Description

FCompare is a file equality checking tool. Its purpose is simply to determine if two files are identical. It does this by comparing the bytes of each file until a difference is encountered. FCompare is designed as a graphical user interface application, but automated command-line execution is also supported.

System Requirements

Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7

Features

• User interface provides quick and easy comparison of two files.
• Compare files in an automated way using command-line execution.
• Tiny, efficient, and easy to use with no installation required.

Usage

Graphical User Interface:
FCompare supports many graphical ways to specify the files you want to compare:

1. Use the File menu or click the Browse button next to the textbox to manually browse for and select a file.
2. Pass file paths as command-line arguments when executing FCompare. This can also be achieved graphically by dragging and dropping files onto the program's executable file (or a shortcut to the executable).
3. Drag and Drop files onto the program's main window:
   • The first single file dropped will populate the textbox for File 1.
   • Successive single files dropped will populate the textbox for File 2.
   • If two or more files are dropped, the first and second files will be used respectively. (Additional files will of course be ignored)

Command Line Execution:
FCompare.exe [[/cmd [/err]] "File1" "File2"]
FCompare.exe [[/doc | /?]

• File1 - Path to the first file to be used for comparison, enclosed in double-quotation marks.
• File2 - Path to the second file to compare to the first file, enclosed in double-quotation marks.
• /cmd - Indicates the program should operate in a fully automated manner. This parameter suppresses the user interface and any messages that would normally be displayed. It also triggers the following return code logic which can be used by the caller to determine the result of the comparison:
  • 0 indicates the files were successfully compared and are identical.
  • 1000 indicates the files were successfully compared and are different.
  • Any other return value reflects an error code.
• /err - Indicates error messages should be displayed in command-line mode. An error message will halt execution.
• /doc - Opens this document.
• /? - Displays a message box showing usage examples.

Note: Command-line parameters are case-sensitive.

Examples:
FCompare.exe /cmd /err "File1" "File2"
FCompare.exe /doc
FCompare.exe /?

License

This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any damages arising from the use of this software. The software is free for personal use only. Commercial use requires a license. This software is also subject to the following restrictions:

1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not claim that you wrote the original software.
2. This notice may not be removed or altered from any distribution.
3. This software may not be sold for profit, and may not be used for profit making purposes.