DiffCheck

DiffCheck Tutorials

Step-by-step tutorials for comparing XML, source code, and plain text in the browser.

These tutorials are short walkthroughs for the three comparisons people use most on DiffCheck: XML, source code, and plain text. Each one stays in the browser — you paste two versions, compare, and read the highlights. For longer background, the blog has full guides on the same topics.

Tutorial 1: Compare two XML files

  1. Open the XML Diff tool.
  2. Paste the original XML on the left and the modified XML on the right.
  3. Turn on Pretty-Print. This normalizes indentation so formatter noise does not hide a real change.
  4. Click Compare, then use split view to inspect added and removed lines.
  5. Look past attribute-order and spacing changes, and confirm the values you actually care about — ids, statuses, amounts.

If the highlight covers almost every line, format both files the same way and compare again. A line diff will still treat reordered attributes as a change; that is expected. The longer explanation is in How to compare two XML files online.

Tutorial 2: Compare two versions of source code

  1. Open the Code Diff tool.
  2. Paste the older code on the left and the newer code on the right. Keep indentation consistent.
  3. Compare. Use split view for a function-level review, or unified view for a short patch.
  4. If a change sits inside a single line, switch to the inline text diff so you can see the word that moved.
  5. Do not paste API keys, tokens, or customer data. Reduce the snippet to the functions you need to review.

If the entire file lights up, run both sides through the same formatter and compare again before you review the logic. More detail is in Code compare online.

Tutorial 3: Compare plain text side by side

  1. Open the text comparison on the homepage.
  2. Paste the original text on the left and the edited text on the right.
  3. Compare, then switch between line, word, and character modes if you need a tighter view.
  4. Use this for copy, logs, configs, and any text that is not worth putting into a Git repository first.

When the text later belongs in a project, move the edit into Git so it has history. The split between the two workflows is explained in online diff versus git diff.