Beyond Compare from Scooter Software headquartered in Madison is a utility for comparing different version of documents and seeing the differences. It also allows changes to be merged and synchronized.
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MEGA
Score 8.0 out of 10
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Launched in 2013, MEGA is a zero-knowledge cloud storage provider that delivers user-controlled end-to-end encryption, with an emphasis on easy accessibility.
Beyond Compare is extremely good at the task of comparisons, whether that is text file comparisons or folder comparisons. It does a great job of easily highlighting the differences for users, and giving them the option of merging (in the case of text files) or synchronizing (in the case of folders.) In either case, no one on my team has ever had any reason to reach for another different tool.
MEGA is great for storing and syncing files across devices. It has a great web interface, as well as a sync tool for desktop and a mobile app that works very well on iPhone. (I have not used the Android version of the app.) I like the overall usability, as well as some of the features like the QR code and contact list functionality. I like the file versioning and file management features as well. What works less well for me is collaboration with other users, and file sharing among users. I have not been able to find a way to view all files shared with me from other users in the same view as my own files. In fact, when files are shared with me, the only way I have been able to locate them is through Notifications, which is sub-par. I would much prefer to see all shared folders alongside my files, without having to make a copy of the shared folder, thus losing the ability to sync with another user's changes, as well as using up my storage space.
For date formatting discrepancies the software does not automatically mark the dates as equivalent; for instance ‘2019/10/15’ vs. ‘15-OCT-2019’. This would be considered a difference.
The columns/report must be ordered similarly. If extra data is available in one file, it should be removed or extra rows will be marked as differences.
For spreadsheet comparison, the user must save the file on the proper tab and then “recompare” within the tool. There is no way to switch between sheets in the software.
Again, given the intuitive nature of this program, there is barely any learning curve needed. It is simple, reliable, accurate, and just one of those tools you always have with you and rarely think about until you don't have it. Then it is a case of OMG what was I thinking? This program is just very easy to use, and that makes it more valuable to me than some of my other software tools that cost significantly more.
Clean, contemporary UI that is heavily polished and works great. You can tell they did a lot of user testing with this, and have a top notch UI design team that really cares about the customer. A highly user-friendly service across platforms and form factors, I found their web, desktop and mobile apps to all be impeccably designed and consistent.
I have never needed support for this product other than learning how to use a new feature I was not familiar with. User forums and user groups that have used this product for their own purposes have always sufficed for anything that I needed help using with the product. Some of the features could be a little better outlined, but overall very easy to use.
While I have never contacted customer support, there is a large user community that has posted solutions on third party websites to a number of common questions like how to share files, and how to access files that have been shared with you. When I received a 40 GB shared file, I was not able to find how to access it until I searched on Google to find a solution, which was easy to find. The large user community helps with support tremendously.
We've tried many: Code Compare, Meld, UltraCompare, and WinMerge. None of them have the depth of features and speed to handle the work we throw at Beyond Compare. The multi-tabbed interface allows us to sync multiple servers at the same time. It understands multiple file types, metadata, and encodings. It's the best tool for the job.
The two apps Google Drive and MEGA provided free cloud storage but Google Drive grants just 15 GB not more as free to try, At that time MEGA granted us 50 GB at the beginning of use, which gave us a chance to use it with high capacity.
