Details
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Suggestion
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Resolution: Unresolved
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None
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Windows / Any
Description
Currently, the external diff can only be invoked, if one file is selected. I would like to have this changed. I use WinDiff, which supports comparing multiple file pairs at once (-I argument).
Command line help:
Usage: windiff [options] path1 [path2] Options: -D Compare one directory only. -F[flags] savefile Save composite file to 'savefile'. The 'flags' may consist of one or more of I (identical), L (left), R (right), F (moved leFt), G (moved riGht), S (Similar left), A (similiAr right), X (exit after saving list). (e.g. -FLF saves list of Left or moved-leFt lines). -I file Reads list of files to compare, from the specified input file. Each line can contain one or two filenames, space delimited (with quoting, if filenames contain spaces). Use "-" as the filename to read from stdin. If a line contains only one filename, the file is compared to itself. -N name NET SEND notification to 'name' at end of comparison. -O Outline view (no automatic expansion). -P Perverse comparison: breaks lines on punctuation. -S[flags] savefile Save list of files to 'savefile'. The 'flags' may consist of one or more of S (same), L (left), R (right), D (different), X (exit after saving list). (e.g. -SLD saves list of Left or Different files). -T Compare whole subtree.
So SourceTree would need to generate a temporary text file, with each line containing two versions of a file (space seperated with quotes around name), as an alternative method, it may copy the files to a temporary location and then compare the temporary and the versioned folders.
While the second one is easier to achieve it is dirty, because it potentially creates a lot of files. Most diff utilities allow the user to edit files, so that would also no longer work.
Implementing the list feature would be a great addition, when you want to compare many files in the project at once to get an overview of all changes.
The External Diff Settings window would need an additional "parameters" input field so a user can define parameters for a multi file compare
