Reviewing changes between file versions

You can review changes made between code review file versions. The latest file version in the code review is compared to the version before the oldest version in the review. For example, if versions 3, 6, and 8 are in the review, differences between versions 2 and 8 are displayed. As you review the changes, you can select different versions to display to view only the changes made between specific versions or since you last reviewed the file.

You can also review entire files without highlighted changes. See Reviewing files.

1. Open the code review and double-click the file to review.

Differences between file versions open in a new tab in the Code Review window.

2. Click Previous Change and Next Change to go to the previous or next change.

The Previous Change button is disabled if the first change in the file is selected and the Next Change button is disabled if the last change is selected.

3. To compare different versions, select a Version from the list to display in each area.

Versions not included in the review are displayed in gray. If you are reviewing updates after a review was restarted, versions less than or equal to the last version you reviewed are displayed in italics.

4. Click a view button to display the differences side by side, top over bottom, or combined. You can also view the file without the differences highlighted.

5. Click to apply syntax highlighting or change the differences output, text font, or tab width in files. See Changing code review view options.

6. If you are reviewing an image file, click a button to change how differences are displayed or enter a percentage to change the magnification. See Viewing image file differences.

7. To find text in the file, enter the text in the search field and click Find.

8. On the Comments tab, add comments, reply to comments, navigate between them, or mark them as addressed.

• To add a comment, select content you have feedback about and click Add Comment. See Adding review comments to files.
• To reply to a comment, select the comment you wish to reply to and click Reply. See Replying to review comments.
• To navigate between comments, click and . Replies to comments are skipped.

• To mark a comment as addressed, select it and click Mark Addressed. Click Address All to address all comments. See Addressing code review comments.
• To view comments the author already addressed from other reviews, select Show addressed comments.

9. Click the History tab to view history information for the file.

You can also perform actions on historic file versions. See Viewing file history. The code review is updated based on actions you perform. For example, if you select a version on the History tab and add it to the code review, the review updates to include that version.

10. Select the check box in the Completed column when you finish reviewing the file. You can only mark files as completed if you are a reviewer in the code review.

• To add review comments to a file marked as completed, clear the Completed check box. You can add comments as long as at least one file in the review is not complete.
• When you complete the last file needing review, you are prompted to confirm you are finished reviewing all files. Click Yes to confirm your entire review is complete. If all files are marked completed, you can no longer add or edit comments in the review.

The file status changes to Needs Attention or Approved when all reviewers complete the review. See Understanding code review status.