Here's how to ignore text differences in files in the Folder Compare:

  1. Load two folders in Beyond Compare's Folder Compare.
  2. Double click to view a pair of XML files in the Text Compare.
  3. Click the Rules toolbar button (referee icon).
  4. Click Edit Grammar.
  5. Click New.
  6. Name it MyElement.
  7. Select Delimited as the category.
  8. Text from: <myElement> to: </myElement>.
  9. Click OK.
  10. Click OK.
  11. Uncheck myElement to make it unimportant.
  12. Change the dropdown at the bottom of the dialog from Use for this view only to Use for all files within parent session or Update session defaults.
  13. Close the Text Compare tab.
  14. In the Folder Compare, click the Rules toolbar button (referee icon).
  15. Check Compare Contents and select Rules-based comparison.
  16. Click OK.
  17. Make sure View > Ignore Unimportant Differences is turned on.

The default settings in the Folder Compare use file size and modified date for comparison. Rules-based comparison uses the same content comparison method as double clicking to view file contents.

See also the article Define Unimportant Text in Beyond Compare. It describes ignoring differences when viewing a pair of files in the Text Compare.

Answer from Chris Kennedy on Stack Overflow
🌐
Scooter Forums
forum.scootersoftware.com › home › beyond compare 3 discussion › scripting
Beyond Compare 3 Comparing two XML-Files and show output in HTML - Scooter Forums
You can preview this in the interface by loading two base folders, side by side, in the Folder Compare, set the name filter in the toolbar from "*.*" to "*.xml", then use the Display Filters to Show Differences, Edit menu -> Expand All, Edit menu -> Select All Files, Actions menu -> File Compare Report (if this last actions menu item is not visible, the select all files command snagged an archive; use a name filter to remove them or test with a small manual selection of only .xml files).
🌐
Tales from the Evil Empire
weblogs.asp.net › lorenh › comparing-xml-files-with-beyond-compare-3-brilliant
Loren Halvorson's Blog - Comparing XML Files with Beyond Compare 3...Brilliant
Beyond Compare has great "low-friction" integration with Windows Explorer. For example to compare two files, you just right click on one file and choose "Select Left Side For Compare", then right click on the other file and say "Compare to {file...}".

Here's how to ignore text differences in files in the Folder Compare:

  1. Load two folders in Beyond Compare's Folder Compare.
  2. Double click to view a pair of XML files in the Text Compare.
  3. Click the Rules toolbar button (referee icon).
  4. Click Edit Grammar.
  5. Click New.
  6. Name it MyElement.
  7. Select Delimited as the category.
  8. Text from: <myElement> to: </myElement>.
  9. Click OK.
  10. Click OK.
  11. Uncheck myElement to make it unimportant.
  12. Change the dropdown at the bottom of the dialog from Use for this view only to Use for all files within parent session or Update session defaults.
  13. Close the Text Compare tab.
  14. In the Folder Compare, click the Rules toolbar button (referee icon).
  15. Check Compare Contents and select Rules-based comparison.
  16. Click OK.
  17. Make sure View > Ignore Unimportant Differences is turned on.

The default settings in the Folder Compare use file size and modified date for comparison. Rules-based comparison uses the same content comparison method as double clicking to view file contents.

See also the article Define Unimportant Text in Beyond Compare. It describes ignoring differences when viewing a pair of files in the Text Compare.

Answer from Chris Kennedy on Stack Overflow
🌐
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Beyond_Compare
Beyond Compare - Wikipedia
3 weeks ago - Beyond Compare also was featured in the March 2005 issue of the Windows IT Pro magazine in the "What's Hot" section. Scott Mitchell, writing for MSDN Magazine, identified the program's comparison rules as its most powerful feature. The customizable rules control which differences between two files should be flagged as such. A set of predefined rules is included for the comparison of common file types, such as C++ source code, XML, and HTML files.
🌐
Scooter Software
scootersoftware.com › kb › morerules
Scooter Software - Home of Beyond Compare
Download Uses Microsoft Excel to convert .xls files into XML. Supports read and write of Excel files. ... Download Uses Microsoft PowerPoint to convert .ppt and .pptx files into plain text. ... Download Compare Microsoft SQL Server 7 and 2000 (not 2005) database object scripts.
🌐
GitHub
github.com › waqasilyas › bmpr-beyond-compare › blob › master › BCFileFormats.xml
bmpr-beyond-compare/BCFileFormats.xml at master · waqasilyas/bmpr-beyond-compare
A plugin for Beyond Compare that adds a file format for comparing Balsamiq "bmpr" mockup files by converting them into JOSN format - bmpr-beyond-compare/BCFileFormats.xml at master · waqasilyas/bmpr-beyond-compare
Author   waqasilyas
Find elsewhere
🌐
Jamf Nation Community
community.jamf.com › t5 › jamf-pro › configuring-beyond-compare › m-p › 236421
Configuring Beyond Compare - Jamf Nation Community - 236421
March 4, 2025 - <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!-- Produced by Beyond Compare 4 from Scooter Software --> <BCPreferences Version="1" MinVersion="1"> <TBcPrefs> <CheckForUpdatesDayAmt Value="0"/> </TBcPrefs> </BCPreferences> I'm using a loop to try to edit or create the file