FileMatch Help

FileMatch^™ is a DonationWare file compare utility which will compare 2 files: a driver file and a target file. FileMatch will read the driver file and extract the corresponding records off of the target file. You can specify up to 8 pairs of keys on each file to determine the columns which will be used for the compare.

FileMatch will also find all driver records that do NOT exist on the target.

Features	Execution	Options
Support	Register	History

For installation instructions, see the readme.txt file.

Features

Some of the features of FileMatch:

New Windows interface!
Specify up to 8 pairs of keys
Files do NOT have to be sorted
Select from the following options:
- Find records that have NO match in the target file
- Keep records from the Driver, Target or Both, output to a separate file
- Respect or Ignore case
File size limited only by the memory of your PC
DonationWare - fully functional
Automatically receive notification of new versions when you register

Execution

FileMatch is a Rexx program, which means it is interpreted (as opposed to compiled) so large compares could run a while. In a test, I compared a driver file containing 1700 lines to a target file containing 43,000 lines, and it ran for about 3-4 minutes on a fairly decent PC. There is no progress indicator, so don't be impatient and cut it short.

When the program is finished, the Stats tab will be presented. To see the output, click on the File A, File B, and Key List tabs, or browse the output files named in the Stats tab.

HotKeys:

CTRL+Q: Quit
CTRL+M: Match
CTRL+H: Help

Options

File A key pairs	Up to 8 pairs of keys in the format `start:end` which define the columns in File A to be used for the comparison with File B. The key pairs are separated by blanks
File B key pairs	Up to 8 pairs of keys in the format `start:end`. If File B's keys are exactly identical to File A's keys, an "=" sign may be specified instead of the key list.
Find Records	In Both Files - Finds all target records that match the current driver record. In this case, File A is the Driver. In File A but not in File B - Finds all records in File A that do not have a match in File B. File A is the Driver. In File B but not in File A - Finds all records in File B that do not have a match in File A. File B is the Driver.
Keep Records	File A - Keeps the matched records from File A in a newly created, separate file called `fileA.FAK`. Note that the .FAK extension is appended to the fully qualified file name, so it will most likely end up having two extensions (eg: `File_A.txt.FAK`). File B - Keeps the matched records from File B in a newly created, separate file called `fileB.FBK`. Note that the .FBK extension is appended to the fully qualified file name, so it will most likely end up having two extensions (eg: `file_B.txt.FBK`) Both - Keeps matches from both files in newly created, separate files, named as above. Neither - If neither of these boxes is checked, the file acting as the target will be kept if Find Both is selected; or the driver will be kept if A not B or B not A is selected.
Ignore Case when matching	If this option is NOT selected, the CASE of the key fields must match between the Driver and the Target to be considered a match. When this option is selected, the CASE of the key fields is ignored.
List Keys for records with no match	This option will create a list of keys derived from the driver file that had no match on the target, regardless of which Find option is selected. This is so you can see what keys had no match, while still generating the match list. Note only the Keys are saved using this option, not the entire record. Keys are stored in a file called `driver.NOH` and displayed on the Key List tab. On the Key List tab, the records are listed with the corresponding line number from the driver file. (Note the driver could be either File A or File B depending on which Find option is selected).

Usage Hints

The "Gee, that's great, but what do I use it for?" section.

Say you have 2 Excel spreadsheets and you have some data in one and the other one is a backup of it, but you're not quite sure what the differences are. Do a Save As... on both of them, using a file type of "Formatted Text (space delimited) (*.prn)" so that the columns line up (do not use tab or comma delimited). I usually use the shorter one as the driver. FileMatch will give you a listing of what is common between the files, or, using the FIND NONE option, a listing of what is in one but not the other. When attempting to find "missing" records, use the larger file as the driver.
The same thing applies to file directories. Using redirection, create a file containing the contents of 2 directories. (e.g. DIR > driver.txt). Use a key of 40:70 on each file and that should do it.
The situation which caused FileMatch to come into existence was one where I had 43,000 records that were supposed to have been fed into a particular system, but due to a comm failure, most of them didn't make it. I created FileMatch to tell me which ones had made it through and which ones hadn't, so I could re-send the failed ones.
Another good use is having a list of header records and using FileMatch to pull off the matching detail records.

If you have other uses, send them to me in an email and I'll post them here.

Miscellaneous Notes

Maximum combined key length cannot exceed 255 bytes.

The driver and target files do not need to be sorted.

If the File B keys are the same as the File A keys, the File B keys may be specified as an equal sign (=).

If the driver file contains duplicate records based on the specified keys, the duplicate DRIVER records will not be kept. Only duplicate target records will ever be kept.

See the KEEP option above for a description of filenames used for output.
Output files from one run to the next will not be preserved. If you want to process the same driver/target files with different options, or use different drivers against the same target, you will need to rename the output files each time, because the next run will overwrite the output without prompting.
When using FileMatch to compare two files that should be identical to see which records are missing, use the larger file (more records) as the driver.

Register

FileMatch^™ is a copyrighted work. You are given rights to use it freely for non-commercial use. If you like it, please let me know. If you like it a lot, please consider making a donation.

The cost to register is $10 for Commercial users, which entitles you to use it on one machine at a time, with free upgrades for life, and automatic notifications of updates.

This license in no way gives you the right to crack, hack, reverse-engineer, decompile, or in any other way steal my source code. If you attempt it, you will be plagued with a curse all your days.

If you would like a site license, drop me a line and we'll see what we can work out. I'm pretty flexible.

If you want to make a donation, please email me using the button below.

Visit the FileMatch home page at http://filematch.jaylhouse.com for the most recent update!

Support

If you have any problems installing or using FileMatch, shoot me an email and I'll try my best to help you.

History

Any version updates will be posted here, and if you register, you will automatically receive notification of new versions.

Version 2.1

Released 15 May 2007
Fixed issue where it was only keeping the LAST driver record when doing Find=NONE. Now keeps all duplicate-key driver records.

Version 2.01

Released 13 Dec 2006
Was not keeping the correct file when BOTH was selected (bugfix)
Improved performance by loading output tabs differently
Added a ruler to the output tabs

Version 2.0

Released ?? Sep 2006
Radical new Windows interface
Added automatic installer
Easier to understand options
Temporarily removed FIND FIRST and FIND LAST options. If you want these back, let me know.
Added line numbers to the NoHit results (now called Key List tab).
Added ability to browse results in tabs without searching for files.
No longer requires msgbox.exe

Version 1.1

Released 2 Jun 2005
Converted to Regina from R4 due to easier distribution.

Version 1.0

I was in need of a file matching utility, and in a short time, so I scoured the internet looking for one, but to no avail. I was sort of surprised by this, since this is not the first time I have needed one. Necessity being the mother of invention, I decided to write a generic file matcher and thought perhaps others may benefit from the fruit of my labor. I decided to keep the price low to encourage folks to register, so please do so.