ExamDiff Pro 5.5 Beta introduces a new feature that makes browsing for files and directories easier than ever: comparison controls in the title bars of each pane. With these title controls, you no longer have to open the Compare dialog each time you want to compare a new pair of files.

(Note: These features apply identically to file and directory comparison. For the sake of clarity, I will refer only to file comparison in this blog post.)

One way to use to title controls is to compare previously compared items, by using the drop-down menus. Note that if you change the first file, and Autopick (under Options | Global) is enabled, the second file will be selected for you automatically, based on the last comparison with the first file.

After selecting the files that you wish to compare, a yellow bar is displayed to the left of any filename that has been modified. Click either of the Compare buttons to compare the newly selected pair.

You can also enable Auto-Compare from the drop-down menu, in which case every time you select an item from the drop-down menu a new comparison is started.

The drop-down menu provides two more commands. If you have selected a different file for a pane but have not yet re-compared, "Revert to Original" reverts the filename in the pane to the current file. "Swap With the Opposite Pane" swaps the files to be compared between the two panes (and recompares if "Auto Re-compare" is enabled).

You can also use the Browse button to browse for new files to compare. Note that even if Auto-Compare is enabled, browsing for a new file does not result in an automatic recomparison (because we assume that you would probably want to select new files in both panes). As before, click either of the Compare buttons to compare the newly selected pair.