I’m trying to understand how the side-by-side/split views work with the (snapshot) Compare feature. This is a feature I am desperately looking for. To view two version of a document, side by side, and have it visually highlight changes, such as “this text was removed, this text was added, this bit is new, so in the old document there is just extra empty space because the new content didnt exist there) etc.
This is a very strong feature of Notepad++ Compare plugin, but using a simple-text editor is not fun for writing and I’m desperately looking for a proper rich text replacement.
Scrivener seems to come so, so close, but every time i try to figure out how to compare, the difference are only highlighted in a tiny little box immediately below the snapshots list… and not in a comfortably large side-by-side (split) view; as I want.
Any chance I’m just missing something here, or is this not a feature in Scrivener?
Quite right, the ability to compare snapshots in one of the editors is not yet added to the software, but is intended to be.
For the moment the best approach is the knowledge that the inspector’s maximum width essentially limitless, and you can drag the list divider within it up to the top as well, giving you lots of space if you want it. It’s not a bad option, since at least in the inspector you do have those buttons for jumping between edits.
Hello AmberV, thank you so much for the response. I am thrilled to hear that this feature is intended to be added. I’ll keep an eye on the software updates.
I appreciate the genuine attempt to work around the limitations, but side-by-side comparison is very specific; synchronized scrolling and precise text/element aligning for example. Inspector does not have this, and it removes some formatting as well. It’s not the visual comparison tool for me.
I’ll wait patiently for the “editor-based comparison feature” (I am still getting familiar with the terms used in the Software).
Ah well, I don’t think you would be entire pleased with what is coming in that case. There is no precise alignment or synchronised scrolling, it’s just showing the comparison markup in the other editor; the same exact thing you would get in the inspector (sans formatting and all). The only difference is that it is here instead of there, which is why I don’t consider a wide inspector layout to be all that bad of a compromise (I even have a saved layout for it).
I see, that is unfortunate for me. This feature was one of the selling points for me when I checked out the software. I suppose there’s not solution for me out there, yet. Such is life, sometimes. Appreciate the feedback. I greatly appreciate it. I’ve enjoyed learning the Software even though it may not be for me if the compare feature won’t go beyond what you’ve described.
