How does the text diff viewer work?

Our text diff viewer uses advanced algorithms to compare two text inputs line-by-line and highlight the differences. It shows additions in green, deletions in red, and unchanged lines in their original state. The tool operates entirely in your browser, ensuring fast processing and complete privacy since your text never leaves your device. You can view differences in split view (side-by-side) or unified view (single column with +/- indicators).

What's the difference between line-by-line and character-level comparison?

Line-by-line comparison treats each line as a unit and shows which lines were added, removed, or modified. This is ideal for code and structured documents. Character-level comparison goes deeper, highlighting specific characters within modified lines, making it easier to spot small changes like typos or punctuation. Word-level comparison sits in between, highlighting changed words rather than entire lines or individual characters.

Can I use this tool for code review and version control?

Absolutely! Our text diff viewer is perfect for code review workflows. You can compare different versions of source code, review pull request changes, or examine git diffs without needing command-line tools. The syntax highlighting and side-by-side view make it easy to spot logic changes, refactoring, or bug fixes. It's particularly useful when you need to share code differences with team members who don't have access to your repository.

What do the colors and symbols mean in the diff view?

Green backgrounds or lines prefixed with '+' indicate additions (text present in the new version but not the old). Red backgrounds or lines prefixed with '-' indicate deletions (text in the old version that was removed). Unchanged lines appear without highlighting or with '=' or no prefix. In character-level mode, smaller highlighted segments within lines show exactly which characters changed within modified lines.

Can I export or share the diff results?

Yes! Most diff viewers allow you to copy the diff output in various formats including unified diff format (like git diff), side-by-side HTML, or plain text with +/- markers. You can paste this into emails, documentation, or issue trackers. Some tools also offer direct links or the ability to save the comparison as an HTML file for offline viewing or sharing with colleagues.

Is there a file size limit for text comparison?

Since the diff tool runs entirely in your browser, the limit depends on your device's available memory. Most modern browsers can handle comparing files up to several megabytes (tens of thousands of lines) without issues. For very large files (100MB+), you might experience slower performance or need to use desktop diff tools. The browser-based approach ensures your sensitive code or documents never leave your computer.

What are common use cases for text diff tools?

Text diff tools excel in many scenarios: comparing different versions of contracts or legal documents to track changes, reviewing code changes before merging branches, detecting plagiarism or unauthorized content modifications, auditing configuration file changes in server deployments, comparing API responses over time, verifying translations or content updates, resolving merge conflicts in version control, and debugging by comparing expected vs actual output from programs.

How does the tool handle whitespace and formatting differences?

Most diff viewers offer options to control whitespace sensitivity. You can typically ignore all whitespace changes (useful when code formatting was updated), ignore leading/trailing spaces, or show all whitespace differences (important for Python or Makefiles where indentation matters). Some tools also let you ignore case differences, which is helpful when comparing text where capitalization isn't significant, like when reviewing content changes.

Can this tool help resolve merge conflicts?

Yes! When you encounter merge conflicts in version control systems like Git, our diff viewer can help you understand what changed in both branches. You can paste the 'ours' version in one panel and the 'theirs' version in another to see exactly what differs. This visual comparison makes it easier to decide which changes to keep, combine, or modify when manually resolving conflicts that automatic merging couldn't handle.

Is my text data secure when using this diff tool?

Absolutely! Our text diff viewer processes everything locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your text content is never uploaded to any server, transmitted over the internet, or stored anywhere except temporarily in your browser's memory. This makes it completely safe to compare sensitive documents, proprietary code, or confidential information. Once you close the browser tab, all data is immediately cleared from memory.

Text Diff Viewer

Compare two texts side-by-side and instantly see differences, additions, and deletions. Perfect for code review, document comparison, and version control.

Text Diff Viewer

Compare two texts side by side and copy a simple patch