I would like to integrate Beyond Compare with ClearCase so that I can use it for diffing and merging files, instead of the awful tools provided by ClearCase.
Does anyone have instructions for performing this integration?
I would like to integrate Beyond Compare with ClearCase so that I can use it for diffing and merging files, instead of the awful tools provided by ClearCase.
Does anyone have instructions for performing this integration?
As mentioned in my previous answer, just modify the map file located in:
# up to ClearCase 7.0
c:\program files\rational\ClearCase\lib\mgrs
or
# ClearCase 7.1 and more
c:\program files\IBM\RationalSDLC\ClearCase\lib\mgrs
Each map line has 3 parts: the CC filetype, the CC action, and the application.
In your case, find the section in the map file for
text_file_delta
file types.
There you will find lines for CC actionscompare
,xcompare
,merge
, andxmerge
.
Use BeyondCompare:
text_file_delta xcompare C:\Progra~1\Beyond~1\bc2.exe
Beyond Compare 3 support all CC actions:
text_file_delta compare C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 3\BComp.exe
text_file_delta xcompare C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 3\BComp.exe
text_file_delta merge C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 3\BComp.exe
text_file_delta xmerge C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 3\BComp.exe
Note: For Beyond Compare 2, this page clearly mentions
To use Beyond Compare 2, only change the
xcompare
line of the map file.
Overridingcompare
,merge
, andxmerge
is not supported.
A helper that improves BC2's support is available here.
Note that what precedes is for ClearCase only, not CCRC (ClearCase Remote Client)
This technote illustrates how to change the XML diff/Merge tool for CCRC (KDiff3 but you can adapt it to BeyondCompare):
Change directories to the
CCRC installation location > plugins > com.ibm.rational.clearcase.compare_merge.<os>_<ccrc ver>
,
Where<os>
is the name of the operating system bits used and<ccrc ver>
is the latest version of the CCRC update applied on the client.On Windows
- CCRC 7.1 Default:
C:\Program Files\IBM\IMShared\plugins
- CCRC 7.0 Default:
C:\Program Files\IBM\Rational\ClearCase\CCRC\plugins\
Example:
com.ibm.rational.clearcase.compare_merge.win32x86_7.0.1.CU02
- Copy the KDiff3 executable from its installation path to the
com.ibm.rational.clearcase.compare_merge.<os>_<ccrc ver>
directory- Rename the
ccrc_xmldiffmrg.exe
toccrc_xmldiffmrg_orig.exe
- Rename
KDiff3.exe
toccrc_xmldiffmrg.exe
- Close and reopen CCRC
When updating CCRC, the plug-in directory
com.ibm.rational.clearcase.compare_merge.<os>_<ccrc ver>
will change.
The steps above will need to be run again in the new plug-in directory.Note: You can control when the updates occur by preventing CCRC from looking for updates automatically.
ClickWindow > Preferences > Install/Update > Automatic Updates
and disable automatic updates.
An alternative to Beyond Compare is KDiff3, which integrates very nicely with clearcase. Just tick off for clearcase integration when installing, and you're done.
Just to piggy back on Von's answer if you're lazy like me.
if you can search and replace with regex (like notepad++)
Find What:((text_file_delta|_html|_xml|html2|xml2)[ \t]+(compare|xcompare|merge|xmerge)[ \t]+).*
Replace with: \1C:\\Program Files\\Beyond Compare 3\\BCompare.exe
does all of the lines VonC mentioned for regular clearcase.
(assuming you have beyond compare installed at the above location, otherwise point to your path).
I also found it interesting, I put "'s around the path (due to the spaces) and it didn't work, removing them solved that problem.
There's also the 'official' way on the BC support page:
Ofiicial Tip by Scooter
1. Locate the plugins folder, which will contain a specific version named subfolder. Examples: C:\Program Files\IBM\Rational\ClearCase701\CCRC\plugins\com.ibm.rational.clearcase.compare_merge.win32.x86_7.0.1.D061004 C:\Program Files\IBM\IMShared\plugins\com.ibm.rational.clearcase.compare_merge.win32.x86_7.1.1.v201007070751 Note that the version number in path is subject to change. 2. Copy "C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 3\bcomp.exe" into the folder. 3. Move ccrc_cleardiff.exe, ccrc_cleardiffmrg.exe, ccrc_worddiffmrg.exe and ccrc_xmldiffmrg.exe to a backup folder. 4. Make 4 copies of bcomp.exe and rename them to ccrc_cleardiff.exe, ccrc_cleardiffmrg.exe, ccrc_worddiffmrg.exe and ccrc_xmldiffmrg.exe. 5. Change "CCRC Integrated (UTF-8)" to "ClearCase External" under Preferences | CCRC | Integration | Compare_Merge.
BUT there's something else you should do. When setting the merge tool, you should override the comparison to the original 'CCRC Integrated', like so:
BC does not yet handle Clear Case Directory Comparison.