ISO diff tool for HTML

HTML & CSS
1

I’m looking for a diff tool that meets the following requirements:

  • Understands HTML and can identify differences in terms of HTML; for example, it has an option for ignoring differences in presentation and marking only differences in content.

  • Displays output as formatted HTML, not raw text.

  • Can compare all of the files in two directories (does not require a separate “open… compare” operation for each file).

  • Runs on a local machine (not as a web service). May run under Windows or OS X… ideally, both.

  • Free or reasonably inexpensive.

Can anyone make a recommendation?

2

I’ve just started using Meld, but I’m not yet familiar enough with it to know whether it does everything you want. But it is free, and it does have a facility for directory comparison (which I’ve not yet tried).

3

I looked at Meld but I don’t see any mention of HTML comparison. Did I miss something?

I’m currently using HTML Match. It has the basic capability I need, but it doesn’t compare directories, it only works under Windows, and its UI is rather clumsy.

4

It certainly works with HTML files, because that’s what I’ve been using it with. There are options for things like ignoring leading whitespace, ignoring all whitespace, etc. - and you can add your own filters, too.

Is that what you wanted to know?

5

Does it display the diffs as HTML, not as raw text?

I’m just puzzled that their web site doesn’t mention that it handles HTML if it does, because there nothing else seems to distinguish it from dozens of other diff tools.

6

As I say, I’ve only just started using this, and I’ve never used a diff tool before, so I’m not really sure what you’re looking for. As it’s free, you might be better off just downloading it and playing with it. For what it’s worth, a screenshot:

1280×963 191 KB

7

I have used them in the past and just tried this one out. It works really well and is comparable to the best ones I can remember using in the past. It makes it extremely easy to not only see all the differences across an entire folder but also to go through and apply the individual changes from one copy of the file to the other where appropriate.

What it doesn’t appear to have is the option the OP is asking for - to have it just compare the content and ignore the HTML tags. Even a single space will show as the two files being different.

9

Thanks - that’s what I was failing to understand in his question. (It’s obvious, of course, now you’ve explained it.)