More of WinMerge's everyday behavior, and a dark theme for the whole window
This release fills in the small things WinMerge users expect from the selection screen and the General options, and makes the dark theme cover the entire window on Linux.
Added
- General options from WinMerge. Options > General gains "Close windows with 'Esc'" (disabled, tab or main window, tab only, main window if only one tab), "Automatically verify paths", "Preserve file time in file compare", 'Close "Select Files or Folders" screen on clicking the Compare button' and the screen's auto completion (from the file system, from the most recently used list, or off). The defaults are WinMerge's.
- Path verification. The "Select Files or Folders" screen checks the paths as you type and says what is wrong ("Left path is invalid!", "Cannot compare file and folder!"), with WinMerge's messages and rules.
- Self-compare. Selecting a single file opens it against a read-only snapshot of itself ("Original File"), WinMerge's way of reviewing your own edits before you save.
- "Files are identical" notices. Opening identical files, recomparing with F5 and saving a file that no longer differs now say so, with WinMerge's binary check ("binary match" or "differ at the binary level"). The same file on both sides gets a message of its own. Each has "Don't display this message again", and the new Options > Message Boxes page lists them and brings the hidden ones back.
- Dark theme for the whole window. On Linux the menus, toolbars, tabs and dialogs stayed light above dark panes; the theme now covers everything. "System default" follows the dark style of GNOME and KDE, read through the desktop portal, and switches as you change it, with no restart. On macOS a fixed Light or Dark now sets the whole window, whatever the system's mode.
- Forget a path. Shift+Delete on the highlighted entry of a path field's list removes it from the history, and File > Recent Files or Folders > Clear Menu clears the path fields' history too.
- AppStream metadata in the AppImage, for software centers and AppImageHub: description, screenshots and releases.
Changed
- The selection screen stays open after Compare, as in WinMerge. Tick 'Close "Select Files or Folders" screen on clicking the Compare button' under Options > General for the previous behavior.
- Esc closes the current tab, and the window when no tab is left, which is WinMerge's default. Choose another mode, or disable it, under Options > General.
- The theme choice moved from View > Theme to Options > General, next to the language.
Fixed
- Cancel and Esc did nothing on a selection screen that was the only tab.
Downloads
- macOS: universal dmg (Intel + Apple Silicon, macOS 12+), also
brew install --cask iagodpassos/tap/libremerge - Linux: AppImage for x86_64 and arm64 (any distro with glibc 2.35+, nothing to install), also
brew install --cask iagodpassos/tap/libremergewith Homebrew on Linux