# Comparison Editor

Comparison isn't one single view in Tensormorph's View menu - the dedicated 3D view for it is called **Diff**, and the same comparison mode is also available as a shading option within the 2D and 1D view families. "Comparison Editor" here refers to that cross-cutting capability, not a single panel distinct from everything described elsewhere in this documentation.

Once two checkpoints are loaded as an aligned pair, every view in Tensormorph gains a comparison mode, rather than requiring you to switch into a separate comparison-specific application.

## Loading a pair

Comparison starts with picking a **baseline** and one or more candidates - the baseline is the fixed reference every candidate is visually differenced against, distinguished consistently across every view once set (mirroring the "pin a baseline" pattern common in experiment-comparison tools). Loading a pair triggers alignment (see [Model Diff](/docs/core-concepts/model-diff#alignment-comes-first)) before any diff view becomes available.

## Where comparison shows up

| View                         | Comparison mode                                                                                                                                                          |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Diff (3D)                    | The dedicated 3D view for browsing a whole-model diff spatially - structurally identical to the Architecture view, shaded by difference instead of by value.             |
| Matrix and Heatmap (2D)      | The Diff and Correlation shading modes - see [Matrix and Heatmap Editor](/docs/editors/matrix-and-heatmap-editor).                                                       |
| Signal and Distribution (1D) | The Delta sub-mode, and overlaid distributions - see [Histograms and Distributions](/docs/inspect-and-analyze/histograms-and-distributions#comparing-two-distributions). |
| Outliner                     | A per-tensor changed/unchanged indicator, so you can scan the tree for what moved without opening every tensor individually.                                             |

## From diff to decision

A comparison surfaces *where* two checkpoints differ; what to do about it depends on context - accepting a candidate as a promoted result, flagging a [merge conflict](/docs/compare-and-morph/merge-conflicts) if the pair came from diverging branches, or feeding the diff into a validation suite (see [CI Validation](/docs/cli-and-automation/ci-validation)) rather than reviewing it by hand every time.

## Related resources

-   [Comparing Two Model Revisions](/docs/get-started/compare-two-models) - the guided first walkthrough of this workflow.
-   [Weight Diff](/docs/compare-and-morph/weight-diff) - the numeric diff computation this view renders.
-   [Model Diff](/docs/core-concepts/model-diff) - alignment and semantic classification, underlying every comparison mode above.