Compare folders

TFS 2018

Visual Studio 2019 | Visual Studio 2022

You can compare the differences between two server folders, two local folders, or a server folder and a local folder.

Prerequisites

To do these procedures, you must have the Read permission set to Allow. For more information, see Default TFVC permissions.

Note

To compare two local folders, you don't need any Azure DevOps permissions.

Compare folders

  1. On the Visual Studio View menu, choose Other Windows, and then choose Source Control Explorer.

  2. In Source Control Explorer, right-click the source folder you want to compare and choose Compare.

    The Compare dialog box appears with the server path of the folder that you selected in the Source Path box.

  3. Under Source Version, select the Type you want to use for comparison: Changeset, Date, Label, Latest Version, or Workspace Version.

  4. Enter the Target Path, or choose Browse and select the target folder.

  5. If the Target Path is to a server folder, under Target Version, select the Type you want to use for comparison: Changeset, Date, Label, Latest Version, or Workspace Version.

  6. Under Filter, you can add or remove file and folder filters. Select the Filter local paths only checkbox if you want to apply the filter only to local paths. For more information, see Folder comparison filters.

  7. Under View Options, select which items to show in the comparison results. You can select a combination of view options by checking or clearing the following boxes:

    • Show items that exist only in source path
    • Show items that exist only in target path
    • Show items that are different
    • Show items that are the same
  8. Choose OK.

  9. The Folder Difference window displays a list of compared items in the source and target folders. In the Folder Difference window:

    • You can compare the differences between two versions of a file by right-clicking the file and choosing Compare. The Diff window appears.
    • If there are differences between a server folder and your local folder, you can reconcile them.