# Compare Template Differences

**URL:** <https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/compare-template-differences/59876>\
**Category:** Ignition\
**Tags:** ignition81\
**Created:** [May 21, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/compare-template-differences/59876 "2022-05-21T22:00:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jgoodwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@jgoodwill](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/jgoodwill)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/compare-template-differences/59876/1 "2022-05-21T22:00:27Z")

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Is there a way to compare two templates or popups to determine if the two are identical or not, and if not what the differences are?

I would like to compare a template from one project to another to determine if any changes had been made.

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**Author:** ![josborn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@josborn](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/josborn)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/compare-template-differences/59876/2 "2022-05-21T22:11:59Z")

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Vision or Perspective? In perspective you can Shift + right click and copy the popups json, then compare. ~~In vision you can export the popup or template and then open the .zip and compare the json.~~

Edit:  
@nminchin is right, doesn’t work that way for Vision.

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**Author:** ![Transistor](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/transistor/32/3380_2.png) [@Transistor](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Transistor)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/compare-template-differences/59876/3 "2022-05-21T22:15:22Z")

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Something like Notepad++ will do a file compare for you and highlight the differences.

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**Author:** ![nminchin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/nminchin/32/6911_2.png) [@nminchin](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/nminchin)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2022, 11:11pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/compare-template-differences/59876/4 "2022-05-21T23:11:23Z")

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> [@josborn](#):
>
> export the popup or template and then open the .zip and compare the json

Aren't vision files binaries?

Comparing Vision graphics automatically has always been more or less impossible in any useful way, since if you export as XML, it's so optimised that it makes comparison very difficult

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**Author:** ![josborn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@josborn](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/josborn)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2022, 11:19pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/compare-template-differences/59876/5 "2022-05-21T23:19:03Z")

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Oh good point! I didn’t realize the json was just the resources, serves me right for exporting an empty popup and thinking that was all there should be. You can get some info on the last time it was modified, but not really a full compare.