Using Beyond Compare with Version Control Systems

For macOS, see this article.

Beyond Compare can be configured as the external difference utility in many popular VCS applications. The following are configuration instructions for specific products. Let us know if you have one to add to the list.

Unless otherwise specified, all examples are based on Beyond Compare version 5.

Beyond Compare version 4 users should replace "5" with "4" appropriately.

Beyond Compare version 3 users should replace "5" with "3" appropriately.

Beyond Compare version 2 users should replace BComp.exe with BC2.exe and change the path to Beyond Compare 2's install folder.

Linux users should prefix command line switches with "-" instead of "/".

64-bit Windows users of 32-bit BC (older than version 4.1) should replace "C:\Program Files" with "C:\Program Files (x86)".

Index:

AccuRev

Windows

Select Preferences from the Tools menu.
Switch to the Diff/Merge tab.
Diff: overwrite the preset with: "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe" %1% %2% /lefttitle="%3%" /righttitle="%4%"
Merge : overwrite the preset with: "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe" %1% %2% %a% /mergeoutput=%o% /lefttitle="%4%" /righttitle="%5%" /centertitle="%3%"

Linux

Select Preferences from the Tools menu.
Switch to the Diff/Merge tab.
Diff: overwrite the preset with: /usr/bin/bcompare %1% %2% -lefttitle="%3%" -righttitle="%4%"
Merge : overwrite the preset with: /usr/bin/bcompare %1% %2% %a% -mergeoutput=%o% -lefttitle="%4%" -righttitle="%5%" -centertitle="%3%"

AnkhSVN

Open Visual Studio.
Select Options from the Tools menu.
Select Source Control > Subversion User Tools.
For the Diff and Merge entries, select Beyond Compare from the dropdown.

CA Harvest Software Change Manager

Open the Workbench.
Select Options from the Tools menu.
Switch to the Merge Tool tab in the Options dialog.
Select "Beyond Compare" in the ToolName drop-down.
Enter the complete path to your BComp.exe in the Compare, 2-way Merge, and 3-way Merge fields:
Compare
BComp.exe /readonly $(File1) $(File2)
2-way Merge
BComp.exe $(TrunkFile) $(BranchFile) /mergeoutput=$(ResultsFile)
3-way Merge
BComp.exe $(TrunkFile) $(BranchFile) $(AncestorFile) $(ResultsFile)

ClearCase

Go into the "C:\Program Files\IBM\RationalSDLC\ClearCase\lib\mgrs" folder.
Create a backup of the file named "map".
Edit "map" and edit the following lines to point to Beyond Compare:
text_file_delta xcompare C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe text_file_delta xmerge C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe

Make the same change to lines beginning with _html, _xml, _html2, _xml2 to use Beyond Compare for HTML and XML comparisons.

BC version 2

For BC2, only change the xcompare line of the map file. Overriding compare, merge, and xmerge is not supported. A helper that improves BC2's support is available here.

ClearCase Remote Client

CCRC 7.1.1+

Reference: IBM KB

Go to Window > Preferences dialog. Then select ClearCase Remote Client > Integration > Compare/Merge > Manage Providers
For Provider Name, enter the path to Beyond Compare's install directory and bcomp.exe
Diff: For Supports Compare Operations add: %contribs% /vcs1="%filename1%" /vcs2="%filename2%"
Merge : For Supports Merge Operations add: %contrib1% %contrib2% %base% /mergeoutput="%merge_out%"
Click Apply, then New to add to the Providers list
Navigate to ClearCase Remote Client > Integration > Compare/Merge (up one level) to override the CCRC Integrated (UTF-8) as the default diff/merge and set to bcomp.exe

CCRC Older versions

Locate the plugins folder, which will contain a specific version named subfolder. Examples:
- C:\Program Files\IBM\Rational\ClearCase701\CCRC\plugins\com.ibm.rational.clearcase.compare_merge.win32.x86_7.0.1.D061004
- C:\Program Files\IBM\IMShared\plugins\com.ibm.rational.clearcase.compare_merge.win32.x86_7.1.1.v201007070751
- Note that the version number in path is subject to change.
Copy C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe into the folder.
Move ccrc_cleardiff.exe, ccrc_cleardiffmrg.exe, ccrc_worddiffmrg.exe and ccrc_xmldiffmrg.exe to a backup folder.
Make 4 copies of bcomp.exe and rename them to ccrc_cleardiff.exe, ccrc_cleardiffmrg.exe, ccrc_worddiffmrg.exe and ccrc_xmldiffmrg.exe.
Change "CCRC Integrated (UTF-8)" to "ClearCase External" under Preferences > CCRC > Integration > Compare_Merge.

CVS

CVS does not support external diff or merge tools.

Dimensions CM / PVCS / Serena

BC version 3 or later

Navigate to the Dimensions / PVCS install folder and find the file pvcsmerge.exe and rename it to pvcsmerge.exe.exe.
Copy bcomp.exe from C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5 into the Dimensions folder and rename it to pvcsmerge.exe.

In Dimensions CM 10 you can edit your native.properties file instead. The integration isn't as complete in that case, so file format/rules matching don't work correctly and folder comparisons aren't supported.

BC version 3 or later with extended functionality

Download PVCSmerge.zip and follow the PVCSmerge.txt instructions included in the zip file. Tested with PVCS 6.8 and 8.0 as well as Dimensions 8, 9 and 10.

Adds support for comparison of binary files (e.g. Word documents) and archives (Zip).

BC version 2

Follow the instructions above, but instead of using BComp.exe use the copy of pvcsmerge.exe in pvcsmergev8.zip for PVCS 6.8, 8.0, and Merant Dimensions 8, or in pvcsmerge75.zip for PVCS 7.5.

Git for Linux

BC version 3 or later

Git 1.8 and newer

Diff

Confirm that "bcompare" can be launched from Terminal. Then in a console window enter:


  $ git config --global diff.tool bc

  $ git config --global difftool.bc.trustExitCode true

To launch a diff using Beyond Compare, use the command
git difftool file.ext

Merge

Confirm that "bcompare" can be launched from Terminal. Then enter the following:


  git config --global merge.tool bc

  git config --global mergetool.bc.trustExitCode true

To launch a 3-way merge using Beyond Compare, use the command
git mergetool file.ext

Git 1.7.x and older

(Instructions vary depending on Git version)

Diff

Create a shell script file "git-diff-wrapper.sh" with the following content:
#!/bin/sh # diff is called by git with 7 parameters: # path old-file old-hex old-mode new-file new-hex new-mode "<path_to_bc3_executable>" "$2" "$5" | cat
In a console window enter the command:
$ git config --global diff.external <path_to_wrapper_script>

3-way Merge

In a console window enter the following three commands:


  $ git config --global merge.tool bc3

  $ git config --global mergetool.bc3.cmd "/usr/bin/bcompare \$LOCAL

    \$REMOTE \$BASE \$MERGED"

  $ git config --global mergetool.bc3.trustExitCode true

2-way Merge

In a console window enter the following three commands:


  $ git config --global merge.tool bc3

  $ git config --global mergetool.bc3.cmd "/usr/bin/bcompare \$LOCAL

    \$REMOTE -savetarget=\$MERGED"

  $ git config --global mergetool.bc3.trustExitCode true

Git for Windows

BC version 3 or later

Diff

At a Windows command prompt, enter the commands:


  git config --global diff.tool bc

  git config --global difftool.bc.path "c:/Program Files/Beyond Compare 5/bcomp.exe"

Note: For Git versions older than 2.2 (git --version) replace "bc" with "bc3" in the above instructions.

3-way Merge

At a Windows command prompt, enter the commands:


  git config --global merge.tool bc

  git config --global mergetool.bc.path "c:/Program Files/Beyond Compare 5/bcomp.exe"

Note: For Git versions older than 2.2.0 (git --version) replace "bc" with "bc3" in the above instructions.

Launching Diffs and Merges

File Diff:
git difftool filename.ext

Folder Diff:
git difftool --dir-diff

3-way Merge:
git mergetool filename.txt

Advanced Settings

To disable the "Launch 'bc3' [Y/n]?" prompt, run the command:
git config --global difftool.prompt false

Git's default settings retain merge files with *.orig extensions after a successful merge. To disable this safety feature and automatically delete *.orig files after a merge, run the command:
git config --global mergetool.keepBackup false

Git Integration for Eclipse (JGit) on Windows

BC version 3 or later

Diff

At a Windows command prompt, enter the commands:
git config --global diff.tool bc git config --global difftool.bc.path "c:/Program Files/Beyond Compare 5/bcomp.exe"
Open Eclipse.
Select Preferences from the Window menu.
Go to the Version Control (Team) > Git > Diff/Merge section.
Diff
Diff tool to use: External, use git configuration

3-way Merge

At a Windows command prompt, enter the commands:
git config --global merge.tool bc git config --global mergetool.bc.cmd "\"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe\" $LOCAL $REMOTE $BASE $MERGED"
Open Eclipse.
Select Preferences from the Window menu.
Go to the Version Control (Team) > Git > Diff/Merge section.
Merge
Merge tool content: Prompt when starting tool
Merge tool to use: External, use git configuration

GitHub Desktop

GitHub Desktop does not support external diff and merge tools.
GitHub feature request: Open with external diff tool #1765.

Git Extensions

BC version 3 or later

Diff

Select Settings from the Tools menu.
Select Git Config.
Select "bc" from the Difftool drop down.
Ensure that Path to difftool field contains:
C:/Program Files/Beyond Compare 5/BComp.exe
Ensure Difftool command field contains:
"C:/Program Files/Beyond Compare 5/BComp.exe" "$LOCAL" "$REMOTE"

Merge

Select Settings from the Tools menu.
Select Git Config.
Select "bc" from the Mergetool drop down.
Ensure that Path to mergetool field contains:
C:/Program Files/Beyond Compare 5/BComp.exe
Ensure Mergetool command field contains:
"C:/Program Files/Beyond Compare 5/BComp.exe" "$LOCAL" "$REMOTE" "$BASE" "$MERGED"

Git Fork

BC version 3 or later

Diff

Select Preferences from the File menu.
Select Integration.
Select "Custom" from the Diff Tool drop down.
Ensure that Diff Tool Path field contains:
C:/Program Files/Beyond Compare 5/BComp.exe
Ensure Arguments field contains:
"$LOCAL" "$REMOTE"

Merge

Select Preferences from the File menu.
Select Integration.
Select "Custom" from the Merger drop down.
Ensure that Merger Path field contains:
C:/Program Files/Beyond Compare 5/BComp.exe
Ensure Arguments field contains:
"$LOCAL" "$REMOTE" "$BASE" "$MERGED"

KDESVN

In KDESVN Choose Configure KDESVN from the Settings menu.
Select Diff & Merge.
Check Use external diff display.
In the External diff display edit, use:
bcompare -readonly %1 %2
In the External merge program edit, use:
bcompare %s1 %s2 %t
In the External resolver program edit, use:
bcompare %n %m %o %t

Mercurial / TortoiseHg

BC version 3 with TortoiseHg 2.0.2 and newer

BC version 4 with TortoiseHg 3.1 and newer

BC version 5 to be verified

Diff

Launch TortoiseHG Workbench.
Under the File menu go to Settings.
Select TortoiseHg.
Set Visual Diff Tool to beyondcompare4 using the dropdown.

3-way Merge

Launch TortoiseHG Workbench.
Under the File menu go to Settings.
Select TortoiseHg
Set the Three-way Merge Tool to beyondcompare4 using the dropdown.

Older versions of Mercurial

To configure Mercurial you need to edit the file %USERPROFILE%\Mercurial.ini or $HOME/.hgrc. Add the following lines, using existing INI sections if they already exist:

Diff


  [extensions]

  extdiff =

  

  [extdiff]

  cmd.bcomp = C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe

  opts.bcomp = /ro

  

  [tortoisehg]

  vdiff = bcomp

Once set up you can compare revisions from the command line using
hg bcomp -r <rev1> [-r <rev2>] [<filename>]

3-way Merge


  [merge-tools]

  bcomp.executable = C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe

  bcomp.args = $local $other $base $output

  bcomp.priority = 1

  bcomp.premerge = True

  bcomp.gui = True

  

  [ui]

  merge = bcomp

MKS Integrity / PTC Integrity

Diff

Start MKS Source Integrity.
Go to Tools > Preferences > DiffTool.
Select Custom Command.
Enter the command:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" /title1="{1}" /title2="{2}" "{3}" "{4}"

3-way Merge

Use this for the merge tool command line:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" /title1="{1}" /title2="{2}" /title3="{0}" "{5}" "{6}" "{4}" "{7}"

2-way Merge

Use this for the merge tool command line:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" /title1="{1}" /title2="{2}" "{5}" "{6}" /savetarget="{7}"

NetBeans

Select Options from the Tools menu.
Select Miscellaneous.
Go to the Diff tab.
Select External Diff.
Command: C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe {0} {1}

Once configured, selecting Team > Local History > Show Local History will launch a diff in Beyond Compare.

Perforce

P4V (The Perforce Visual Client)

Choose Preferences from the Edit menu.
Switch to the Diff tab.
Change the Default Diff Application option to "Other application".
Enter the path to BComp.exe in the Location edit.
For some versions of Perforce, in the Arguments edit, enter:
%1 %2
Switch to the Merge tab.
Change the Default merge application to "Other application".
Enter the path to BComp.exe in the Location edit.
In the Arguments edit, enter:
%1 %2 %b %r

P4Win (The Perforce Windows Client)

Choose Options from the Settings menu.
Select Files > Diff.
Select User supplied diff application.
Browse to BComp.exe.
Check Options args and enter:
/lefttitle="%L" /righttitle="%R" %1 %2
Select Files > Merge.
Select User supplied merge application.
Browse to BComp.exe.
Check Optional args and enter:
/vcsleft="%T" /vcsright="%Y" %2 %3 %1 %4

P4 (The Perforce Command Line Client)

Add two environmental variables:
P4DIFF=C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe
P4MERGE=C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BCompP4Merge.bat
Create a file named BCompP4Merge.bat in your Beyond Compare install folder with the contents: "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp" %2 %3 %1 %4

Plastic SCM

Diff

Choose Diff tools from the Preferences menu.
Select $text, choose Edit.
Add the command line:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" "@sourcefile" "@destinationfile" /lefttitle="@sourcesymbolic" /righttitle="@destinationsymbolic"

Merge

Choose Merge tools from the Preferences menu.
Select $text, choose Edit.
Add the command line:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" /title1="@sourcesymbolic" /title2="@destinationsymbolic" /title3="@basesymbolic" "@sourcefile" "@destinationfile" "@basefile" "@output"

Rational Synergy

Java Client, Diff

Create the batch file: C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bc_comp.bat
In the batch file, enter: "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" %1 %2 /lefttitle=%3 /righttitle=%4
Backup the file "C:\Program Files\IBM\Rational\Synergy\7.1\etc\ccm.properties".
In ccm.properties, edit the compare line: windows.tool.compare.ascii = "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bc_comp.bat" "%file1" "%file2" "%file1_label" "%file2_label"

Java Client, 3-way Merge

Create the batch file: C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bc_merge.bat
In the batch file, enter: "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" %1 %2 %3 %4 /lefttitle=%5 /righttitle=%6 /centertitle=%7 /outputtitle=%4
Backup the file "C:\Program Files\IBM\Rational\Synergy\7.1\etc\ccm.properties".
In ccm.properties, edit the merge line: windows.tool.merge.ascii = "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bc_merge.bat" "%file1" "%file2" "%ancestor" "%outfile" "%file1_label" "%file2_label" "%ancestor_label"

We have reports that some versions of the Java client require double slash characters in the file path. For example:

windows.tool.compare.ascii  = "C:\\Program Files\\Beyond Compare 5\\bc_comp.bat" "%file1" "%file2" "%file1_label" "%file2_label"

Classic Client, Diff

Close the Synergy application.
Create the batch file: C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bc_comp.bat
In the batch file, enter: "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" %1 %2 /lefttitle=%3 /righttitle=%4
Navigate into your %userprofile% directory (type %userprofile% in explorer address bar if you are unsure where this is).
Backup the file named "ccm.ini".
Edit the compare line in ccm.ini: compare_cmd = "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bc_comp.bat" "%file1" "%file2" "%file1_label" "%file2_label"

Classic Client, 3-way Merge

Close the Synergy application.
Create the batch file: C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bc_merge.bat
In the batch file, enter: "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" %1 %2 %3 %4 /lefttitle=%5 /righttitle=%6 /centertitle=%7 /outputtitle=%4
Navigate into your %userprofile% directory (type %userprofile% in explorer address bar if you are unsure where this is).
Backup the file named "ccm.ini".
Edit the merge line in ccm.ini: merge_cmd = "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bc_merge.bat" "%file1" "%file2" "%ancestor" "%outfile" "%file1_label" "%file2_label" "%ancestor_label"

RoboHelp

Adobe RoboHelp can be configured to interact with a Version Control System and allows an External Diff tool to be defined. To define BC as the difftool:

Launch RoboHelp HTML.
Go to Tools > Options.
Select the Version Control section.
In the SharePoint Settings area, set Path to:
C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe
For Arguments, enter:
%1 %2
Set the sub-options as appropriate for your VCS environment.

Roundtable TSMS

Go into the "C:\Program Files\RoundTable\rtb\p" folder.
Create a backup of the file named "Rtb_vcom.p".
Edit "Rtb_vcom.p" and change the line:
ASSIGN Mexe = SEARCH("visdiff/visdiff.exe").
to:
ASSIGN Mexe = SEARCH("C:\Progra~1\Beyond~1\bcomp.exe").

SmartGit

Diff

Select Edit > Preferences.
Go to Tools > Diff Tools.
Click Add.
File Pattern: *
Select External diff tool.
Command: C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe
Arguments: /readonly /lefttitle="${leftTitle}" /righttitle="${rightTitle}" "${leftFile}" "${rightFile}"

Merge

Select Edit > Preferences.
Go to Tools > Conflict Solvers.
Click Add.
File Pattern: *
Select External Conflict Solver.
Command: C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe
Arguments: "${leftFile}" "${rightFile}" "${baseFile}" /mergeoutput="${mergedFile}"

SourceAnyWhere for VSS

Select Tools > Options. Go to the External Programs tab.
Application for diff/merge:
C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe
Arguments for diff files:
/readonly /title1="%FIRST_LABEL%" /title2="%SECOND_LABEL%" "%FIRST_FILE%" "%SECOND_FILE%"
Arguments for diff folders:
"%FIRST_DIR%" "%SECOND_DIR%"
Arguments for Two-way merge:
/leftreadonly /title1="%FIRST_LABEL%" /title2="%SECOND_LABEL%" "%FIRST_FILE%" "%SECOND_FILE%"

Linux

In some versions of the Linux application, it may be necessary to define the path to bcompare with the arguments.

Application for diff/merge:
/usr/bin/bcompare
Arguments for diff files:
/usr/bin/bcompare -readonly "%FIRST_FILE%" "%SECOND_FILE%"
Arguments for diff folders:
/usr/bin/bcompare "%FIRST_DIR%" "%SECOND_DIR%"

SourceGear Vault

Diff

Choose Options from the Tools menu.
Select Diff / Merge.
Under Diff, enter the path to BComp.exe for the Program setting.
In the Arguments edit, enter:
"%LEFT_PATH%" "%RIGHT_PATH%" /ro /title1="%LEFT_LABEL%" /title2="%RIGHT_LABEL%"

3-way Merge

Choose Options from the Tools menu.
Select Diff / Merge.
Under Merge, enter the path to BComp.exe for the Program setting.
In the Arguments edit, enter:
"%WORKING_PATH%" "%OTHER_PATH%" "%BASELINE_PATH%" "%DEST_PATH%" /title1="%WORKING_LABEL%" /title2="%OTHER_LABEL%" /title4="%DEST_LABEL%"

2-way Merge

Use the same steps as above, but set the Arguments setting to:
"%WORKING_PATH%" "%OTHER_PATH%" /title1="%WORKING_LABEL%" /title2="%OTHER_LABEL%" /savetarget="%DEST_PATH%"

SourceOffSite

Choose Options from the Windows Client's Tools menu.
Switch to the External Programs panel.
Enter the path to BComp.exe in the Application for comparing files, Application for comparing folders and Application for merging files edits.

Beyond Compare 1.9 is the default external difference utility in SourceOffSite Collaborative Edition. To upgrade to Beyond Compare 5 follow the instructions above.

SourceTree

Diff

Choose Options from the Tools menu.
Switch to the Diff tab.
Set the External Diff tool dropdown to Beyond Compare.

3-way Merge

Choose Options from the Tools menu.
Switch to the Diff tab.
Set the External Merge tool dropdown to Beyond Compare.

Troubleshooting

Some versions of SourceTree broke the built-in Beyond Compare integration. Here's a fix:

Go into: C:\Program Files\Git\mingw64\etc
Edit the gitconfig file and add
[difftool "sourcetree"] cmd = 'C:/Program Files/Beyond Compare 5/bcomp.exe' $LOCAL $REMOTE

StarTeam

Diff

Choose Personal Options from the Tools menu.
Switch to the Files panel.
If it's present, click the "Alternate Applications" button.
Check the Comparison Utility checkbox.
Enter the path to BComp.exe in the edit.
In the Options edit enter:
$file1 $file2

3-way Merge

Follow steps 1-5 above, but check the Merge Utility checkbox in step 4.
In the Options edit enter:
$usertip $branchtip $basefile $resultfile

2-way Merge is not supported because $resultfile is not expanded if used as an argument to /savetarget=.

Subversion

Windows

Diff

Go into the Beyond Compare installation folder (eg, C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5).
Create a batch file named "bcsvn.bat" containing:
call "%~dp0\bcomp.exe" "%6" /title1=%3 "%7" /title2=%5 IF %errorlevel%==0 goto ZERO EXIT /B 1 :ZERO EXIT /B 0
Go into Subversion's per-user configuration area, typically C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Subversion.
Edit "config" and change the following lines:
# [helpers]
# diff-cmd = diff_program (diff, gdiff, etc.)
to:
[helpers]
diff-cmd = "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcsvn.bat"

Merge

Go into the Beyond Compare installation folder (eg, C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5).
Create a batch file named "bcmer.bat" containing:
call "%~dp0\bcomp.exe" "%2" "%3" "%1" "%4" IF %errorlevel%==0 goto ZERO EXIT /B 1 :ZERO EXIT /B 0
Go into Subversion's per-user configuration area, typically C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Subversion.
Edit "config" and change the following lines:
# [helpers]
# merge-tool-cmd = merge_program
to:
[helpers]
merge-tool-cmd = "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcmer.bat"

Cygwin

Instead of using a batch file, create a file named "bc.sh" with the following line:
"$(cygpath 'C:\Progra~1\Beyond~1\bcomp.exe')" `cygpath -w "$6"` `cygpath -w "$7"` /title1="$3" /title2="$5" /readonly

Linux

Diff

Create a file named /usr/bin/bcdiff.sh and allow execute permissions (chmod +x). Add the following lines:
/usr/bin/bcompare "$6" "$7" -title1="$3" -title2="$5" -readonly exit 0

Edit "$HOME/.subversion/config" and add the line "diff-cmd = /usr/bin/bcdiff.sh" in [Helpers].

Merge

Create a file named /usr/bin/bcmerge.sh and allow execute permissions (chmod +x). Add the following line:
/usr/bin/bcompare "$2" "$3" "$1" "$4"

Edit "$HOME/.subversion/config" and add the line "merge-tool-cmd = /usr/bin/bcmerge.sh" in [Helpers].

Surround SCM

Diff

Open User Options.
Go to the Diff/Merge section.
Add or edit an entry for File Type "All other text files", with Diff/Merge set to Diff.
Enter selected application: "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe" "%1" "%2" and click OK.

3-way Merge

Open User Options.
Go to the Diff/Merge section.
Add or edit an entry for File Type "All other text files", with Diff/Merge set to Merge.
Enter selected application: "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe" "%1" "%2" "%3" /mergeoutput="%2" /automerge /reviewconflicts and click OK.

2-way Merge

Open User Options.
Go to the Diff/Merge section.
Add or edit an entry for File Type "All other text files", with Diff/Merge set to Merge.
Enter selected application: "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe" "%1" "%2" /mergeoutput="%2" /reviewconflicts and click OK.

Team Coherence

Choose Options from the Tools menu.
Switch to the Difference Viewers tab.
Enter the path to BComp.exe in the Application edit.
Enter /fv "$LF" /title1="$LD" "$RF" /title2="$RD" in the Parameters edit.

TortoiseCVS

Diff, 2-way Merge (3-way merge not supported)

Start Preferences application.
Switch to the Tools tab.
Diff application: C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe
2-way diff parameters: /readonly "%1" "%2"
Merge application: C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe
2-way merge parameters: /leftreadonly "%mine" "%yours"

TortoiseHg

See Mercurial / TortoiseHG.

TortoiseGit

Diff

Launch TortoiseGit > Settings
Switch to the Diff Viewer section under External Programs
Change the radio buttons from TortoiseMerge to External.
In the path edits, enter:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" %base %mine /title1=%bname /title2=%yname /leftreadonly

3-way Merge

Launch TortoiseGit > Settings
Switch to the Merge Tool section under External Programs
Change the radio buttons from TortoiseMerge to External.
In the path edits, enter:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" %mine %theirs %base %merged /title1=%yname /title2=%tname /title3=%bname /title4=%mname

TortoiseSVN

Diff

Select Settings from Explorer's TortoiseSVN submenu.
Switch to the Diff Viewer tab.
Change the radio buttons from TortoiseMerge to External.
In the path edits, enter:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" %base %mine /title1=%bname /title2=%yname /leftreadonly

To use Beyond Compare for image comparisons either replace the file C:\Program Files\TortoiseSVN\bin\TortoiseIDiff.exe with a copy of BComp.exe, or click the Advanced button on the Diff Viewer tab and add each image type's extension with the same command line as above.

3-way Merge

Select Settings from Explorer's TortoisSVN submenu.
Switch to the Merge Tool tab.
Change the radio buttons from TortoiseMerge to External.
In the path edits, enter:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" %mine %theirs %base %merged /title1=%yname /title2=%tname /title3=%bname /title4=%mname

2-way Merge

Use the same steps as above, but use the command line:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\BComp.exe" %mine %theirs /savetarget=%merged

Tower (Git)

Open Tower's preferences dialog on the Git Config Tab.
Set the Diff Tool drop-down to Beyond Compare.
Set the Merge tool drop-down to Beyond Compare.

Visual SourceSafe 2005

Diff

Open the Visual SourceSafe Explorer.
Select Options from the Tools menu.
Switch to the Custom Editors tab in the SourceSafe Options dialog.
Select File Difference in the Operation drop-down.
Enter ".*" in the File Extension edit.
Enter this in the Command Line: edit:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe" %1 %2
Click the Add button.

Merge

Open the Visual SourceSafe Explorer.
Select Options from the Tools menu.
Switch to the Custom Editors tab in the SourceSafe Options dialog.
Select File Merge in the Operation drop-down.
Enter ".*" in the File Extension edit.
Enter this in the Command Line edit:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe" %1 %2 /savetarget=%4
Click the Add button.

Visual SourceSafe 6.0 and earlier do not support external difference utilities.

Visual Studio - Git

Open Visual Studio.
Select Options from the Tools menu.
Select Plug-In Selection under the Source Control branch of the left-side tree control.
Select Git under Current source control plug-in on the right-hand pane.
After starting a project in a Git repository, edit the config file in the .git folder in the project folder.
Change the config file to reflect the following changes:
[diff] tool = bc [difftool "bc"] cmd = \"C:\\Program Files\\Beyond Compare 5\\BComp.exe\" \"$LOCAL\" \"$REMOTE\" [merge] tool = bc [mergetool "bc"] cmd = \"C:\\Program Files\\Beyond Compare 5\\BComp.exe\" \"$REMOTE\" \"$LOCAL\" \"$BASE\" \"$MERGED\"

Visual Studio - Team Foundation Server (TFS)

Diff

In Visual Studio Choose Options from the Tools menu.
Expand Source Control in the treeview.
Click Visual Studio Team Foundation Server in the treeview.
Click the Configure User Tools button.
Click the Add button.
Enter ".*" in the Extension edit.
Choose Compare in the Operation combobox.
Enter the path to BComp.exe in the Command edit.
In the Arguments edit, use:
%1 %2 /title1=%6 /title2=%7

3-way Merge

Follow steps 1-6 above.
Choose Merge in the Operation combobox.
Enter the path to BComp.exe in the Command edit.
In the Arguments edit, use:
%1 %2 %3 %4 /title1=%6 /title2=%7 /title3=%8 /title4=%9

2-way Merge

Use the same steps as the 3-way merge above, but use the command line:
%1 %2 /savetarget=%4 /title1=%6 /title2=%7

Visual Studio - Visual SourceSafe 2005

Supported for "Microsoft Visual SourceSafe" plug-in. The "Microsoft Visual SourceSafe (Internet)" plug-in does not support external diff tools.

Open Visual Studio 2015.
Select Options from the Tools menu.
Select Plug-In Settings under the Source Control branch of the left-side tree control.
Select Visual SourceSafe under Plug-In Settings on the right-hand pane.
Press the Advanced button.
Select the Custom Editor tab in the "SourceSafe Options" pane.
Select File Difference in the Operation drop-down.
Enter ".*" in the File Extension edit.
Enter this in the Command Line edit:
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 5\bcomp.exe" %1 %2
Click the Add button and close all dialog boxes.

End of Support

Microsoft ended support for Visual SourceSafe in 2017. Scooter Software recommends migrating from SourceSafe to an actively supported version control solution such as Git, Team Foundation Server, etc.

Limitations

A SourceSafe diff launched from Visual Studio 2015 opens as a modal window, blocking interaction with Visual Studio until the diff window is closed. This SourceSafe limitation affects both SourceSafe's built-in diff tool and Beyond Compare.

Log in

My Account

Using Beyond Compare with Version Control Systems

Windows

Linux

Compare

2-way Merge

3-way Merge

BC version 2

CCRC 7.1.1+

CCRC Older versions

BC version 3 or later

BC version 3 or later with extended functionality

BC version 2

BC version 3 or later

Git 1.8 and newer

Diff

Merge

Git 1.7.x and older

Diff

3-way Merge

2-way Merge

BC version 3 or later

Diff

3-way Merge

Launching Diffs and Merges

Advanced Settings

BC version 3 or later

Diff

3-way Merge

BC version 3 or later

Diff

Merge

BC version 3 or later

Diff

Merge

BC version 3 with TortoiseHg 2.0.2 and newer

BC version 4 with TortoiseHg 3.1 and newer

BC version 5 to be verified

Diff

3-way Merge

Older versions of Mercurial

Diff

3-way Merge

Diff

3-way Merge

2-way Merge

P4V (The Perforce Visual Client)

P4Win (The Perforce Windows Client)

P4 (The Perforce Command Line Client)

Diff

Merge

Java Client, Diff

Java Client, 3-way Merge

Classic Client, Diff

Classic Client, 3-way Merge

Diff

Merge

Linux

Diff

3-way Merge

2-way Merge

Diff

3-way Merge

Troubleshooting

Diff

3-way Merge

Windows

Diff

Merge

Cygwin

Linux

Diff

Merge

Diff

3-way Merge

2-way Merge

Diff, 2-way Merge (3-way merge not supported)

TortoiseHg

Diff