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Dreamweaver Article

 

Configuring Third-Party File Compare


Rob Christensen

Rob Christensen

Adobe

Table of Contents

Created:
12 September 2005
User Level:
Intermediate

Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 introduces a powerful new productivity feature that allows web developers and designers to quickly compare changes between files. To take advantage of this feature, however, you will need to download a third-party merge or "diff" utility and configure Dreamweaver to integrate with this program.

Once you have configured Dreamweaver 8, with just a few simple clicks, you will be able to compare files visually and understand the differences between two versions of a file. For any of you that have nervously uploaded or checked out files on a remote server, uncertain which changes might have been made previously, the file compare feature in Dreamweaver 8 may quickly become one of your favorite new features. In this article, I explain how to integrate a third-party file compare utility on both the Mac and Windows.

Requirements

To complete this tutorial you will need to install the following software and files:

Dreamweaver 8

Tutorials and sample files:

A third-party merge or "diff" utility such as FileMerge on Macintosh or WinMerge on Windows:

Note: FileMerge is distributed by Apple as part of the Xcode development tools which you can download for free from the Apple developer site by registering with the Apple Developer Connection (ADC). However, the latest version of Xcode requires Tiger, the latest major revision of the OSX known as Tiger (10.4).

About the author

Rob Christensen is a senior product manager on Adobe AIR where he's helping to define the next generation of desktop experiences. Prior to his current role, he managed a new product development framework for designing next-generation Adobe and Macromedia products such as Flash, Dreamweaver, Captivate, FlashCast, and Fireworks. He also spent six years as an engineer on Dreamweaver starting with version 2. Before joining Macromedia in 1998, he worked as a web application developer at NASA Ames Research. Rob's interests include web technologies, astronomy, film, travel and exploring new technologies and design processes on his personal blog.