@synindex pg cp
@synindex ky cp
-@dircategory Emacs
-@direntry
-* Ediff: (ediff). A visual interface for comparing and merging programs.
-@end direntry
-
@iftex
@finalout
@end iftex
@c @smallbook
@comment %**end of header (This is for running Texinfo on a region.)
-@ifinfo
+@copying
This file documents Ediff, a comprehensive visual interface to Unix diff
and patch utilities.
-Copyright 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002,
+ 2003, 2004, 2005 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+@quotation
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
-@end ifinfo
+@end quotation
+@end copying
+
+@dircategory Emacs
+@direntry
+* Ediff: (ediff). A visual interface for comparing and merging programs.
+@end direntry
-@iftex
@titlepage
@title Ediff User's Manual
@sp 4
@page
@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
-@noindent
-Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
-
-Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
-under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
-any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
-Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
-Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
-license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
-License'' in the Emacs manual.
-
-(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
-this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
-Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
-
-This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
-Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
-separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
-license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
+@insertcopying
@end titlepage
-@page
-@end iftex
+
@node Top, Introduction, (dir), (dir)
@findex ediff
Compare two files.
+@item ediff-backup
+@findex ediff-backup
+Compare a file with its backup. If there are several numerical backups, use
+the latest. If the file is itself a backup, then compare it with its
+original.
+
@item ediff-buffers
@findex ediff-buffers
Compare two buffers.
@kindex h
Cycles between full highlighting, the mode where fine differences are not
highlighted (but computed), and the mode where highlighting is done with
-ASCII strings. The latter is not really recommended, unless on a dumb TTY.
+@acronym{ASCII} strings. The latter is not really recommended, unless on a dumb TTY.
@item r
@kindex r
@vindex ediff-autostore-merges
For group sessions created to merge files, Ediff can store all merges
automatically in a directory. The user is asked to specify such directory
-if the value of @code{ediff-autostore-merges} is non-nil. If the value is
+if the value of @code{ediff-autostore-merges} is non-@code{nil}. If the value is
@code{nil}, nothing is done to the merge buffers---it will be the user's
responsibility to save them. If the value is @code{t}, the user will be
asked where to save the merge buffers in all merge jobs, even those that do
many ways to create diff output, and it is easier to handle by running
Ediff on the inactive sessions.
-Last, but not least, by typing @kbd{=}, you can quickly find out which
-sessions have identical files, so you won't have to run Ediff on those
+Last, but not least, by typing @kbd{==}, you can quickly find out which
+sessions have identical entries, so you won't have to run Ediff on those
sessions. This, however, works only on local, uncompressed files.
For compressed or remote files, this command won't report anything.
+Likewise, you can use @kbd{=h} to mark sessions with identical entries
+for hiding or, with @kbd{=m}, for further operations.
+
+The comparison operations @kbd{==}, @kbd{=h}, and @kbd{=m} can recurse into
+subdirectories to see if they have identical contents (so the user will not
+need to descend into those subdirectories manually). These commands ask the
+user whether or not to do a recursive descent.
+
@node Remote and Compressed Files, Customization, Session Groups, Top
via the command @kbd{##}.
@end table
-@strong{Note:} In order for this feature to work, auto-refining of
+@strong{Please note:} in order for this feature to work, auto-refining of
difference regions must be on, since otherwise Ediff won't know if there
are fine differences between regions. On devices where Emacs can display
faces, auto-refining is a default, but it is not turned on by default on
ediff-current-diff-face-B)))
@end smallexample
-@strong{Note:} To set Ediff's faces, use only @code{copy-face} or
-@code{set/make-face-@dots{}} as shown above. Emacs' low-level
+@strong{Please note:} to set Ediff's faces, use only @code{copy-face}
+or @code{set/make-face-@dots{}} as shown above. Emacs' low-level
face-manipulation functions should be avoided.
@node Narrowing, Refinement of Difference Regions, Highlighting Difference Regions, Customization
@item ediff-make-buffers-readonly-at-startup nil
@vindex ediff-make-buffers-readonly-at-startup
-If t, all variant buffers are made read-only at Ediff startup.
+If @code{t}, all variant buffers are made read-only at Ediff startup.
@item ediff-keep-variants
@vindex @code{ediff-keep-variants}
@item ediff-buffer-C
In three-way comparisons, this is the third buffer being compared.
In merging, this is the merge buffer.
-In two-way comparison, this variable is nil.
+In two-way comparison, this variable is @code{nil}.
@item ediff-window-A
The window displaying buffer A. If buffer A is not visible, this variable
-is nil or it may be a dead window.
+is @code{nil} or it may be a dead window.
@item ediff-window-B
The window displaying buffer B.
The window displaying buffer C, if any.
@item ediff-control-frame
-A dedicated frame displaying the control buffer, if it exists.
-It is non-nil only if Ediff uses the multiframe display, i.e., when the
-control buffer is in its own frame.
+A dedicated frame displaying the control buffer, if it exists. It is
+non-@code{nil} only if Ediff uses the multiframe display, i.e., when
+the control buffer is in its own frame.
@end table
@node Credits, Index, Customization, Top
Xavier Fornari (xavier@@europe.cma.fr),
Eric Freudenthal (freudent@@jan.ultra.nyu.edu),
Job Ganzevoort (Job.Ganzevoort@@cwi.nl),
+Felix Heinrich Gatzemeier (felix.g@@tzemeier.info),
Boris Goldowsky (boris@@cs.rochester.edu),
Allan Gottlieb (gottlieb@@allan.ultra.nyu.edu),
Aaron Gross (aaron@@bfr.co.il),
Thorbjoern Hansen (thorbjoern.hansen@@mchp.siemens.de),
+Marcus Harnisch (marcus_harnisch@@mint-tech.com),
+Steven E. Harris (seh@@panix.com),
Xiaoli Huang (hxl@@epic.com),
Andreas Jaeger (aj@@suse.de),
Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen (larsi@@ifi.uio.no),
Erik Naggum (erik@@naggum.no),
Eyvind Ness (Eyvind.Ness@@hrp.no),
Ray Nickson (nickson@@cs.uq.oz.au),
+Dan Nicolaescu (dann@@ics.uci.edu),
David Petchey (petchey_david@@jpmorgan.com),
Benjamin Pierce (benjamin.pierce@@cl.cam.ac.uk),
Francois Pinard (pinard@@iro.umontreal.ca),
David Prince (dave0d@@fegs.co.uk),
Paul Raines (raines@@slac.stanford.edu),
Stefan Reicher (xsteve@@riic.at),
+Charles Rich (rich@@merl.com),
Bill Richter (richter@@math.nwu.edu),
C.S.@: Roberson (roberson@@aur.alcatel.com),
Kevin Rodgers (kevin.rodgers@@ihs.com),
@setchapternewpage odd
@contents
@bye
+
+@ignore
+ arch-tag: 165ecb88-d03c-44b1-a921-b93f50b05b46
+@end ignore