Native Merge and Compare Controls Reference
View controls
Control | What it does |
|---|---|
Split | Shows aligned panes side by side. |
Unified | Shows changes inline in one combined view. Added and removed lines are marked in the gutter. |
Display | Opens the display options. A count beside the label indicates active options. |
Wrap lines | Wraps long lines inside the pane. When off, scroll horizontally within that pane to see the rest of a long line. |
Ignore whitespace | Hides differences caused only by whitespace. Turn it off to inspect spacing changes. |
Show line endings | Reveals whitespace and line-ending characters to help diagnose formatting differences. |
Collapse / restore pane | Shrinks a pane to a labelled rail or restores it. One pane must remain open. |
Maximise / restore | Expands or restores the viewer window. Available in the title bar. |
More | Contains toolbar actions moved out of the main row when the window is narrow. |
Vertical scrolling is synchronized across the panes so corresponding rows stay aligned. With line wrapping off, horizontal scrolling applies to one pane at a time.
Merge-only controls
The merge editor lays out three panes as Inbound | Result | Current, with the editable Result in the middle between the two source panes. Each source pane shows that version's true text; shared lines align across the panes and differences are banded (amber for a difference between the versions, red where both sides changed the same region).
Control | What it does |
|---|---|
Previous difference / Next difference | Moves to the previous or next changed region. |
Use this version (Inbound or Current header) | Replaces the entire Result with that source pane's whole value. |
Take line(s) into result (right-click menu) | Copies the selected source lines into the Result. |
Take whole block (right-click menu) | Accepts the block of changes touching the clicked line — that difference region only, placed at the aligned Result position (not the whole version). |
Append whole version (right-click menu) | Adds the whole source pane value to the end of the Result. |
Undo / Redo | Reverses or restores the latest Result edit. Keyboard: Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y, or Ctrl+Shift+Z for redo. |
Clear changes | Resets the Result to the initial automatic merge. The reset can be undone. |
Save | Persists the current Result and keeps the editor open. A Saved message confirms the save. |
Cancel | Closes the editor and discards edits since the last save. |
Save is disabled while conflicts remain unresolved and the result has not been edited. Its tooltip describes what is needed to enable it.
Compare-only controls
Control | What it does |
|---|---|
Left / Right version selectors | Select different versions to compare when the selectors are available in the current history view. |
Difference count | Shows the number of changed regions. Compare is read-only and does not have Previous / Next navigation. |