The results of the comparison are displayed in the compare
editor. The differences are highlighted so that you can browse through
them and copy them.
The comparison is based on the reference resource and
detects the changes that are carried out in the compared resource.
The reference resource, which is displayed on the right in the compare
editor, is automatically set according to the following rules:
- In a comparison in the history, the display is chronological.
The version of the server or of the local history constitutes the
reference version. The most recent version constitutes the compared
version. The reference version is in a read-only mode.
- In a comparison between instances, the chronology is not taken
into account. The reference instance is the second instance in the
alphabetical order. If you modified this instance, the comparison
is then reversed. For example, if you added a keyword in this instance,
the compare editor considers this addition as a deletion since this
keyword does not exist in the first instance in the alphabetical order.
If this display does not suit your needs, you can redirect the comparison
by swapping the two instances. To do so, click
in the compare editor toolbar.
The display and selection in the two resources are synchronized.
When you select a change in the
Structural changes view,
the location of this change in the compared resource and in the reference
resource is automatically selected in the detail view. Likewise, a
selection in the detail view is automatically reflected in the
Structural
changes view.
Note: For a design comparison, you must
display the attributes (

in the compare
editor toolbar) when you select a change that was detected in the
attributes. Likewise, the composition must be displayed (

) when you select a change that was detected in the composition.
If
an attribute was changed, it is highlighted in the detail view. A
link connects this attribute in the two resources.
If an element
was added or deleted in the instance composition, the corresponding
line is highlighted in the detail view. A link connects the locations
where the element was added or deleted in the two resources.
Some
changes can be displayed as conflicting in the Structural
changes view. You can then display a three-way comparison.
See the explanations that are given in the link on the three-way comparisons.
The
compare editor behaves differently according to the field that was
changed in the instance composition. For some fields, it considers
that the corresponding line was changed. For other fields, it considers
that the line was deleted in the reference instance and created again
in the compared instance. For more explanations, see the link on the
columns and fields that are responsible for the deletion and creation
of lines in the compare editor.