IntelliJ IDEA enables you to perform the following types of comparison:

  • Compare directories
  • Compare a class or class member with another class or class member
  • Compare a local file with versions in the Local History
  • Compare a local file with the current revision in your version control repository
  • Compare any local file with the current file in the Editor
  • Compare any 2 local files to each other: text or binary
  • Compare selected text in the Editor with Clipboard contents

You can configure usage of the differences tool in the Settings dialog ( File | Settings | IDE: General: Diff options).

Use context menus to invoke comparison commands. Refer to Comparison section of online help for details.