Running branch differences reports

Branch differences reports include file differences between two related branches. You can run these reports when comparing branches. See Viewing branch differences.

1. Select a branch or repository.

2. Choose Branch > Branch Differences.

The Branch Differences dialog box opens.

3. Select the branch to compare the selected branch (Branch 1) with from the Branch 2 list. You can also click Browse to select a branch.

4. Select Recursive to include all subrepositories and files.

5. Click Show Differences.

The Branch Differences dialog box opens.

6. Select a repository or two or more files and click Diff Report.

The Generate Branch Differences Report dialog box opens.

7. Select any additional report Options.

• Ignore case differences in file contents excludes differences in character case.
• Ignore whitespace excludes any whitespace differences (spaces and tabs).
• Ignore changes in the amount of whitespace excludes additions or deletions to existing whitespace (spaces and tabs).
• Ignore blank lines excludes inserted or deleted blank lines.

• Limit number of differences to maximum of limits the number of differences included in the report to the specified number.

8. Select an Output Format.

When you view differences, you may also want to see the parts of the files near the lines that differ to help you understand what changed. This is the context.

If you are distributing new versions of files in the form of diff output, use one of the output formats that show context so users can easily apply the differences.

• Enter the number of Output lines of context to display before and after each change. The default is 3 lines.
• Select Unified format to display the differences with limited context lines. This format excludes redundant context lines.
• Select Context format to display the differences with context lines. This format shows several lines of context around the lines that differ. It is the standard format for distributing updates to source code.

9. Click OK.

The report opens. For information about report symbols, see Running file differences reports.

10. Click Save As to save the report or Print to print it.

11. Click Close when you finish.