Contents
Comparing folders
Two project states, two backups, two deliveries: the folder comparison tells you which files differ — and from there a double-click takes you straight into the file comparison.
8.1 The list
The overview has three columns: First, Changes and Second. The middle one says what is going on with the file:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Changed | present on both sides, content differs — a double-click opens the comparison |
| Only left | missing on the second side |
| Only right | missing on the first side |
| Equal | identical — hidden by default, can be shown via Show equal |
At the very bottom a line sums it up: “14 changed · 3 only left · 5 only right · 212 equal”. If MergeQaiPro finds nothing, it says “No files found.”
8.2 Folders with different names
Two states of the same project often sit in differently named folders — original here, modified there. Compared by name these would be two unrelated directories: every file would appear twice, once as only left and once as only right, the two trees would stand one below the other instead of side by side, and a file comparison would not be reachable from there at all.
MergeQaiPro recognises such pairs and treats them as the same directory: the row shows one name on the left and the other on the right, and beneath them the files face each other in pairs — with a double-click as everywhere else.
How MergeQaiPro recognises the pairs
Not by name — that is precisely what differs — but by content. Every folder without a counterpart on the left is measured against every one on the right: how many names occur inside both, relative to the larger of the two directories. The strongest pairs are assigned first, each folder at most once. That way several renamed folders on the same level also find each other.
| Situation | Result |
|---|---|
| Folders overlap by half or more | they are paired — strongest match first |
| Several renamed folders per side | each gets the partner it fits best |
| Overlap below half | no pairing — the folders stay “only left” or “only right” |
| Folder is empty | no pairing; there is nothing to base the judgement on |
| Equally strong candidates | alphabetical order decides — the same comparison always yields the same result |
8.3 Transferring files
Next to each row are two arrows: “Copy file to the right” and “Copy file to the left”. They let you align individual files without opening them.
8.4 Hiding noise: exclusions
A project folder holds things that are never of interest: build output, downloaded libraries, the directories of the version control system. Via a row’s context menu you take a folder or file out with Exclude from comparison; Clear exclusions (n) brings everything back.
It is quicker with Presets ▾ — they exclude common folders and files in one go:
| Preset | Excludes |
|---|---|
| Build artefacts | output and intermediate directories of compilation |
| Dependencies | downloaded third-party libraries |
| Version control | the administrative folders of Git and friends |
| IDE files | working files of the development environment |
| System files | what Windows and macOS drop in passing |
| Temporary and logs | scratch and log files |
