---
title: "Compare two exports"
---

# Compare two exports

A semantic compare of two DeltaV exports for review, one sentence per difference grouped by module, class or area, independent of order, spacing, line endings and comments.

**Verification state:** modelled. On the real DeltaV 14.5.1 export, a comparison with itself gave no difference; with an alarm enabled, two instance values set and one transition condition changed, it gave exactly those four sentences, in about 1 s. **Not verified on real exports taken before and after a change made in DeltaV**, nor which differences a reviewer needs that this does not show. Not seen in the running Editor; not on Windows.

Use this to review a change before and after it is made in DeltaV, or to review an edited export before import.

## Compare

1. Put both exports in the workspace: one taken before the change, one after.
2. Run **Compare DeltaV Exports** and pick the earlier, then the later export. The workspace's `.fhx` files are listed by path.
3. A tab lists each difference as one sentence, grouped by module, class or area, for example "Module FIC-101 / Parameter GAIN / VALUE: CV "1.2" > "1.5"." Alarms, sequences, steps, transitions, actions and phase parameters are named as such.
4. Click a row, or press Enter, to open the export where the thing is: the later one, or the earlier one for something removed.

The tab follows both files on disk.

## How statements are matched

- Statements are matched by keyword and naming attribute (`TAG`, `NAME`) in any order and any case, so order, spacing, line endings and comments make no difference. Line endings inside a multi-line value do not count.
- Every module, block, parameter or other statement added or removed, and every attribute added, removed or changed, is one sentence, with its place in both exports.
- Objects only re-stamped with user and time are counted apart, not listed.
- Statements with no naming attribute are matched by their order among siblings.
- Exports are read in their own encoding (UTF-16 or UTF-8), up to 256 MB. An export that cannot be read is named with its place.

Keep the comparison with your change record when you [import the change](https://neuralinverse.com/docs/modules/dcs/save-and-import/#bring-the-change-back-into-deltav).