Beyond Compare Portable Exclusive -

| Perfect for | Skip it if | |-------------|-------------| | IT support / MSP technicians | You use only one computer | | Developers with work & home PCs | You need shell integration | | Data recovery / forensic work | Budget is very tight | | Compliance (no write to client PC) | You prefer cloud sync tools |

Add a "Portable Exclusive" mode allowing Beyond Compare to run from portable media (USB, external drive) while keeping all user settings, session data, and cached temporary files strictly isolated on the portable device — without writing any persistent data to the host PC (registry, user profile, ProgramData, or temp folders). This enables secure, portable comparisons on shared or locked-down machines.

As of late 2024, Scooter Software has released Beyond Compare 5. The new version introduces: beyond compare portable exclusive

The method for creating a portable exclusive version of BC5 is identical to BC4, but note that BC5 requires Portable.dat v2 format (add the line [Portable] Mode=Strict inside the file).

Beyond Compare isn't just for code. The portable version can compare ID3 tags or EXIF data. For digital archivists, this is the ultimate "exclusive" tool to deduplicate photo libraries across multiple external HDDs. | Perfect for | Skip it if |

Power users create complex comparison rules (e.g., "Ignore PDF metadata" or "Compare SQL files by structure only"). In an exclusive portable setup, these rules are saved as .BCSS (Snapshot) or .BCPkg (Package) files relative to the app’s root. You can carry your entire ruleset logic between jobs.

To migrate settings from an installed copy:
%APPDATA%\Scooter Software\Beyond Compare 4\ → copy BCSettings.xml and *.bcsession into the portable folder. The method for creating a portable exclusive version

Your sessions, saved comparisons, and filters stay on the portable drive. Move to a new PC – your workflow moves with you.

The baseline. This refers to Scooter Software’s flagship utility. It excels at visualizing differences in text, binary, and image files, synchronizing folders, and merging three-way code changes. It is a heavyweight champion in a lightweight interface.