System Utilities

Program Compare Utility

The Program Compare Utility is used to compare two versions of an existing program file on a line-by-line basis to detect any differences; however, it does not attempt to match lines whose line numbers have changed.

This utility is invoked from the System Utilities window by clicking the Compare tool bar option or by selecting Utilities > Programs > Compare from the menu bar after selecting the directory containing the original program files to be compared.

An example of the Program Compare Utility with a completed comparison is displayed below:

This window consists of the following:

Original Program/Directory

Pathname of the original directory/program file name to compare.

Revised Program/Directory

Pathname of the revised directory/program file to be compared against the original.

Selected Programs

(Available when specifying a Directory for the Original and Revised Pathnames)

Specify the list of program files to be compared. Default: Displays an * (asterisk), which represents "all" program files within the specified Original directory.

If you do not want to compare all the program files, you can customize this list by selecting only the ones to compare. To do this:

1.

Click the Reload selected programs list button (circular arrow).

2.

In the File List window, click the Expand List button to display a list of the program files in the specified directory.

3.

To remove a file name from this list (file is not deleted from the directory), highlight the file name and press the Delete key (also delete the blank line left behind).

4.

When you are done, click the Close button to return to the main Program Compare Utility window. Click the Selected Programs drop box to view the modified list of selected programs.

Note:
Any changes made to the Selected Programs list will not be retained the next time the Reload selected program list button is selected.

Output Results To

Output destination for the Compare results: Viewer, Screen (Default), Printer.

Print only the lines which have been changed

When selected (Default), only the lines that are different will be printed.

When not selected, all lines will be printed and any lines that are different will be flagged.

Ignore case

Determines whether case sensitivity will be ignored. Default: This check box is selected.

(Results Output Box)

The output consists of a side-by-side listing of the Original Program and the Revised Program. Any differences (i.e. additions, deletions, changes) will be noted in the middle of the report and can be viewed by using the scroll bar.

Original/Revised

(Display Only)

When the Apply button is selected, the pathnames of the Original Program/Directory and the Revised Program/Directory being compared, as well as the line numbers, will be displayed.

Apply

Starts the comparison process. A prompt displays when the process is completed.

Stop

(Available Only during the Comparison Process)

Button that displays when the Apply button is selected and is used to abort the comparison process. This button is hidden when the comparison is aborted or completed.

Close

Exits the utility and returns to the System Utilities window.