Contact
Email: ribbon@craftclay.com
When contacting support, please include your macOS version and the app version shown in RibbonDiff → About (or the App Store “Version History”).
Pro access (Limited / Pro Trial / Pro Lifetime)
RibbonDiff is free to download and works in Limited mode for comparing typed or pasted text. Opening and saving files, using Workspace and Workspace file search, and using Version History are available in Pro.
Limited (Free)
- Compare and edit text in both panes (typed / pasted).
- Live diff updates, center ribbon connectors, per-pane Find, word wrap, and themes.
Pro (Trial or Lifetime)
- Open files from disk (
⌘O), Finder, Terminal, or drag & drop - Save / Save As… per pane (
⌘S/⇧⌘S) - Open folders or
.rd-workspacedocuments in the Workspace sidebar, and save Workspace documents (⇧⌥⌘S) - Search text across an open Workspace with Find in Workspace… (
⇧⌘F), including Option-click to open results in another tab - Create new Workspace files or folders with inline rename, then move, delete, reveal, or copy paths from the sidebar
- Use Version History for files inside Git-backed Workspaces, with read-only historical previews
- Optional per-pane Line Endings and Encoding controls (when enabled in Settings)
How to start the Pro Trial (7 days)
Open RibbonDiff → Settings… → Pro, then click Start 7-Day Pro Trial. The trial is one-time, lasts 7 days, and does not auto-renew.
How to unlock Pro Lifetime
Open RibbonDiff → Settings… → Pro, then click Unlock Pro Lifetime. This is a one-time purchase.
Restore Purchases
If Pro access doesn’t appear (after reinstalling or switching Macs), go to Settings → Pro → Restore Purchases.
Legacy paid customers: if you previously purchased RibbonDiff when it was a paid App Store download, it should automatically unlock Pro Lifetime on the same Apple ID. If it doesn’t, use Restore Purchases.
Quick help
- Full documentation: see the User Guide for detailed workflows and shortcuts.
- Shortcut cheat sheet: choose Help → RibbonDiff Help (⌘?) to open the built-in shortcut reference window.
- Compare text: paste or type into the left and right panes. The diff updates automatically.
- Open files (Pro): drag & drop a file onto a pane, or click a pane then press ⌘O.
- New comparisons: choose File → New Window (⌘N) for a fresh standalone comparison window, File → New Window with Sidebar (⇧⌘N) for one with the Workspace sidebar open, or ⌘T for a new tab in the current window group.
- Workspace (Pro): use File → Open Workspace… (⇧⌘O) to open a folder or
.rd-workspacedocument in a new standalone window, or use the sidebar's Open Folder or Workspace File action to bind a workspace to the current window. - Workspace file search (Pro): choose Find → Find in Workspace… (⇧⌘F) to search text files in the open Workspace. Use View → Show File Tree (⌘1) and View → Show File Search (⌘2) to switch sidebar modes. Search stays visible as you move between tabs, preserves your query and expanded results, shows M markers for Git-modified files, and supports Option-click to open results in another tab.
- Workspace file management (Pro): use the sidebar action menu or right-click folders/files to add files or folders, open files in new tabs, show items in Finder, copy relative or full paths, multi-select items, drag them into folders, or move confirmed deletions to the Trash.
- Version History (Pro): open a file from a Git-backed Workspace, then use the branch and version selectors to compare the current file against read-only historical snapshots.
- Save (Pro): click inside a pane to make it active, then use ⌘S / ⇧⌘S. Saving always applies to the active pane. Use Save Workspace / Save Workspace As… to store a workspace document.
- Files changed on disk: if an opened file changes on disk, RibbonDiff reloads it automatically when there are no unsaved edits, or asks before replacing your in-app changes.
- Find in either pane: use the per-pane Find field, or press ⌘F, then ⌘G/⇧⌘G to jump between matches.
- Word wrap: toggle wrap to avoid horizontal scrolling on long lines.
- Whitespace filters: use the Whitespace toolbar toggle or View → Whitespace Filters (⌃⌘I) to turn the saved indentation/leading/trailing whitespace comparison filters on or off together.
- Line Endings / Encoding (optional): enable the badges in Settings → General. These affect how files are written when saving, but they are normalized for diffing (LF vs CRLF usually won’t create a diff by itself).
- Themes: customize diff colors/backgrounds, and import/export themes as JSON.
- Multiple comparisons: use new windows or macOS window tabs to keep several diffs open. When a Workspace is open, every tab in that window shares the same sidebar and project tree.
Preferences / Settings
Open Settings
In the menu bar choose RibbonDiff → Settings… (shortcut: ⌘,).
Sections you may use
- Pro: view your access level, see what is included, start the 7-day trial, unlock Pro Lifetime, or restore purchases. If you try a Pro-only workflow such as opening or saving files, using Workspace or Workspace file search, or using Version History in Limited mode, RibbonDiff shows the Pro prompt.
- General: line numbers (per pane), default word wrap, saved whitespace-filter defaults, optional Line Endings / Encoding badges, plus Workspace item size and line height.
- Appearance: tweak diff highlight colors (Added/Removed/Modified) and the center connector (“ribbon”) color.
- Backgrounds: choose System backgrounds (follows Light/Dark Mode) or switch to Custom colors.
- Syntax: enable custom syntax colors and edit separate Light/Dark palettes.
- Themes: switch between built-in themes or your own saved themes.
Import a theme (JSON)
Go to Settings → Theme, click Import Theme…, then select a
.json file.
Imported themes appear under User Themes.
Export a theme (JSON)
Go to Settings → Theme, click Export Theme…, give it a name, then
choose where to save the .json file.
Tip: If you imported a theme but don’t see it in the list, close and reopen Settings and check the Theme section again.
Troubleshooting
I can’t open / drag & drop / save files, Workspace, Workspace file search, or Version History
Opening or saving files, using Workspace, and using Workspace file search are Pro workflows. Version History is also Pro-only and appears only for files inside a Git-backed Workspace. Check RibbonDiff → Settings… → Pro to confirm you’re in Pro Trial or Pro Lifetime. If you already purchased, use Restore Purchases.
My Pro Trial ended — what happens?
After 7 days, RibbonDiff returns to Limited mode. File open/save workflows, Workspace, Workspace file search, and Version History are disabled again, but you can continue to compare typed or pasted text, or unlock Pro Lifetime.
Workspace stays collapsed or shows an upgrade prompt
Workspace is a Pro feature. If RibbonDiff shows the upgrade prompt, start the Pro Trial or unlock Pro Lifetime from RibbonDiff → Settings… → Pro. If Workspace is already open in the current window, use that shared sidebar instead of expecting a separate Workspace per tab.
Workspace file management did not complete
New Workspace item names cannot be empty, contain /, or
duplicate another item in the same folder. Drag moves must target a folder inside the workspace; RibbonDiff
blocks no-op moves, moves into the item itself or a descendant folder, and duplicate-name conflicts.
Delete moves confirmed files and folders to the Trash.
Workspace file search has no results
Workspace file search requires an open Workspace and searches text files inside that Workspace. Check that you are in Pro Trial or Pro Lifetime, that the Workspace is open, and that the search text exists in a readable text file. If you move between tabs or switch back from the file tree, RibbonDiff keeps the current query, results, expanded files, and scroll position. Binary, unreadable, or very large files may be skipped.
Version History is not available
Version History is a Pro-only Workspace feature. It appears only when the current file is inside a Git-backed Workspace. If the file is outside the Workspace, or the Workspace is not backed by Git, the branch and version selectors may not appear.
Open Workspace… opened a new window
This is expected. File → Open Workspace… always opens the selected folder or
.rd-workspace document in a new standalone window. If you want to
replace the current window’s comparison with a workspace instead, use the sidebar’s
Open Folder or Workspace File action or drop a folder / .rd-workspace
file onto the sidebar.
Wrap / Whitespace / Swap / Clear disappeared
The top toolbar row may be hidden. Choose View → Show Toolbar or press ⌥⌘T to restore it, including the Whitespace toggle. Your editor content, Workspace, and diff stay unchanged.
A file changed on disk while it was open
RibbonDiff now reloads changed files automatically when there are no unsaved edits in the app. If you do have unsaved edits, RibbonDiff prompts before replacing those in-app changes with the new on-disk contents.
Restore Purchases didn’t unlock Pro
Confirm you’re signed into the same Apple ID on this Mac that was used for the original purchase. Then quit and relaunch RibbonDiff and try Settings → Pro → Restore Purchases again. If it still fails, email support with your app version + macOS version (no sensitive data needed).
Text looks garbled (mojibake) after opening a file
The file may have been decoded using the wrong encoding. Enable the Encoding badge in Settings → General, select a different encoding, then re-open the file.
I changed Line Endings or Encoding and the file rewrote, but the text looks the same
This is expected. RibbonDiff normalizes line endings/encoding internally, so changing only the badge can rewrite file storage details without changing visible text.
Text looks out of sync after a large paste
Try clicking into the pane and scrolling once, or toggle Word Wrap off/on to refresh layout.
Performance with very large text
Very large comparisons may take a moment to compute. If it feels slow, try comparing smaller sections or splitting the input.
Theme import/export issues
Make sure the file is valid JSON and matches RibbonDiff’s theme format. If you imported a theme but don’t see it, reopen Settings and check the Theme menu.
Feature requests & feedback
Send suggestions to ribbon@craftclay.com. If possible, include a short example input (non-sensitive) and what you expected to see.