Using the IntelliJ diff utility externally

I agree that the diff tool is fine. I don't know if there is such a hook
into it for external usage. For an alternative, look into winmerge
(http://winmerge.sourceforge.net/).

If you're on Windows and don't mind paying for a commercial solution, Araxis
Merge is well worth a look.

http://www.araxis.com/merge/index.html

I like the IntelliJ diff untility, and because i want to just get used
to one tool, i would like to find a way to invoke the diff utility
externally.

I need something that i can call, i presume some options when calling
idea.exe.

I don't know, like: idea.exe -open diffutility

If there is no such thing could someone recommend a decent and
powerful diff utility that i could use instead?

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You could use our SmartSynchronize.
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Tom

Thanks for your imput. But you know what's funny? Out of all the tools i looked at IntellyJs diff tool is still the coolest looking and most useful.

I really wish i could run it as a separate thread. Is this a limitation IntellyJ developers implemented (i can change through some regedit magic) or is it a java vm limitation?

Yes, that's possible. Run idea.{exe|bat|sh} with the following command line:

idea diff ]]>

Sascha

That is fantastic! Thanks Sascha

Now my only problem left is how to allow IntelliJ to run multiple instances.
I want to keep my devel environment open at all times even while i go around comparing files :)

Any takers?

In the bin/ folder there is a file idea.properties.
It definies idea.config.path and idea.system.path. Make an copy if this
file and change those properties (maybe idea.config.path is enough).
Let IDEA_PROPERTIES point to the new property file while starting your
diff utility.

mike schrieb:

That is fantastic! Thanks Sascha

Now my only problem left is how to allow IntelliJ to run multiple instances.
I want to keep my devel environment open at all times even while i go around comparing files :)

Any takers?

Hey Steininger,

I don't seem to be able to find this idea.properties file you describe. I only have useless .dlls

This is great, but it is possible to launch this in a already running instance of idea? I always have idea up and running for normal work.