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I'm using Meld to compare two directories of source code on Ubuntu.

However, because all of the files in one of the directories have been 'touched' so that all of their timestamps were updated, Meld is showing them as different, even though the contents of the files have not changed. But I'm only trying to find files that have different content. I don't see an option to get Meld just to look at changed contents. Any ideas for how to do this in Meld or is there a better GUI directory comparison tool for Ubuntu?

creamcheese
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4 Answers4

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The display appears different for files that have different timestamps to those that have really changed

Quoted from debian mailing list

The current behaviour of meld is such that, a small red dot is used in the right hand bottom corner of the icon for a file with newer timestamp even if the files being compared are identical. If the files are different, then both files are shown as red with a thick red dot in the newer-timestamp file.

I use Meld and I think it is the best graphical diff program.

Maybe Kompare will do what you want.

Richard Holloway
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    Sorry but Meld is frustrating. I'm comparing two directories right now... I changed from windows to Linux and it shows ALL the files in blue with a yellow start. When I enter, It says: "Files are identical". The "SAME" button is unchecked. There is no way right now to only see the Different(in text) files. – Mariano L Nov 02 '15 at 03:18
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A good alternative is KDiff3 – it has an option to choose a method to compare files.

slhck
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Alexander
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    And does it accomplish what the OP wants? Could you [edit] your answer to clarify that? – slhck Oct 03 '12 at 19:37
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In recent versions of Meld (tested on 3.20.4) unticking Compare files based only on size and timestamp (under Preferences > Folder Comparisons > Shallow Comparison) seems to have the effect of ignoring file timestamps and instead looking only at the content.

Whereas in older Meld versions (e.g. 1.8) with this unticked it still looked at timestamps (as well as contents).

For me upgrading Meld and ensuring that option was unticked was sufficient to make directory comparison useful again - i.e. it now ignores timestamp differences and only shows me files whose contents differ.

sparrowt
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  • For me, that didn't work. I'm on Debian Bullseye, which has an outdated version, so I downloaded 3.20.4 and tried. Still the same madness - identical file being shown as different although the content is the same, regardless of settings. – Binarus Nov 04 '22 at 17:07
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In the top menu Meld now has a toggle on the "Same" file, so you can turn off unwanted files. Further for directories that contain hundreds or thousands of files, for example libraries, select the directory and "Hide".

Chelton
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    The "Same" toggle unfortunately does not help in this case, because timestamps are different. – luator Nov 10 '16 at 10:37