

Original: Server config from framework version X
Modified: Migrated config for framework version Y

Comparison: Hunks mode shows related changes

Benefit: Systematic verification that all important parameters were updated

Localization Comparison

Original: English text (source)
Modified: German text (translation)

Comparison: Shows where translations were added or changed

Benefit: QA can verify that no string keys were forgotten

Advanced Features

Inline Differencing:

The tool not only highlights different lines but also shows the exact differences within a line:

Word-Level: When only individual words change, these are highlighted in color
Character-Level: For very small changes, individual characters are marked
Subtle Changes: Very helpful when debugging configuration changes

Tool Wizard

Text comparer