Differences For File Dialog Box

See Also

Shows differences between a working folder version of the selected file and the VSS database version of the file.

To display the Differences For File dialog box:

1. Make sure that you have the SourceSafe or Unix button selected in the Difference Options dialog box.
   
   
2. Select a file in the file pane of VSS Explorer.
   
   
3. On the Tools menu, click Show Differences.
   
   
4. If the files compared are the same, a message tells you the files are identical.  VSS cannot display differences for binary files; it can only tell you whether or not binary files differ.  If text files differ, VSS displays the File Difference dialog box.
   
   
5. Make selections in the File Difference dialog box (if it's enabled), then click OK.

Note   Enable the display of the Difference Options dialog box on the Command Dialogs tab in the SourceSafe Options dialog box (Tools menu).

Remarks

This dialog box is used only when you have not selected the visual difference comparison.  (For visual differences, make sure you select the Visual option from the Difference Options dialog box.)  By default, VSS uses the Visual Difference dialog box.  The visual difference option shows each file side by side, and lets you easily make changes from one to the other.  The SourceSafe Difference shows a simple list of lines that were added, deleted, and changed, optimized for readability.  The Unix option shows differences in the format used by the UNIX Diff utility.

If you specify a UNIX display, VSS uses the SourceSafe display options for Ignore Case and Ignore White Space.  The SourceSafe display option has line widths calculated to fit on your screen, and no context lines.

Note   To compare a current VSS file to an older version of the same file, select the file in the file pane of VSS Explorer, and on the Tools menu, click Show History.  Then click Diff.