# Diff Formatter Format and display text differences in various styles (unified, context, side-by-side) > Canonical page: https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/diff-formatter - **Category:** Converter - **Keywords:** diff, compare, format, unified, context, side by side, difference, changes ## Overview The Diff Formatter is a precise utility designed to compare two blocks of text and highlight their differences using standard industry formats like unified, context, or side-by-side views. ## Inputs - **Original Text** (textarea): Enter the original text... - **Modified Text** (textarea): Enter the modified text... - **Format Style** (select) - **Show Line Numbers** (checkbox) - **Context Lines** (number): Number of context lines (0-10) ## When to use - Comparing two versions of source code to identify specific logic changes. - Reviewing drafts of documents or articles to track edits between versions. - Debugging configuration files by pinpointing discrepancies between current and backup states. ## How it works - Paste your original text into the first input field and the modified text into the second. - Select your preferred output style, such as unified or side-by-side, from the format menu. - Adjust the context lines and line number settings to customize the readability of the output. - Generate the diff to instantly visualize additions, deletions, and modifications. ## Use cases - Code review and version control analysis. - Content editing and proofreading workflows. - Configuration file synchronization and audit. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the difference between unified and side-by-side views? Unified view displays changes in a single column with additions and deletions marked by symbols, while side-by-side shows both versions next to each other for easier visual comparison. ### Can I adjust how much surrounding text is shown? Yes, you can use the 'Context Lines' setting to define how many lines of unchanged text appear around the modifications. ### Does this tool support file uploads? No, this tool is designed for direct text input. Please copy and paste your content into the provided text areas. ### Are line numbers included in the output? Yes, you can toggle the 'Show Line Numbers' checkbox to include or exclude line numbering in your diff result. ### Is there a limit to the amount of text I can compare? The tool is optimized for standard text blocks and code snippets; extremely large documents may impact performance. ## Related tools - [CSV Splitter](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/csv-splitter): Split CSV content by specified number of rows per file. 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Features: - Detect and remove UTF-8 BOM (EF BB BF) - Detect and remove UTF-16 BOM (FE FF or FF FE) - Detect and remove UTF-32 BOM (00 00 FE FF or FF FE 00 00) - Support multiple input formats - Visual BOM character display - Detailed detection report - Support for batch text processing Common Use Cases: - Fix CSV file import errors - Clean up text file encoding issues - Prepare data for JSON parsing - Fix XML parsing problems - Resolve API data encoding conflicts - Standardize text data format - [Data Noise Injection](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/data-noise-injection): Inject various types of noise into text data for testing purposes. Perfect for stress testing data processing systems, testing data quality algorithms, and creating realistic test datasets. Features: - Character-level noise injection - Word-level noise injection - Numeric data noise - Formatting noise - Whitespace noise - Special character noise - Configurable intensity levels - Realistic noise patterns Common Use Cases: - Test data validation systems - Stress test parsing algorithms - Evaluate error handling - Test data cleaning algorithms - Create realistic messy data - Benchmark data processing performance - [Markdown to Plain Text](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/markdown-to-plain-text): Convert Markdown formatted text to plain text by removing all Markdown syntax and formatting - [Newline Normalizer](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/newline-normalizer): Normalize and unify newline characters in text to consistent line ending format - [Number Format Cleaner](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/number-format-cleaner): Normalize and clean various number formats in text for consistency - [Punctuation Normalizer](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/punctuation-normalizer): Normalize and standardize punctuation marks in text, convert between Chinese and English punctuation - [Text Compressor](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/text-compressor): Compress text by removing extra spaces, newlines, and unnecessary whitespace while preserving content structure ## Samples - [Android Image Processing Java Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/android-image-processing-java): Android Java image processing examples including reading/saving images, scaling, and format conversion - [Android Image Processing Kotlin Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/android-image-processing-kotlin): Android Kotlin image processing examples including reading/saving images, scaling, and format conversion - [Web Image Processing Python Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/web-image-processing-python): Web Python image processing examples using PIL/Pillow including reading, saving, resizing, and format conversion - [Web Image Processing Rust Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/web-image-processing-rust): Web Rust image processing examples including image read/save, scaling, and format conversion ## Related content - [Text Redaction, Highlighting, and Presentation Formatting Tools](https://elysiatools.com/en/hubs/text-format): Compare tools for masking sensitive text, finding PII, normalizing phone numbers, highlighting phrases, centering text, and formatting diffs in one hub. - [File and Data Diff & Comparison Tools](https://elysiatools.com/en/hubs/file-data-diff-comparison-tools): Compare two files, payloads, schemas, or datasets side by side and highlight what changed — across text, JSON, CSV/Excel, PDF, images, audio, databases, APIs, and configs. - [Text Case, Encoding, and Normalization Conversion Tools](https://elysiatools.com/en/hubs/text-convert): Compare text case conversion, character-width conversion, encoding conversion, quoted-printable handling, and inline text normalization tools in one hub. - [Text Tools](https://elysiatools.com/en/hubs/text-utility): Explore 33 text tools for utility workflows and compare closely related utilities quickly.