Problem:

Merge not actually merging

Resolution:

• Product Name: StarTeam
• Product Version: 2005/2005 R2
• Product Component: View Compare/Merge
• Platform/OS Version: All

Description:
Merge does not appear to actually merge anything

Answer/Solution:
One common complaint we have received when users use View Compare/Merge to merge files is that you have to manually click "Merge contents" during some merge operations and then save the results. View Compare/Merge will not differentiate between a successful merge that includes the contents, and a merge where just the revision number is incremented. When you perform the following process where a file that exists in the parent view and child view is merged back to the parent but the "merge contents" option is not selected, the result is a new revision in the parent that contains the same contents as the original parent revision - no difference.

1. Add a file to a parent view, for my example I used "foo.txt".
2. Derive a new branching child view from the parent view.
3. Edit foo.txt in the child view creating revision 1.0.1.0 (branch revision 1.0).
4. From the child view click "View" ->"Compare/Merge"
5. Select the parent view as the target.
6. View Compare Merge opens.
7. Click the "Files" tab.
8. Locate the file to merge ->Right-click ->"To Target"
9. This will open the "File merge" window
10. If the user clicks "OK" instead of "Merge Contents" the target file"s contents will remain unchanged.
11. The effect is a new revision that has the same contents as the original

This does not happen with the 2006 VCM tool.

Author: Levi Bowman