I need a suggestion for a code comparison tool. It should be able to compare a w

Question

I need a suggestion for a code comparison tool.

It should be able to compare a website code with a local copy (via FTP)
It should be able to visualize the source code highlighting the differences
It should be able to synchronize the oldest with the newest
It should be able to filter out unwanted files and folder (images/cache/database etc) - just code -

Preferences are for a freeware tool, of course, but a small sum could be allocated from the budget.

The client PC is a Windows system, but, of course, the server side could be anything that supports FTP.

To better precise the requirements I should add that those above are pretty indispensable in my context. I work from the home desktop, from a notebook when away and sometime also from the office dev desktop. It is increasingly difficult to keep everything in synch and trace all the changes. Finding the right tool that let me see the difference with the testing live site and the various development machines is a must.

Of course the comparison should be made on the folders content starting from the root of the site but excluding folders for images and other non coding data to not waste time on files that I usually don't touch.

Explanation / Answer

Beyond Compare should do all you ask for. .

It should be able to compare a website code with a local copy (via FTP)

The standard version $30 supports FTP, but I think you need the Pro version $50 if you want SFTP

It should be able to visualize the source code highlighting the differences

Check. It also has syntax aware viewers so you can (if you want) ignore un-important changes (eg indenting in source code)

It should be able to synchronize the oldest with the newest

You can configure the system to, for example show only files that are different, or just files that are newer (including or excluding orphans). Also has one of two way synchronization.

It should be able to filter out unwanted files and folder (images/cache/database etc) - just code -

You can include or exclude files or folders by file mask (eg *.jpg or /images/)

I have used it for years for all four of your points, although in separate contexts and in my case the source code is mainly C# code.

It has a 30-day trial so you can try it for yourself.

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