Diff/Merge Page

The Diff/Merge tab allows you to specify supported third-party tools to use with AccuRev. Note: Any tools that you specify must be defined in your PATH variable before launching the AccuRev GUI. If you specify a tool and it does not work, this is the most common cause.

Diff

Specifies the graphical file-comparison tool to be invoked by the GUI's Diff command. You can choose AccuRev's own tool or one of the supported third-party tools from the combo-box. Alternatively, you can type a command line to be executed when the Diff command is invoked. This command line must include substitution patterns:

%1%  Quoted pathname of the first version to be compared.

%2%  Quoted pathname of the second version to be compared.

%3%   Unquoted title string for the first version (can be displayed by file-comparison tool).

%4%  Unquoted title string for the second version (can be displayed by file-comparison tool).

Make sure the file-comparison tool  is located in a directory on your search path. Alternatively, use a full pathname to specify the file-comparison tool. Examples:

MyDiff /G %1% %2%

C:\SuperCompare\SCgui %1% %2%

Notes:

What's the difference between Ignore Whitespace and Ignore Changes in Whitespace?

Ignore Whitespace causes all SPACEs, TABs, and empty lines to be ignored, and thus overrides any setting of Ignore Changes in Whitespace.

Ignore Changes in Whitespace applies only where whitespace already exists; it does not apply where new whitespace is introduced or existing whitespace has been completely deleted.

Example 1: When comparing these two text strings:

compareme

compare me

Table 1.  

[ ] Ignore Whitespace	[ ] Ignore Changes in Whitespace	Does Diff see difference?
X	either	No
-	X	Yes
-	-	Yes

Example 2: When comparing these two text strings:

compare     me

compare me

Table 2.  

[ ] Ignore Whitespace	[ ] Ignore Changes in Whitespace	Does Diff see difference?
X	either	No
-	X	No
-	-	Yes

 

 

I changed my preferences, but I don't see any changes in the Diff tab.

Changing preferences does not automatically affect Diff tabs that are currently open. To apply the preferences, refresh the tab in any of these ways:

•	Click the Refresh button on the GUI window's main toolbar.

•	Run the View > Refresh command on the GUI window's main menu.

•	Press function key F5.

Merge

Specifies the graphical text-file merge tool by be invoked by the GUI's Merge command. This command line must include substitution patterns:

%a%  quoted filename of the closest common ancestor version.

%1%  quoted filename of the version in the backing stream, or other non-workspace version.

%2%  quoted filename of the version in the workspace.

%3%  unquoted title string for the closest common ancestor version (can be displayed by text-file-merge tool).

%4%  unquoted title string for the backing-stream version (can be displayed by text-file-merge tool).

%5%  unquoted title string for the workspace version (can be displayed by text-file-merge tool).

%o%  quoted name of the merge-output file -- a temporary file for storing the results of the merge.

Make sure the text-file-merge tool  is located in a directory on your search path. Alternatively, use a full pathname to specify the text-file-merge tool.

Note: Do I have to use a 3-way merge tool?

No. You're free to use a 2-way merge tool, which takes into account the two contributor versions only, not any of their ancestors.

But even if you don't use a 3-way merge tool, AccuRev records the merge operation (which appears as a red line in the Version Browser). Future merges involving this element can use this record to simplify the work needed to perform a 3-way merge.

Tab size

(AccuRev's graphical Diff and Merge tools only) The number of spaces to be displayed for each TAB character.

Character Encoding

(AccuRev's graphical Diff and Merge tools only) Specifies the character encoding of the contributor versions: either UTF-8 or the operating system default.

Ignore Whitespace

(AccuRev's graphical Diff tool only) Controls whether whitespace is taken into account when comparing text lines.

Ignore Changes in Whitespace

(AccuRev's graphical Diff tool only) Controls whether a change in the amount of whitespace in a text line is considered to be a change to that line.

Ignore Case

(AccuRev's graphical Diff and Merge tools only) Controls whether uppercase and lowercase characters are considered to be the same when comparing text lines.