This topic presents an overview of the different View Compare/Merge merge types you can use, explains the rules that apply to them, and gives you example usage scenarios for each one.
There are three types of merge operations possible for a View Compare/Merge session:
Each merge type has specific rules that apply to it.
You can perform successive Rebase, Promote, and Replicate operations between the same two views, even with reversing the direction for Replicate. You can only use one merge type for each View Compare/Merge session, but you can perform as many View Compare/Merge sessions as you like in any order.
View Compare/Merge provides a Compare-only mode in which you can view the differences between views, but no merge actions or changes are possible.
In Compare-only mode, View Compare/Merge treats the source view, the target view and the View Compare/Merge session itself as read-only. Since no changes are made to the source or the target, Compare-only mode supports comparisons that are not otherwise permitted. Specifically, you can compare two different configurations of the same view. For example, you might compare two different labeled configurations, or compare a labeled configuration to the tip.
When you only want to view the differences between two views, you can run a Compare-only View Compare/Merge session. In this case, View Compare/Merge does not determine any default or possible actions to take, since no actions are requested. The Compare-only View Compare/Merge session simply shows you the differences between the items in the source and target views.
Each of the View Compare/Merge merge types is intended to be used in specific scenarios. Which merge type you choose for a particular View Compare/Merge session depends on what you are trying to merge. Using View Compare/Merge for the right scenarios is important because View Compare/Merge uses different rules for handling differences depending on the type of merge. Below is a description of the intended use for each View Compare/Merge merge type and the rules that apply.