Creating a Custom View Compare/Merge Merge Type

As a server administrator, you can create new, custom merge types for View Compare/Merge based on the standard merge types of Promote, Rebase, Replicate, or Compare.

Note: Before you can create a custom View Compare/Merge merge type, the server must have a StarFlow Extensions project. First create a StarFlow Extensions project, then create the Projects folder under the root folder in the view. Otherwise the save operation fails in the Customize VCM tool.
  1. Open the Server Administration tool and click the Customize VCM icon in the Administration section.
  2. In the Customize VCM pane, select one of the standard merge types in the All Merge Types section.
  3. Click the New Custom Merge Type icon (the red asterisk in the left margin of the All Merge Types section.)
    Tip: You can create a new merge type by copying an existing custom merge type. Select the custom merge type in the list and click Copy Custom Merge Type.
    Clicking New Custom Merge Type or Copy Custom Merge Type displays the customization options in the lower area of the Customize VCM pane.
  4. Give the new merge type a Name and Parent Type. All custom merge types must have a Name and a Parent Type because they are all derived from either Promote, Rebase, Replicate, or Compare.
  5. In the Available Merge Types section, select the context level in the tree to which you want this merge type to be added, and then click Add.
    Note: The Available Merge Types tree is hierarchical. When you add a merge type to a node, it becomes available at all the child node levels under it. To make the new merge type available at all levels, add it to the Server node at the top of the tree.
    Tip: You can change the order in which these merge types will display in the View Compare/Merge wizard. Select a merge type in the tree and click the Up or Down arrow on the right to move it.
  6. Enter the description you want to display in the View Compare/Merge Wizard.
  7. Choose the default Merge Action you want for each Difference Type.

    The default merge actions are used in the compare phase, are not visible to the user in the View Compare/Merge Wizard, and the user cannot change them.

    Note: A merge action that has been changed from the default parent action is displayed with red text.
  8. In the Include Item Types section, optionally check which item types to pre-select for this merge type. The user can view and change these types on the Include Selected Items page of the View Compare/Merge wizard.
  9. In the Options section, optionally check which options you want to pre-select for this merge type.

    The options selected are performed by default when the View Compare/Merge session begins the compare phase. The user can view and change these options on the Set Options page of the View Compare/Merge wizard.

  10. Click Save when you are finished. The new merge type now appears in the Available Merge Types list of the Customize VCM tool.
Parent topic: Customize VCM Tab