A useful, easy to use gem

Compare Folders is fast, has a simple, easy-to-understand user interface and many useful filters. It is nice that these filters can be invoked after the fact; you don’t have to re-run the comparison. I looked into this as a tool for checking whether a Migration Assitant transfer was completely successful after one of our Mac User Group members had some files missing after migrating to a new computer. I tested the concept by comparing my User folder (289GB, 270,000+ files) on my Mac with with the same folder on a week-old SuperDuper backup on an external hard drive. Compare Folders took about 3 minutes to complete this task (using just size and modification date as criteria). I also made sure that it treated Packages like iTunes and iPhoto databases properly, i.e., compared items down to the level of the individual songs and photos. I haven’t yet tested it to compare old computer and new computer files after a Migration Assistant transfer but I am quite confident that it will work.

oregonpete about Compare Folders