Comparing and merging configurations

How do I begin comparing and merging configurations?
How do I set up objects of configurations being compared?
How do I set up the merging mode and the order of subordinate objects?
How do I set up colors of objects?
How do I set up the object tree view?
General operations

This dialog box is intended for managing the comparison and merging of configurations, external reports, or external data processors.

To open comparison window...

To compare and merge configurations, on the Configuration menu, click Compare and merge with configuration from file.
To compare and merge external reports or data processors, in the report or data processor editor dialog box, click Actions and then click Compare and merge with external report or data processor.
To compare and merge a report or data processor with an external report or data processor, right-click it and then click Compare and merge with external report or data processor.

To compare configuration files, on the Configuration menu, click Compare Configurations.

Main configuration (First configuration)

This column contains the main configuration (or report, or data processor) objects. For each changed or added object (i.e. object not available in the main configuration), it also contains a check box that defines whether this object participates in the merging.
During the merging added objects are copied from the loaded configuration to the main configuration, while for changed objects the operation is defined by the specified rules. The check box also affects the ordering rules for objects whose order was changed. You can change the order later.
Each object in the tree has a context menu that includes commands available in the standard configuration tree context menu and merging-specific commands. For each tree item (a metadata object or a branch of subordinate objects) that does not belong to branches of added or deleted objects, the Merge rule for subordinate objects and Order for subordinate objects commands are available. Metadata objects that are present in both configurations and are mapped to each other also have the Clear object mapping command. Metadata objects that are not mapped but can be mapped (i.e. there are nonmapped objects of the same type in the other configuration), have the Set object mapping command.

Merge rule for subordinate objects

Sets the merge rule for the tree of objects subordinate to this one. You can select from the following rules: Get from loaded configuration, Merge prioritizing main configuration, or Merge prioritizing loaded configuration.

Configuration merge rule	Rule description
Get from loaded configuration	The object is replaced by a mapped object from the loaded configuration.
Merge prioritizing main configuration	If the object supports merging, it is merged. If the object supports merging with prioritizing, it is merged prioritizing the main configuration.
Merge prioritizing loaded configuration	If the object supports merging, it is merged. If the object supports merging with prioritizing, it is merged prioritizing the loaded configuration.

Order for subordinate objects

Set the order for all the objects subordinate to the selected object. The following options are available:

Ordering rule	Rule description
Order from main configuration	Mapped objects are ordered according to their order in the main configuration.
Order from loaded configuration	Mapped objects are ordered according to their order in the loaded configuration.

For a form, you can set different merge rules for the form itself and for its module.

Clear object mapping

Clears the mapping for mapped objects. After that they are treated as different objects.

Set object mapping

Allows you to select a matching object in the other configuration for a nonmapped object.

File (Second configuration)

This column contains the loaded configuration (or report, or data processor) objects. Each object has a context menu, similar to that of main configuration objects.

Merge rule and order of subordinate objects

This column displays statuses of objects with changed order and allows you to set merge rules for objects and for specific properties. You can set the order for objects whose order is different from the order of mapped objects (see Order for subordinate objects). Note that the object order that you specify affects all objects of that type that have the same owner. You can specify merge rules for objects and for specific properties. Setting merge rules for objects is similar to using the Merge rule for subordinate objects context menu command. For a specific property, the rule is determined by the property type. If a property by its nature cannot be merged (for example, it stores a number), the only available option is replacement (Get from loaded configuration). If the property supports simple merging (for example, a list of references to metadata objects), the Merge rule is available. If a property supports merging with prioritizing (for example, multilingual text strings), all options under the Order for subordinate objects command are available.
If multiple languages are used in the configuration and you enable selective language comparison in the settings, the objects are compared and merged with regard to the specified languages.

Object colors.

Defines the object  status colors. The following options are available:

Status	Description
Identical	The object is fully identical to the mapped object in the other configuration.
Different	The object is not identical to the mapped object in the other configuration. The difference is in the object properties or in its subordinate objects.
Undefined	The object is mapped but its status (Identical or Different) is currently unknown. To define the status, compare objects again by clicking the Refresh button.
Added	The object is only available in the main configuration.
Deleted	The object is only available in the loaded configuration.
Order changed	The order of mapped objects is changed.

Filter

Defines which objects are displayed in the tree.

Filter	Description
No filter	Show all objects in the configurations.
Show configuration differences	Hide unchanged objects.
Show changed	Show only replaced objects.
Show objects available only in the main configuration	Show only main configuration objects that are not mapped to loaded configuration objects
Show objects available only in the loaded configuration	Show only loaded configuration objects that are not mapped to main configuration objects
Show objects available only in the configuration extension*	Show only configuration extension objects that are not mapped to main configuration objects
Show objects available only in the file*	Show only objects from an extension loaded from a file that are not mapped to the extension objects
Show unchanged	Show only unchanged objects.

* - used when comparing and merging configuration extensions.

Actions

This menu contains miscellaneous actions related to merging.

Find unresolved references to objects to be deleted

Find unresolved references to objects to be deleted and display the result in the message window.

Load settings from file

Replace the current merge settings with the settings loaded from the specified file. This changes the path in the settings file to the selected one.

Add settings from file

Add the settings loaded from the file to the current merge settings. This does not change the path to the settings file.

Save settings to file

Save the settings to the current settings file. If the current file is not selected, this opens the file selection dialog box.

Save settings to file as

Save the settings to a new file.

Set default settings

Restore the settings that were used when the compare and merge configurations dialog box was opened.

Merge modules 

Merge selected unmerged modules that have one of the Merge... modes specified.

Set rule for all

Same as setting the merge rule using the configuration root context menu.

Select by main configuration subsystems / Select by file subsystems

Select or clear the merge check box for all the objects in the selected subsystems.

Configuration comparison report

Generate the report that shows the result of comparing two configurations, reports, or data processors.

Refresh

Compare the configurations to update the status of mapped objects.

Parameters 

Open the compare/merge settings dialog box.

You can use the context menu of a single object in the comparison window to clear the object mapping, open the object, or obtain a comparison report. The set of available context menu commands depends on the object type. For example, you can view template differences for templates, module differences for modules, and so on.

If you select the Save settings automatically check box, the settings are saved before performing any operation.

To perform the merging according to the specified rules, click Execute.

See also: 

                   Configuration comparison setup

                   View filter options

                   Mapping objects and clearing the mapping

                   Module merge options

                   Comparison report