1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
3 <title>Getting and installing WinMerge<indexterm>
4 <primary>installing WinMerge</primary>
7 <para>WinMerge can be installed using the installer or by unzipping files from
8 an archive. Using the installer is the recommended method.</para>
11 <title>Getting files</title>
13 <para>The latest release can be always downloaded from the WinMerge home
14 page: <ulink url="https://winmerge.org/">WinMerge.org</ulink>. Note that
15 delays can occur in updating home pages for the latest releases, but the
16 project status page at <ulink
17 url="https://sourceforge.net/projects/winmerge/">SourceForge.net</ulink>
18 shows the latest files. Stable releases are also available in several file
19 download sites.</para>
23 <title>Compatibility</title>
27 <para><ulink url="https://sourceforge.net/projects/winmerge/files/stable/2.16.8/">WinMerge 2.16.8 (64 bit)</ulink>
28 supports Windows 7 and later. It runs on 64 bit Windows.</para>
31 <para><ulink url="https://sourceforge.net/projects/winmerge/files/stable/2.16.8/">WinMerge 2.16.8 (32 bit)</ulink>
32 supports Windows XP SP3 and later. It runs on both 32 bit and 64 bit Windows.</para>
35 <para><ulink url="https://sourceforge.net/projects/winmerge/files/stable/2.16.0/">WinMerge 2.16.0</ulink>
36 supports Windows XP SP3 and later. It runs on both 32 bit and 64 bit Windows.</para>
39 <para><ulink url="https://sourceforge.net/projects/winmerge/files/stable/2.14.0/">WinMerge 2.14.0</ulink>
40 was the last version to support Windows 2000.</para>
43 <para><ulink url="https://sourceforge.net/projects/winmerge/files/stable/2.12.4/">WinMerge 2.12.4</ulink>
44 was the last version to support Windows 95, 98, ME and NT.</para>
47 <para>WinMerge is not supported on Windows RT.</para>
52 <section id="Installing_usinginstaller">
53 <title>Using the installer (recommended)</title>
56 <para>The installer requires Administrator user privileges. If you don't have admin user privileges, you can install
57 WinMerge by unzipping from an archive file (see <xref
58 linkend="InstallFromArchive" />) or by using per-user installer (WinMerge-x.x.x-x64-PerUser-Setup.exe).</para>
61 <para>Using the installer is recommended for most users. The installer
62 prompts for the location where WinMerge is installed. It then installs the
63 files, configures the shell integration, and adds WinMerge to the Start
64 menu. To install WinMerge:</para>
68 <simpara>Start the installer executable (usually named
69 <filename>WinMerge-<replaceable>version</replaceable>-setup.exe</filename>).</simpara>
73 <simpara>Click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> in the License Agreement
78 <simpara>In the Select Destination Location page, accept the location
79 for WinMerge or, if you choose another location, we recommend that you
80 install WinMerge in its own folder. Click
81 <guibutton>Next</guibutton>.</simpara>
85 <simpara>In the Select Components page, choose one of the preconfigured
86 installations in the top control. We recommend the
87 <guilabel>Typical</guilabel> configuration for most users. The lower box
88 shows all the available components. You can modify the default
89 configuration by checking or unchecking components. For example, if you
90 want to use a WinMerge localization for a different language than
91 English, select the <guilabel>Languages</guilabel> component.</simpara>
95 <term>WinMerge core files<indexterm>
96 <primary>WinMerge executables</primary>
100 <para>WinMerge executable, Help, and other needed files. Cannot be
106 <term>32-bit WinMerge ShellExtension<indexterm>
107 <primary>Shellextension</primary>
111 <para>The option enables you to launch WinMerge directly from Windows Explorer, comparing items that you have selected there.</para>
119 <para>File filter files enable you to narrow the scope of
128 <para>WinMerge plugins are custom dlls or scriptlets, written in
129 the COM API, that you can use to preprocess data before a
135 <term>Languages</term>
138 <para>WinMerge translation files. If you want to configure
139 WinMerge to use a different language than English, expand this
140 item and choose one or more available translations. The installer
141 creates a Languages subfolder in the WinMerge folder, containing a
142 *.po translation file for each of your selections. After
143 installation, you can open WinMerge and change its localization to
144 one of the translation file languages. See <xref
145 linkend="Locales" /> for details.</para>
150 <para>Click <guibutton>Next</guibutton>.</para>
154 <simpara>In the Select Start Menu Folder page, configure WinMerge
159 <para>Accept the default setting to create a program shortcut, or
160 specify a different folder.</para>
164 <para>Optionally, check the option <guilabel>Don't create a Start
165 Menu folder</guilabel>.</para>
169 <para>Click <guibutton>Next</guibutton>.</para>
173 <para>In the Select Additional Tasks page, specify any additional
175 <primary>integration</primary>
177 <secondary>with version control system</secondary>
178 </indexterm><indexterm>
179 <primary>VCS</primary>
181 <see>version control systems</see>
186 <term>Enable Explorer context menu integration</term>
190 <primary>integration</primary>
192 <secondary>with Windows shell</secondary>
196 <primary>Windows shell integration</primary>
199 <para>Enables you to <link linkend="OpenPaths_shell-integ">launch
200 WinMerge compare operations from Windows Explorer</link> (this
201 integration can be enabled or disabled later in WinMerge
207 <term>Add WinMerge folder to your system path</term>
210 <para>Adds the WinMerge installation folder to your system's Path
211 environment variable.</para>
216 <term>Integrate with TortoiseCVS<indexterm>
217 <primary>TortoiseCVS integration</primary>
221 <para>Sets WinMerge to be the TortoiseCVS diff application.</para>
226 <term>Integrate with TortoiseSVN<indexterm>
227 <primary>TortoiseSVN integration</primary>
231 <para>Sets WinMerge to be the TortoiseSVN diff application.</para>
236 <term>Integrate with TortoiseGit<indexterm>
237 <primary>TortoiseGit integration</primary>
241 <para>Sets WinMerge to be the TortoiseGit diff application.</para>
246 <term>Create a desktop shortcut</term>
249 <para>Adds the WinMerge shortcut to your Windows Desktop.</para>
254 <para>Click <guibutton>Next</guibutton>.</para>
258 <simpara>In the 3-way merge wizard page, register WinMerge
259 as 3-way merge tool for TortoiseSVN/Git.</simpara>
263 <term>Register WinMerge as a 3-way merge tool<indexterm>
264 <primary>3-way merge tool</primary>
268 <para>Register WinMerge as 3-way merge tool for
269 TortoiseSVN/Git.</para>
274 <term>Merge at right pane</term>
277 <para>Merge at right pane.</para>
283 <term>Merge at center pane</term>
286 <para>Merge at center pane.</para>
291 <term>Merge at left pane</term>
294 <para>Merge at left pane.</para>
299 <term>Auto-merge at startup time</term>
302 <para>Optionally, disable the option <guilabel>Auto-merge at
303 startup time</guilabel>.</para>
308 <para>Click <guibutton>Next</guibutton>.</para>
312 <simpara>In the Ready to Install page, verify your install selections.
313 If necessary, click <guibutton>Back</guibutton> to change anything in a
314 previous page. When you are sure that you are ready to proceed, click
315 <guibutton>Install</guibutton>.</simpara>
320 <simpara>After the installer has copied files, the final screen appears.
321 Using the two check boxes, confirm whether the created WinMerge Start
322 menu folder should be opened, and whether the WinMerge application
323 should be started.</simpara>
328 <section id="InstallFromArchive">
329 <title>Installing from an archive<indexterm>
330 <primary>archive, installing WinMerge from</primary>
333 <para>WinMerge is pretty much independent of other system components. It is
334 not tightly integrated with Windows, and does not use many DLLs.</para>
336 <para>Archive files have the correct folder structure. WinMerge should be
337 unzipped preserving this folder structure in the destination folder. For
338 example, the root folder created under <filename
339 class="directory">C:\Program Files\</filename> has the name, <filename
340 class="directory">WinMerge-<replaceable>version</replaceable></filename>
341 (for example, <filename class="directory">WinMerge-2.6.0</filename>). You
342 can rename this folder or copy its files to another folder (preserving the
343 folder structure!).</para>
345 <para>After the files are unzipped, WinMerge is ready to run! Shell
346 integration and archive integration may need additional steps, as described
347 in the next section.</para>
351 <title>Enabling Windows Explorer shell integration without the installer
353 <primary>integration</primary>
355 <secondary>with Windows shell</secondary>
356 </indexterm><indexterm>
357 <primary>Windows shell integration</primary>
360 <para>If you do not use the install program and you want to enable Windows
361 Explorer shell integration, you must register the shell integration DLL
362 (<filename>ShellExtension*.dll</filename>) separately.</para>
365 <para>Installing shell integration requires Administrator user
369 <para>Open WinMerge and using the <xref
370 linkend="Configuration_shell-integ" /> in the Options window. In the
371 Options window use the <guibutton>Register shell extension</guibutton>
372 or <guibutton>Unregister shell extension</guibutton> buttons.</para>