If the comparison objects you have chosen (as described in Getting Started) are directories, WinMerge displays the Directory Comparison Results window, shown above. This is a listing of each item that was encountered in both directories, and includes the name of the item, the relative location, and the results of the comparison. The following comparison results are possible:
| Result | Icon |
| Identical | |
| Files are different | |
| Only in <right dir>... | |
| Only in <left dir>... | |
| Non-text files are different | |
| Error |
Depending on the comparison result for a given file, you have a few options:
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