VS Code File Comparison: How to Effectively Compare Files in Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is renowned for its powerful code editing capabilities, and a crucial aspect of efficient coding is the ability to compare files. Whether you’re tracking changes, merging code, or simply understanding differences between versions, VS Code offers robust file comparison features. This article will guide you through the various methods to compare files in VS Code, ensuring you can effectively manage and analyze your code differences.

Understanding Basic Editing in VS Code

Before diving into file comparison, it’s essential to grasp the fundamental editing features that make VS Code a productive environment.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Efficient Editing

Mastering keyboard shortcuts is paramount for boosting coding speed. VS Code provides a comprehensive set of default shortcuts and allows for extensive customization to suit your workflow.

Multiple Selections for Simultaneous Edits

VS Code’s multi-cursor feature significantly accelerates editing by allowing simultaneous changes in multiple locations.

Adding Cursors: Use Alt+Click to add secondary cursors. For sequential cursors, employ Ctrl+Alt+Down/Up (Windows) or Shift+Alt+Down/Up (Linux). On macOS, use ⌥⌘↓ or ⌥⌘↑.

Note: Be aware that graphics card drivers (like NVIDIA) might override default shortcuts.
Selecting Words: Ctrl+D (Windows/Linux) or ⌘D (macOS) selects the word at the cursor or the next occurrence of the current selection.

Tip: Ctrl+Shift+L (Windows/Linux) or ⇧⌘L (macOS) adds selections to all occurrences of the currently selected text.

Customizing Multi-cursor Modifier

For users transitioning from editors like Sublime Text or Atom, VS Code allows customization of the multi-cursor modifier key through the editor.multiCursorModifier setting. Options include:

ctrlCmd: Maps to Ctrl on Windows and Cmd on macOS.
alt: The default Alt key.

You can easily switch between Ctrl+Click and Alt+Click for multi-cursor via the Selection menu.

Expanding and Shrinking Selections

Quickly adjust your selection size with Shift+Alt+Left/Right (Windows/Linux) or ⌃⇧⌘←/→ (macOS).

Column (Box) Selection

For vertical text selection, hold Shift+Alt while dragging the mouse. If using Ctrl/Cmd as the multi-cursor modifier, use Shift+Ctrl/Cmd instead.

VS Code also offers keyboard shortcuts for column selection:

Key	Command	Command ID
`Shift+Down`	Column Select Down	`cursorColumnSelectDown`
`Shift+Up`	Column Select Up	`cursorColumnSelectUp`
`Shift+Left`	Column Select Left	`cursorColumnSelectLeft`
`Shift+Right`	Column Select Right	`cursorColumnSelectRight`
`Shift+PageDown`	Column Select Page Down	`cursorColumnSelectPageDown`
`Shift+PageUp`	Column Select Page Up	`cursorColumnSelectPageUp`

These can be customized in keybindings.json. The Column Selection Mode, toggled via the Selection menu or Status bar, makes column selection the default mouse and arrow key behavior.

Saving and Auto Saving Your Work

By default, VS Code requires explicit saving (Ctrl+S or ⌘S). However, Auto Save can be enabled via File > Auto Save, saving changes automatically after a delay or when focus shifts.

For granular control, adjust files.autoSave settings in User or Workspace settings. You can even customize auto-save behavior for specific languages in settings.json:

"[latex]": {
  "files.autoSave": "off",
},

Hot Exit for Seamless Session Restoration

VS Code’s Hot Exit feature remembers unsaved changes across sessions. Configurable via files.hotExit, options include:

"off": Disables hot exit.
"onExit": Hot exit on application close, restoring windows without folders.
"onExitAndWindowClose": Hot exit on application and folder window closure, restoring all windows (requires window.restoreWindows: all).

Backup files are located in:

Windows: %APPDATA%CodeBackups
macOS: $HOME/Library/Application Support/Code/Backups
Linux: $HOME/.config/CodeBackups

Finding and Replacing Text Within Files

VS Code’s Find widget (Ctrl+F or ⌘F) allows quick text searching and replacement within the current file. Navigation through results is done with Enter and Shift+Enter. Search and replace history is saved across sessions but can be disabled via editor.find.history and editor.find.replaceHistory settings.

Seed Search String from Selection

The Find widget automatically populates with selected text or the word under the cursor, a feature controllable by editor.find.seedSearchStringFromSelection.

Find in Selection

Limit searches to selected text by toggling Find In Selection in the Find widget, or set editor.find.autoFindInSelection to always or multiline for default behavior.

Advanced Find and Replace Options

The Find widget supports:

Match Case
Match Whole Word
Regular Expression

Case preservation is available in replace via the Preserve Case (AB) button.

Multiline Find and Replace and Widget Resizing

Multiline text can be searched and replaced by pasting into the Find/Replace boxes (Ctrl+Enter for new lines). The Find widget is resizable by dragging its left sash or double-clicking to maximize/restore size.

Searching Across Files in VS Code

VS Code excels in project-wide searching. Ctrl+Shift+F or ⇧⌘F opens the Search view for searching across all files in your workspace. Results are grouped by file, showing hit locations and previews.

Tip: Regular expressions are supported in file searches.

Advanced search options, including include/exclude filters and glob patterns, are accessible via Toggle Search Details (ellipsis icon or Ctrl+Shift+J or ⇧⌘J).

Advanced Search Options and Glob Patterns

Filters use glob patterns for flexible file and folder matching:

*: Matches zero or more characters in a segment.
?: Matches one character in a segment.
**: Matches any number of segments.
{}: Groups conditions (e.g., {**/*.html,**/*.txt}).
[]: Declares character ranges (e.g., example.[0-9]).
[!...]: Negates character ranges (e.g., example.[!0-9]).

Default exclusion rules (e.g., node_modules) can be modified in files.exclude and search.exclude settings. The Use Exclude Settings and Ignore Files toggle includes/excludes files based on .gitignore and settings.

Tip: Right-click a folder in Explorer and select Find in Folder to limit search scope.

Search and Replace Across Files

Global Search and Replace is available by expanding the Search widget. Diff previews show pending changes before replacement.

Tip: Use Up/Down arrows to navigate search term history.

Case Changing in Regex Replace

Regex replace supports case modification using uUlL modifiers for single character and group case changes.

Search Editor: A Dedicated Space for Search Results

Search Editors display workspace search results in a full editor view with syntax highlighting and context lines.

Commands include:

Open Search Editor: Opens existing or creates new.
New Search Editor: Always creates a new editor.

Navigation within Search Editors uses Go to Definition actions like F12 (open in current editor) and Ctrl+K F12 (open to the side). Single/double-click behavior is configurable via search.searchEditor.singleClickBehaviour and search.searchEditor.doubleClickBehaviour.

Search Editors can be opened via the Open New Search Editor button in the Search view or by copying existing results using Open in editor link or Search Editor: Open Results in Editor command.

Search Editor Commands and Arguments

search.action.openNewEditor: Opens in a new tab.
search.action.openInEditor: Copies current results to a new Search Editor.
search.action.openNewEditorToSide: Opens in a side-by-side editor.

Arguments for Search Editor commands (triggerSearch, focusResults) allow configuration via keyboard shortcuts. For example:

{
  "key": "ctrl+o",
  "command": "search.action.openNewEditor",
  "args": { "query": "VS Code", "triggerSearch": true, "focusResults": false }
}

Search Editor Context and Configuration

search.searchEditor.defaultNumberOfContextLines (default 1) sets context lines in Search Editors. search.searchEditor.reusePriorSearchConfiguration (default false) reuses previous Search Editor settings.

IntelliSense for Smart Code Completion

VS Code’s IntelliSense provides intelligent code completions for various languages (JavaScript, JSON, HTML, CSS, C#, TypeScript, etc.). Suggestions appear as you type or can be manually triggered with Ctrl+Space. Tab and Enter accept completions, customizable via settings.

Tip: CamelCase filtering in suggestions allows typing uppercase letters to narrow results (e.g., “cra” for “createApplication”).

Tip: IntelliSense settings are configurable via editor.quickSuggestions and editor.suggestOnTriggerCharacters.

For JavaScript/TypeScript, npmjs type declaration files enhance IntelliSense for libraries like Node.js and React. See JavaScript and Node.js documentation for details.

Learn more in the IntelliSense documentation.

Code Formatting for Readability

VS Code offers automatic code formatting.

Format Document (Shift+Alt+F or Ctrl+Shift+I): Formats the entire file.
Format Selection (Ctrl+K Ctrl+F or ⌘K ⌘F): Formats selected text.

Accessible via Command Palette or context menu, VS Code has default formatters for JavaScript, TypeScript, JSON, HTML, and CSS, customizable via language-specific settings (e.g., html.format.indentInnerHtml). Default formatters can be disabled if other extensions provide formatting.

"html.format.enable": false

Formatting can be triggered on typing, saving, or pasting via settings, though format on paste is not universally supported.

Extensions for other languages or formatting tools are available in the Marketplace under the Formatters category.

Code Folding for Better Navigation

Code folding, using gutter icons, allows collapsing code regions for better overview. Shift+Click folds/unfolds recursively.

Folding actions include:

Fold/Unfold (Ctrl+Shift+[/] or ⌘⌥[/])
Toggle Fold (Ctrl+K Ctrl+L or ⌘K ⌘L)
Fold/Unfold Recursively (Ctrl+K Ctrl+[/] or ⌘K ⌘[/])
Fold All/Unfold All (Ctrl+K Ctrl+0/J or ⌘K ⌘0/J)
Fold Level X (Ctrl+K Ctrl+2 or ⌘K ⌘2)
Fold All Block Comments (Ctrl+K Ctrl+/ or ⌘K ⌘/)

Folding regions are indentation-based by default but can be syntax-aware for languages like Markdown, HTML, CSS, JSON, etc. Indentation-based folding can be enforced via language settings:

"[html]": {
  "editor.foldingStrategy": "indentation"
},

Marker-based folding is supported in various languages using specific region markers (e.g., #region/#endregion). Commands for marker regions include:

Fold Marker Regions (Ctrl+K Ctrl+8 or ⌘K ⌘8)
Unfold Marker Regions (Ctrl+K Ctrl+9 or ⌘K ⌘9)

Fold Selection

Create Manual Folding Ranges from Selection (Ctrl+K Ctrl+, or ⌘K ⌘,) creates and collapses a manual folding range from selected lines. Remove Manual Folding Ranges (Ctrl+K Ctrl+. or ⌘K ⌘.) removes these.

Indentation Control for Code Style

VS Code manages indentation with spaces or tabs (default: spaces, 4 spaces/tab). editor.insertSpaces and editor.tabSize settings customize defaults.

"editor.insertSpaces": true,
"editor.tabSize": 4,

Auto-detection of Indentation

VS Code auto-detects indentation (2, 4, 6, 8 spaces) and overrides default settings, displayed in the Status bar.

Clicking the Status bar indentation brings up commands to change settings or convert between tabs and spaces.

Auto-detection can be disabled via editor.detectIndentation, useful for non-standard indentations (e.g., 3 spaces):

"editor.detectIndentation": false,
"editor.tabSize": 3,

File Encoding Support for Global Characters

File encoding is globally or workspace-set via files.encoding.

Encoding is shown in the Status bar.

Clicking the encoding in the Status bar allows reopening or saving with a different encoding.

Overtype Mode for Character Overwriting

VS Code supports Overtype mode (since v1.96), toggled via Toggle Overtype/Insert Mode command or Insert key (⌥⌘O on macOS). OVR indicator appears in the Status bar in overtype mode. editor.overtypeCursorStyle customizes cursor style, and editor.overtypeOnPaste enables overwriting text on paste in overtype mode.

Comparing Files: Key to Version Control and Code Understanding

VS Code provides several ways to compare files, essential for version control, code reviews, and understanding code evolution. Here’s how to effectively compare files in VS Code:

1. Compare Active File with Another File in Workspace

This is a common scenario when you want to see the differences between your current file and another file within your project.

Steps:
1. Open the file you want to compare in the editor (the active file).
2. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or ⇧⌘P).
3. Type and select File: Compare Active File With…
4. Choose the file from your workspace to compare against the active file.

VS Code will then open a diff view, displaying the two files side-by-side, highlighting the differences.

2. Compare Active File with Clipboard Content

Useful when you’ve copied code snippets and want to compare them with your current file.

Steps:
1. Copy the text you want to compare to your clipboard.
2. Open the file you want to compare in the editor (active file).
3. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or ⇧⌘P).
4. Type and select File: Compare Active File with Clipboard or use the shortcut Ctrl+K C (Windows/Linux) or ⌘K C (macOS).

A diff view will appear, comparing your active file with the content in your clipboard.

3. Compare Active File with Saved Version

Track changes made since the last save by comparing the current version with the saved version.

Steps:
1. Open the file you are working on (active file).
2. Make some changes but don’t save them.
3. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or ⇧⌘P).
4. Type and select File: Compare Active File with Saved or use the shortcut Ctrl+K D (Windows/Linux) or ⌘K D (macOS).

This will show a diff view, highlighting changes between the current unsaved state and the last saved version of the file.

4. Compare Any Two Files in VS Code

For comparing arbitrary files, regardless of whether they are currently open.

Steps:
1. In the Explorer view, right-click on the first file and select Select for Compare.
2. Right-click on the second file and select Compare with Selected.

VS Code will open a diff view, comparing the two selected files. This method is excellent for comparing files that are not necessarily related or open in the editor.

5. Compare New Untitled Text Files

To compare snippets or text not yet saved as files.

Steps:
1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or ⇧⌘P).
2. Type and select File: Compare New Untitled Text Files.
3. Two empty untitled text editors will open. Paste or type your text into each editor.
4. VS Code will automatically start comparing them in a diff view.

This is perfect for quickly comparing configurations, log outputs, or any text snippets.

6. Compare Files Using Command Line

For command-line aficionados, VS Code can be launched to compare files directly from the terminal using the --diff option.

code --diff file1.txt file2.txt

This command opens VS Code with a diff view of file1.txt and file2.txt. Learn more about VS Code command line interface.

By mastering these Vs Code How To Compare Files techniques, you can significantly enhance your code review, version control, and debugging workflows within Visual Studio Code. The intuitive diff view and multiple comparison options make VS Code a powerful tool for any developer needing to analyze file differences effectively.

Next Steps in Mastering VS Code

You’ve now covered essential editing and file comparison features in VS Code. To further enhance your proficiency, explore:

Debugging: VS Code’s debugging capabilities are extensive.
Tasks: Automate build processes and development tasks.
Version Control: Integrated Git support for seamless version management.
Extensions: Customize VS Code with extensions for enhanced functionality.

Common Questions About VS Code Editing

How do I perform a global search and replace?

Expand the Search view’s text box to reveal the replace field for workspace-wide search and replace. Remember, without an opened folder, search is limited to open files.

How do I enable word wrap in VS Code?

Toggle word wrap via editor.wordWrap setting ("on" for wrapping) or using Alt+Z shortcut.

"editor.wordWrap": "on"

Vertical rulers can be added using editor.rulers for column guidance. Editing commands apply to wrapped lines, and triple-click selects a wrapped line.

How to avoid extra cursors in word-wrapped lines?

Use the logicalLine: true argument in keyboard shortcuts for cursor insertion to ignore line wraps:

{
  "key": "shift+alt+down",
  "command": "editor.action.insertCursorBelow",
  "when": "textInputFocus",
  "args": { "logicalLine": true },
},
{
  "key": "shift+alt+up",
  "command": "editor.action.insertCursorAbove",
  "when": "textInputFocus",
  "args": { "logicalLine": true },
},

This comprehensive guide equips you with the knowledge to effectively use VS Code’s editing features, especially focusing on vs code how to compare files, enhancing your coding productivity and code management skills.