Beyond Compare

Folder handling

Automatically scan subfolders in background

Select Automatically scan subfolders in background to read folders in the background when a comparison is loaded.  This way, folders can be colored appropriately before you open them.  Top-level orphan folders can usually be colored and filtered without scanning, since they can only contain other orphans.

Select Automatically scan top-level orphan subfolders to scan these orphan folders so that the folder's size is accurately reported.

Expand subfolders when loading session

Select Expand subfolders when loading session to open all folders automatically when a comparison is loaded.  

Select Only expand subfolders with differences to limit automatic expansion to folders that are found to have mismatches.

Compare filename case

Marks files as different if character capitalizations differ.

Archive handling (e.g. zip files)

Choose a setting from the dropdown to specify how to handle archive files:

•As files always treats archive files like other files.  They will sort with files and not show a folder icon.

•As folders once opened sorts and compares archive files like other files, but with a zip folder icon.  Once you open the zip folder, its comparison status changes to reflect its contents, like other folders do.

•As folders always treats archive files like regular folders.

File  handling

Touch local files when copying to an FTP site

Many FTP sites do not allow Beyond Compare to control file timestamps, so when a file is copied to the FTP site, its date will not match the local copy.  Select this checkbox to change the local file timestamp to match the FTP copy.

Follow symbolic links

Displays symbolic links and NTFS junction points as if they were their target.  This includes whether they will be shown as files or folders, their size, their last modified time, and their attributes.

Maintain DOS 8.3 aliases

Tries to keep the same short (DOS 8.3) filenames when copying files.

Copy NTFS file permissions

Copies security descriptors of files on NTFS file systems under Windows 2000 or newer.  This feature does not preserve permissions of files edited from Text Compare sessions.

Copy creation dates

Preserves the original creation date of a local file when making a copy.

Automatic refresh

Choose a time interval to periodically refresh the folder comparison.