A product that has been designed and developed by Scooter Software; Beyond Compare is a file management utility that is intended to help users compare folders or files, so as to help them synchronize data between their office PCs and home laptops. The tool helps you compare files and folders, side by side, and highlights all mismatches between the two files or even two folders. The files and folders are displayed as directory trees.

According to the publishers, although the interface and directory tree listing of files and folders takes some getting used to, it is a matter of time and practice before it becomes easy to use the interface and the tool for your benefits. The Help file can be a beneficial feature in easing your learning curve to use the tool. The application comprises two interfaces – the first interface offers a list of functionalities that can be executed with this tool such as file comparison, folder comparison, data comparison, etc; and the second interface shows you the files that were worked on or saved in the previous sessions. The first interface comprises a summary of files that you had worked on and clicking this takes you to the second interface. It is getting used to this second interface that contributes to your learning curve.

There are also several buttons on the top of the interface that help you carry out various tasks such as managing the files, viewing the differences, and configuring new rules for comparisons. If you are unsure of how beneficial this tool can be for your requirements, you can check out the trial version that is available for 30 days. You can implement this utility in various Windows based platforms such as Windows 98, 2000, 2003, 2008, 7, NT, Me, XP, Vista, and Server versions. This tool claims to be an ideal app for detailed file management functions.