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1 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en">
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2 <html>
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3 <head>
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4
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5 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
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7 <meta name="GENERATOR" content="Mozilla/4.78 [de] (X11; U; Linux 2.4.10-4GB i686) [Netscape]">
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8 </head>
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9 <body background="background.png">
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10
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11 <h1> KDiff3 - Text Diff And Merge Tool</h1>
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12 Author: <a href="mailto:joachim.eibl@gmx.de">Joachim Eibl</a>
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13 <br>
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14 Copyright 2002 <br>
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15 Documentation for version 0.81.<br>
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16 <br>
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17 KDiff3 is a program that<br>
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18 <ul>
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19 <li>compares two or three text input files,</li>
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20 <li>shows the differences line by line and character by character (!),</li>
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21 <li>provides an automatic merge-facility and</li>
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22 <li>an editor for comfortable solving of merge-conflicts</li>
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23 <li>and has an intuitive graphical user interface.</li>
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24 </ul>
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25 <p><a href="http://kdiff3.sourceforge.net">KDiff3 Home</a>
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26 </p>
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27
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28 <p><a href="#screenshots">Screenshots</a>
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29 </p>
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30
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31 <p><a href="#documentation">Documentation</a>
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32 </p>
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33
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34 <p><a href="#features">Features</a>
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35 </p>
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36
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37 <p><a href="#faq">Questions and Answers</a>
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38 <br>
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39 <br>
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40 <br>
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41 </p>
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42
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43 <h2> <a name="screenshots"></a>
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44 Screenshots</h2>
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45 This screenshot shows the difference between two text files: <br>
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46 <img src="screenshot_diff.png" height="269" width="578">
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47
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48 <p>This screenshot shows three input files being merged: <br>
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49 <img src="screenshot_merge.png" height="306" width="577">
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50 </p>
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51
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52 <h2> <a name="features"></a>
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53 Features</h2>
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54
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55 <h3> Line-By-Line And Char-By-Char Diff-Viewer</h3>
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56 By using the possiblities of a graphical color display KDiff3 shows exactly
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57 what the difference is: <br>
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58 <img src="letter_by_letter.png" height="63" width="490">
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59 <br>
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60
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61 <h3> See White-Space Differences At One Glance</h3>
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62 Spaces and tabs that differ appear visibly. When lines differ only in the
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63 amount of white space this can be seen at one look in the summary
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64 column on the left side. <br>
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65 <img src="white_space.png" height="60" width="480">
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66 <br>
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67
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68 <h3> Triple-Diff</h3>
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69 Analyze three files and see where they differ. <br>
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70 The left/middle/right windows are named A/B/C and have the blue/green/magenta
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71 color respectively. <br>
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72 If one file is the same and one file is different on a line then the color
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73 shows which file is different. The red color means that both other files are
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74 different. <br>
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75 <img src="triple_diff.png" height="50" width="512">
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76 <br>
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77
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78 <h3> Comfortable Merge Of Two Or Three Input Files</h3>
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79 KDiff3 can be used to merge two or three input files and automatically
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80 merges as much as possible. The result is presented in an editable window
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81 where most conflicts can be solved with a single mouseclick: Select the buttons
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82 A/B/C from the button-bar to select the source that should be used. You can
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83 also select more than one source. Since this output window is an editor even
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84 conflicts which need further corrections can be solved here without requiring
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85 another tool. <br>
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86
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87 <h3> And ...</h3>
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88
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89 <ul>
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90 <li> Fast navigation via buttons.</li>
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91 <li>A mouse-click into a summary column sync's all windows to show
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92 the same position.</li>
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93 <li> Select and copy from any window and paste into the merge result window.</li>
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94 <li> Overview column that shows where the changes and conflicts are.</li>
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95 <li> The colors are adjustable to your specific preferences.</li>
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96 <li> Adjustable Tab size. </li>
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97 <li>Option to insert spaces instead of tabs.</li>
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98 <li> Open files comfortably via dialog or specify files on the command
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99 line.</li>
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100 <li> ...</li>
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101
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102 </ul>
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103
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104 <h3> Diff Algorithm</h3>
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105 Some graphical diff-tools are just front-ends to the good old command-line
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106 Diff. This is reuse at its best but also limits the possiblities of any
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107 front-end because a diff-analysis of each line is not provided by Diff.
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108 <p>I invented my own diff-algorithm, with the advantage that I could also
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109 reuse it for a line comparison. This algorithm was optimized for use with
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110 C/C++-source files. I hope that the results are useful for you. <br>
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111 </p>
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112
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113 <h2> <a name="documentation"></a>
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114 Documentation</h2>
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115
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116 <h3> Command-Line Options</h3>
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117 - Comparing 2 files: <br>
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118 <tt>
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119 kdiff3 <i>file1 file2</i></tt>
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120 <p>- Merging 2 files: <br>
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121 <tt>
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122 kdiff3 <i>file1 file2</i> -m</tt> <br>
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123 <tt>
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124 kdiff3 <i>file1 file2</i> -o <i>outputfile</i></tt> </p>
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125
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126 <p>- Comparing 3 files: <br>
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127 <tt>
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128 kdiff3 <i>file1 file2 file3</i></tt> </p>
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129
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130 <p>- Merging 3 files: <br>
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131 <tt>
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132 kdiff3 <i>file1 file2 file3</i> -m</tt> <br>
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133 <tt>
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134 kdiff3 <i>file1 file2 file3</i> -o <i>outputfile</i></tt><i> </i><br>
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135 Note that file1 will be treated as base of file2
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136 and file3. </p>
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137
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138 <p>For more information use: <br>
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139 <tt>
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140 kdiff3 --help</tt> </p>
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141
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142 <h3> Open-Dialog</h3>
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143 Since many input files must be selectable, the program has a special open
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144 dialog: <br>
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145 <img src="open_dialog.png" height="189" width="448">
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146 <br>
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147 The open dialog allows to edit the filenames by hand, selecting a file via
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148 the file-browser ("Select...") or allows to choose recent files from the drop-down
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149 lists. If you open the dialog again, then the current names still remain
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150 there. The third input file is not required. If the entry for "C" remains
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151 empty, then only a two file diff analysis will be done.
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152 <p>If "Merge" is selected, then the "Output"-line becomes editable. But it
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153 is not required to specify the output filename immediately. You can also postpone
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154 this until saving. </p>
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155
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156 <p>The "Configure"-button opens the options-dialog, so that you can set the
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157 options before running the analysis. <br>
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158 </p>
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159
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160 <h3> Interpreting The Information In The Input Windows</h3>
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161 At the top of each text window is its "info line". The info lines of the
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162 input windows contain a letter "A", "B" or "C", the filename and the line
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163 number of the first visible line in the window. (Note that window "C" is optional.)
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164 Each info line appears in a different color. <br>
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165 The three input windows are assigned the letters "A", "B" and "C". "A" has
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166 color blue, "B" has green and "C" has magenta. (These are the defaults, but
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167 can be changed in the Settings-Menu.) <br>
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168 When a difference is detected then the color shows which input file differs.
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169 When both other input files differ then the color used to express this is
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170 red by default ("Conflict color" in the Settings).
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171 <p>Left of each text is the "summary column". If differences occurred on
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172 a line then the summary column shows the respective color. For a white-space-only
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173 difference the summary is chequered. For programming languages where white
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174 space is not so important this is useful to see at one glance if anything
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175 of importance was modified. (In C/C++ white space is only interesting within
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176 strings, comments, for the preprocessor, and some only very esoteric situations.)
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177 <br>
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178 The vertical line separating the summary column and the text is interrupted
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179 if the input file had no lines there. </p>
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180
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181 <p>On the right side a "overview"-column is visible left of the vertical
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182 scrollbar. It shows the compressed summary column of input "A". All the differences
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183 and conflicts are visible at one glance. When only two input windows are used,
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184 then all differences appear red here because every difference is also a conflict.
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185 A black rectangle frames the visible part of the inputs. For very long input
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186 files, when the number of input lines is bigger than the height of the overview
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187 column in pixels, then several input lines share one overview line. A conflict
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188 then has top priority over simple differences, which have priority over no
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189 change, so that no difference or conflict is lost here. By clicking into
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190 this overview column the corresponding text will be shown.<br>
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191 </p>
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192
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193 <h3> Merging And The Merge Output Editor Window</h3>
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194 This window also has an info line at the top showing "Output:", the filename
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195 and "[Modified]" if you edited something. Usually it will contain some text
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196 through the automatic merge facilities, but often it will also contain conflicts.
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197
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198 <p>!!! Saving is disabled until all conflicts are resolved !!! </p>
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199
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200 <p>With only two input files every difference is also a conflict that must
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201 be solved manually. <br>
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202 With three input files the first file is treated as base, while the second
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203 and third input files contain modifications. When at any line only either
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204 input B or input C have changed but not both then the changed source will
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205 automatically be selected. Only when B and C have changed on the same lines,
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206 then the tool detects a conflict that must be solved manually. </p>
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207
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208 <p>The merge output editor window also has a summary column. It shows the
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209 letter of the input from which a line was selected or nothing if all three
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210 sources where equal on a line. For conflicts it shows a questionmark "?"
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211 and the line shows "<Merge Conflict>", all in red. Because solving
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212 conflicts line by line would take very long, the lines are grouped into
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213 groups that have the same difference and conflict characteristics. When
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214 clicking into the summary column with the left mouse button in either window
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215 then the group belonging to that line will be selected in all windows and
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216 the beginning of that group will be shown. (This might involve an automatic
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217 position jump in the windows if the beginning of a group is not visible.)
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218 <br>
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219 Note the input selector buttons containing the letters "A", "B" and "C"
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220 in the button bar below the menu bar. When clicking on either input selector
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221 button, the lines from that input will be added at the end of the selected
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222 group if that group didn't contain that source before. Otherwise the lines
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223 from that input will be removed. </p>
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224
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225 <p>Besides, you can directly edit any line. The summary column will show
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226 "m" for every line that was modified . </p>
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227
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228 <p>Sometimes, when a line is removed either by automatic merge or be editing
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229 and no other lines remain in that group, then the text <No src line>
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230 will appear in that line. This is just a placeholder for the group for when
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231 you might change your mind and select some source again. This text won't appear
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232 in the saved file or in any selections you want to copy and paste. </p>
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233
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234 <p>The text "<Merge Conflict>" will not appear either if you copy and
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235 paste some text containing that line. Be careful to do so! </p>
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236
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237 <h3> Navigation And Editing</h3>
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238 Much navigation will be done with the scroll bars and the mouse but you
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239 can also navigate with the keys. If you click into either window then you
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240 can use the cursor buttons left, right, up, down, page up, page down, home,
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241 end, ctrl-home, ctrl-end as you would in other programs. The overview-column
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242 next to the vertical scroll bar of the input files can also be used
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243 for navigating by clicking into it.
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244 <p>In the merge output editor you can also use the other keys for editing.
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245 You can toggle between insert and overwrite mode with the insert key. (Default
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246 is insert-mode.) </p>
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247
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248 <p>A left-mouse-button-click into any summary column will synchronise all
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249 windows to show the beginning of the same group of lines (as explained above,
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250 see Merging). </p>
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251
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252 <p>The button bar also contains six navigation buttons with which you can
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253 jump to the first/last group of lines, to the next/previous difference group
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254 or to the next/previous conflict. </p>
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255
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256 <h3> Select, Copy And Paste</h3>
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257 The input windows don't show a cursor, so selections must be made with
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258 the mouse by clicking with the left mouse button at the start, holding down
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259 the mousebutton and moving to the end, where you release the mouse button
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260 again. You can also select a word by double clicking it. In the merge output
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261 editor you can also select via the keyboard by holding the "shift"-button
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262 and navigation with the cursor keys.
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263 <p>To copy to the clipboard you must press the "Copy"-button or Ctrl-C. But
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264 there exists an option "Auto Copy Selection". If this is enabled, then whatever
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265 you select is copied immediately and you don't need to explicitely copy. But
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266 pay attention when using this because the contents of the clipboard might
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267 then be destroyed accidentally. </p>
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268
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269 <p>"Cut" (Ctrl-X) copies to the clipboard and deletes the selected text and
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270 "Paste" (Ctrl-V) inserts the text in the clipboard at the cursorposition
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271 or over the current selection. </p>
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272
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273 <h3> Options</h3>
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274 Options and the recent-file-list will be saved when you exit the program,
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275 and reloaded when you start it.
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276 <h4> Font</h4>
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277 Select a fixed width font. (On some systems this dialog will also present
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278 variable width fonts, but you should not use them.)
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279 <h4> Colors</h4>
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280 Foreground color: Usually black. <br>
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281 Background color: Usually white. <br>
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282 Diff Background color: Usually light gray. <br>
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283 Color A: Usually dark blue. <br>
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284 Color B: Usually dark green. <br>
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285 Color C: Usually dark magenta. <br>
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286 Conflict Color: Usually red.
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287 <h4> Editor Settings</h4>
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288 Tab inserts spaces: If this is disabled and you press the tabulator key,
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289 a tab-character is inserted, otherwise the appropriate amount of characters
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290 is inserted. <br>
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291 Tab size: Can be adjusted for your specific needs. Default is 8. <br>
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292 Auto indentation: When pressing Enter or Return the indentation of the previous
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293 line is used for the new line. <br>
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294 Auto copy selection: Every selection is immediately copied to the clipboard
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295 when active and you needn't explicitely copy it.
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296 <h4> Diff Settings</h4>
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297 Ignore white space: Default is on. White space will be ignored in the first
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298 part of the analysis in which the line matching is done. In the result the
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299 white space differences will be shown nevertheless. <br>
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300 Ignore trivial matches: Default is on. When trivial lines match after an
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301 difference, this will be ignored and the search for a nontrivial matching
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302 line continues. This improves the results for inputs with empty lines and
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303 lines containing only a open or close-brace character, which is often the
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304 case for C/C++-programs. <br>
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305 <br>
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306
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307 <h2> <a name="faq"></a>
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308 Questions And Answers</h2>
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309
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310 <h4> Why is it called KDiff3?</h4>
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311 Tools named KDiff and KDiff2 already exist. Also "KDiff3" should suggest
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312 that it can merge like the "diff3"-tool in the Diff-Tool collection.
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joachim99@2
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313 <h4> Why did I release it under GPL?</h4>
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314 I'm using GPL programs for a very long time now and learned very much by
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315 having a look at many of the sources. Hence this is my "Thank You" to all
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316 programmers that also did so or will do the same.
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joachim99@2
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317 <h4> Often lines that are similar but not identical appear next to each other
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318 but sometimes not. Why?</h4>
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319 Lines where only the amount of white space characters is different are
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320 treated as "equal" at first, while just one different non-white character
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321 causes the lines to be "different". If similar lines appear next to each
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322 other, this actually is coincidence but this fortunately is often the case.
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323
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joachim99@2
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324 <h4> Sometimes lines that are identical don't appear next to each other. Why?</h4>
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325 Lines that contain very few (less than three) non-white characters are
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326 not used for a match after a difference. Also solitary matching lines in
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327 the middle of differences are not used for matching if they are too far apart.
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328 Most of the time this behaviour improves the quality of the diff-analysis.
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329 But if users (that includes you!) tell me that they need a different behaviour,
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330 then I'll make this an option in the next version.
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joachim99@2
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331 <h4> Why won't the merge tool automatically merge if both changes are equal?</h4>
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332 Previously I also thought this would be nice, but when I tried it, I saw
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333 that this is dangerous. Sometimes by coincindence two changes are identical
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334 in certain lines but not otherwise. When this is merged automatically then
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335 these lines that are actually needed twice - once for each change - only
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336 appear once in the merge result. It can even happen that no other conflict
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337 appears in the vicinity and then the problem goes completely unnoticed.
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338 <h4> Why must all conflicts be solved before the merge result can be saved?</h4>
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339 For each equal or different section the editor in the merge result window
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340 remembers where it begins or ends. This is needed so that conflicts can
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341 be solved manually by simply selecting the source button (A, B or C). This
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342 information is lost while saving as text and it is too much effort to create
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343 a special file format that supports saving and restoring all necessary information.
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344
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joachim99@2
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345 <h4> Why does the editor in the merge result window not have an "undo"-function?</h4>
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346 This was too much effort to do in the first version. And you can always
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347 restore a version from one source (A, B or C) by clicking the respective
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348 button. For big editing the use of another editor is recommended anyway.
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349
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joachim99@2
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350 <h4> When I removed some text, then suddenly "<No src line>" appeared
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351 and can't be deleted. What does that mean and how can one remove this?</h4>
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352 For each equal or different section the editor in the merge result window
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353 remembers where it begins or ends. "<No src line>" means that
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354 there is nothing left in a section, not even a new line character. This
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355 can happen either while merging automatically or by editing. This is no problem,
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356 since this hint won't appear in the saved file. If you want the orignal source
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357 back just select the section (click on the left summary column) and then click
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358 the source button with the needed contents (A/B or C).
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joachim99@2
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359 <h4> Why doesn't KDiff3 support syntax-highlighting?</h4>
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360 KDiff3 already uses many colors for difference highlighting. More highlighting
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361 would be confusing. Use another editor for this. <br>
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362
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joachim99@2
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363 <h4>There is so much information here, but your question is still not answered?</h4>
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joachim99@2
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364 Please send me your question. I appreciate every comment.<br>
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365
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366 </body>
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367 </html>
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