Comparing Version Controlled Items

You can compare two Version Controlled Items to identify those parts of the items that are different. You can output the results on the screen, or save them to a CSV file or a text file.

The most likely way you will use this feature is to compare two versions of the same version controlled item.

You can also list your uncommitted changes when you compare your local copy of the version controlled item with the latest version in the database, or compare two separate version controlled items.

View your uncommitted changes

1. On the Explorer window, right-click on the version controlled item and choose Compare from the popup menu.

   OR

   If the currently active window is a Network or GeoExplorer, select Version controlCompare from the Network menu. If the currently active window is a Digitisation Template, select Compare from the Digitisation Template menu.GeoExplorer

2. This displays the Comparison dialog. Check the My not yet committed changes box.
3. Set ignore conditions in the Options section (optional).
4. Select one or more scenarios (optional).
Tip: This step is only valid for networks that have scenarios and should only be followed if you want to compare scenarios between the current version of the related network and the last committed version.
5. Choose the destination for the report. The options are:
   • Screen - the report is displayed in a General Text File View. You can then print the report, copy data to the clipboard, or save the report to a file
   • Text file - the report is saved to a text file.
   • CSV file - the report is saved to a CSV file.
   • None - no report is saved. If you select the Select changed objects option (only available if the version controlled item you choose in step 1 is open on the GeoPlan Window), the changed objects will be highlighted on the GeoPlan.
6. Click Show differences.

Alternative method to view your uncommitted changes (this method will not work with a newly created network):

1. Right-click on the network in the Explorer window and choose Show commit history from the popup menu.

   OR

   If the currently active window is a Network or GeoExplorer, select Version controlShow commit history from the Network menu. If the currently active window is a Digitisation Template, select Show commit history from the Digitisation Template menu.

2. This displays the Commit History dialog. Select the latest version and click Diff. This displays the Comparison dialog. The My not yet committed changes box is automatically checked.
3. Follow steps 3 to 6 of the first method above.

Compare two versions of the same item

1. Right-click on the network in the Explorer window and choose Show commit history from the popup menu.

   OR

   If the currently active window is a Network or GeoExplorer, select Version controlShow commit history from the Network menu.

   If the currently active window is a Digitisation Template, select Show commit history from the Digitisation Template menu.

2. This displays the Commit History dialog. Select two versions of the network and click the Diff button. This displays the Comparison dialog. The Differences from another network option is automatically checked.
3. Follow steps 3 to 6 of the first method above.

Compare two separate version controlled items

1. On the Explorer window, right-click on the version controlled item and choose Compare from the popup menu. This displays the Comparison dialog.
2. Check the Differences from another network option.
3. Select the version controlled item you want to compare with. Either drag it from the tree into the box, or use the browse function to select the comparison item. (Use the button to select an earlier version of the item from the Commit History dialog.)
4. Follow steps 3 to 6 of the first method above.

Alternative method to compare two separate version controlled items:

1. Select the two items to be compared in theExplorer window.
2. Select Compare from the pop up menu.
3. The Comparison dialog is displayed and populated with the two selected items.
4. Follow steps 3 to 6 of the first method above.

Output to screen or a text file

InfoAsset Manager compares the first item you selected (usually the item you clicked on) with the second item. Because of the wording used in the screen or text file output, you will probably want the more recent item to be the first item. If you have selected two items from the history list, InfoAsset Manager automatically treats the more recent item as the first item.

Differences between the two version controlled items are listed in the General Text File View or to a text or CSV file depending on your chosen option. For each table in the version controlled item, the report lists:

• All objects that have a field or fields that have changed. Details are given of every difference.
• All objects that exist in one version but not in both.

Output to CSV file

In CSV mode, a CSV file is created containing all the data from the first item that is different from that in the second item.

To export the changes that have occurred to a version controlled item, your first selection should be the more recent item. The older item will be your second choice.

InfoAsset Manager creates a CSV file containing all the data from the first item that is different from that in the second item. The CSV file contains an additional Action column which is used to denote objects that have been deleted between versions.

The format of the CSV file is identical to that created if you export a version controlled item to a single CSV file, with the additional Action column. The Action column allows additional options when re-importing CSV data, and provides additional information when viewing the comparison results outside InfoAsset Manager. Two characters may be added to the Action column during comparison:

• The - (minus) character is added for network objects that have been deleted between versions. This character is used when updating a network in Mixed mode to delete the appropriate network object.
• The + (plus) character is used to denote network objects that have been added between versions. This character is ignored when updating. The standard update method will cope with adding network objects.

See Importing from CSV Files for further details.