Microsoft DOS fc command
Quick links
About fc
Availability
Syntax
Examples
FC, or file compare, is used to compare two files against each other. Once completed, fc will return lines that differ between the two files. If no lines differ, you will receive a message indicating no differences encountered.
The fc.exe is an external command that is available in the below Microsoft operating systems.
MS-DOS 3.3x and above
Windows 95
Windows 98
Windows ME
Windows NT
Windows 2000
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Windows 7
Compares two files or sets of files and displays the differences between them.
FC [/A] [/C] [/L] [/LBn] [/N] [/T] [/W] [/nnnn] [drive1:][path1]filename1 [drive2:][path2]filename2
FC /B [drive1:][path1]filename1 [drive2:][path2]filename2
| /A | Displays only first and last lines for each set of differences. |
| /B | Performs a binary comparison. |
| /C | Disregards the case of letters. |
| /L | Compares files as ASCII text. |
| /LBn | Sets the maximum consecutive mismatches to the specified number of lines. |
| /N | Displays the line numbers on an ASCII comparison. |
| /T | Does not expand tabs to spaces. |
| /W | Compresses white space (tabs and spaces) for comparison. |
| /nnnn | Specifies the number of consecutive lines that must match after a mismatch. |
| [drive1:][path1]filename1 | Specifies the first file or set of files to compare. |
| [drive2:][path2]filename2 | Specifies the second file or set of files to compare. |
fc c:\autoexec.bat c:\config.sys
Give a file comparison between the config.sys and the autoexec.bat in the current directory.
fc c:\autoexec.bat c:\config.sys /b
Give a file comparison between the config.sys and the autoexec.bat in the current directory in binary format.