Need a command line for MKS

[lordvdr]

Hello all

We use MKS Source Integrity for our software control and I'm looking for a command line that will open up 2 revisions of a program I've highlighted in MKS into a text merge session (into the left and center windows), leaving the right window empty for me to add a 3rd revision to merge the differences between the left and center windows.

The FAQ page shows only the following command line for MKS:

"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 3\BComp.exe" /title1="{1}" /title2="{2}" "{3}" "{4}"

I'm sure I could figure it out with enough trial & error, but if someone else has done this or something similar and is willing to share...!!

[Zoë]

That command line is just for 2-way comparisons; it hasn't been updated for 3-way merges and I couldn't find enough documentation on their website to update it. BC's command line is <left> <right> <center>, so if you want to leave the right blank you should pass "" for the second parameter. If anyone has updated command lines I'd love to update the knowledge base article. If you can't figure it out, post (or email support) the bit of the MKS help that discusses integrating third-party utilities and we should be able to figure it out.

[lordvdr]

Hey Craig

Well the MKS documentation on 3rd party utilities is pretty useless, but I'm getting warmer with my trial & error.

This is my command line so far:

"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 3\BComp.exe" "{3}" "" "{4}" /fileviewer=<Text Merge> /lefttitle="{1}" /centertitle="{2}" /righttitle=""

So far, everything appears to be in the right place

[Zoë]

You can leave the /fileviewer bit off; BC should open the correct viewer automatically. If you ever do need to use it you should use quotes instead of < and >. The /righttitle switch is also unnecessary since it's an empty string.

[lordvdr]

Thanks Craig

PS - Cut & Paste can be a dangerous thing!!

[AlexMannW]

Since MKS's help on third party diff/merge tools is really poor I'd like to publish what I once found out and what works for me:

=> Custom diff command (since Beyond Compare 3.x):
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 3\BComp.exe" /title1="{1}" /title2="{2}" "{3}" "{4}"

=> Custom merge command (since Beyond Compare 3.x Pro):
"C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 3\BComp.exe" /lefttitle="{1}" /righttitle="{2}" /centertitle="{0}" /outputtitle="{7}" "{5}" "{6}" "{4}" "{7}"

These are MKS's placeholders and their meanings:
{0} Base revision number
{1} Branch revision number
{2} Target revision number
{3} Complete path/file name of working file in sandbox
{4} Complete path/file name of temporary file of merge BASE
{5} Complete path/file name of temporary file of branch revision (merge source, the one you drag onto target)
{6} Complete path/file name of temporary file of target revision (merge target, the one which has been locked by merge command)
{7} Complete path/file name of working file in sandbox
{8} Complete path/file name of working file in sandbox

[Zoë]

Hi Alex,

Thanks for posting the details. I'll update our VCS page, with a few changes:

1) If you use "Bcomp.exe" instead of "BCompare.exe" you don't need the /solo switch and it will open multiple comparisons in a single window as tabs.
2) If you leave a title blank it will use the filename, so you can leave the /outputtitle="{7}" switch off.

I'm cursious as to why {3}, {7}, and {8} are all the same, but I'll assume you've got it right until someone tells me otherwise.