Notepad++ is a popular text editor that programmers use to write scripts or code. It also comes with a handy plugin that allows you to compare two different files quickly. Comparing files is an essential task for developers when they want to see the differences between two scripts or files.

Here’s how you can install and use the Compare plugin in Notepad++.

Step 1: Download the Compare Plugin

The first step is to download the Compare Plugin. You can find the plugin on the official Notepad++ website or on GitHub. Once downloaded, install the plugin by extracting the downloaded ZIP file and copy it to the Notepad++ plugins folder.

Step 2: Enable the Compare Plugin

Once you’ve installed the Compare Plugin, go to the Plugins menu on the top navigation bar and select the Compare option. Click the Compare button, and you will see two files in two different vertical panes. You can also open another file to compare by clicking on the File menu and selecting the Open option.

Step 3: Compare the Files

Now that the plugin is enabled, you can compare two files by following these steps:

1. Open the first file you want to compare.

2. Click Plugins on the top menu > Compare > Compare.

3. A dialog box will appear. Select the second file you want to compare and click the Compare button.

Notepad++ will perform a diff check to compare the two files and highlight any differences. The differences will be highlighted with a blue or red background. The blue background shows the differences in the first file, while the red background shows the differences in the second file. The plugin also shows the line numbers that have differences in both files.

Step 4: Save the Files

After comparing the two files, you can save them by clicking on the File menu and selecting the Save option.