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(emacs)Comparison in Dired

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Enter node , (file) or (file)node

File Comparison with Dired
==========================

   Here are two Dired commands that compare specified files using
`diff'.

`='
     Compare the current file (the file at point) with another file
     (the file at the mark) using the `diff' program (`dired-diff').
     The file at the mark is the first argument of `diff', and the file
     at point is the second argument.  Use `C-<SPC>'
     (`set-mark-command') to set the mark at the first file's line
     (Note: Setting Mark), since `dired-diff' ignores the files marked
     with the Dired's `m' command.

`M-='
     Compare the current file with its latest backup file
     (`dired-backup-diff').  If the current file is itself a backup,
     compare it with the file it is a backup of; this way, you can
     compare a file with any backup version of your choice.

     The backup file is the first file given to `diff'.