Editing a File Using the Diff Tool

In addition to comparing two versions of a file, the Diff tool can help you to edit the contents of the version in your workspace. This "edit-by-diff" capability is available only when you're comparing your workspace version with another version; it's not available when you invoke the Diff tool from the Version Browser or History Browser.

Here's a procedure for using this capability (see the toolbar button summary below):

1.	Invoke the Diff tool in a File Browser, to compare your workspace version with some other ("before") version of the same file.

2.	Click the Show result of edits button in the Diff toolbar. This opens a third pane (the Edit pane), which initially contains the same text as your workspace version.

3.	As you browse through the difference sections, you can:

•	Edit text manually in the Edit pane.

•	Click the Revert my change toolbar button to swap in the "before" version's text at that point (a change, addition, or deletion). The button becomes highlighted to indicate your selection.

•	Include both the "before" and "after" versions' text at that point: click the Revert My Change toolbar button, then hold down the Ctrl key and click the Restore my change toolbar button.

•	Alternatively, click the two buttons in the opposite order. Both buttons become highlighted, and number annotations indicate the order you selected:

You can then modify the combined text manually.

•	Change your mind about a difference section where you've used and/or , by selecting that section and clicking one of those buttons. Any manual edits you've made in that difference section are lost.

•	Click the Revert all of my changes button to make the Edit pane the same as the "before" version.

•	Click the Restore all of my changes button to make the Edit pane the same as the "after" version.

4.	Finish your work in either of these ways:

•	Click the Save edits and close toolbar button. This simply replaces the file in your workspace. (It doesn't perform an AccuRev Keep command.)

•	Close the Diff tab to cancel the edit-by-diff session. No changes are saved to the file in your workspace.

Note: Edit-by-Diff vs. Merge

Using the edit-by-diff capability is similar to using the Merge Tool (see The AccuRev Merge Tool). But there's an important difference:

•	An edit-by-diff operation involves just two versions.

•	A merge operation takes into account a third version: the closest common ancestor of the two versions being merged.