Merge for Windows integrates with most version control (VC), software configuration management (SCM) and other applications that allow a third-party file comparison (diff) or file merging tool to be specified. This page contains instructions for integrating Merge with the following applications:
Integration with many SCM systems requires the Professional Edition of Merge to enable the comparison of two modified versions of a file with their common ancestor.
Other applications
If your chosen application isn’t listed above, you may be able to integrate Merge with it yourself using the Merge .NET assembly, Automation API, or command-line utility. The .NET assembly or Automation API can, in general, enable tighter integration with other applications than the command-line utility.
If you have instructions for integrating Merge with other systems, or corrections to the information presented below, please contact us to let us know so that we can update this list.
AccuRev
The AccuRev Windows client can be configured to use Araxis Merge for file comparison and merge operations:
-
Choose Preferences… from the Tools menu.
-
Select the Diff/Merge tab.
-
In the Diff entry field, enter the following:
"C:Program FilesAraxisAraxis MergeCompare.exe" /wait /2 /title1:"%3%" /title2:"%4%" %1% %2%
Note: in the above path, replace C:Program FilesAraxisAraxis Merge with the full path of the Araxis Merge installation directory on your machine.
-
In the Merge entry field, enter the following:
"C:Program FilesAraxisAraxis Mergecompare" /wait /a3 /3 /title1:"Overlapping version" /title2:"Workspace version" /title3:"Common ancestor" %1% %2% %a% %o%
Note: in the above path, replace C:Program FilesAraxisAraxis Merge with the full path of the Araxis Merge installation directory on your machine.
- Dismiss the Preferences dialog by clicking OK.
Alienbrain
Certain Avid Alienbrain clients include Merge (see the Alienbrain website for full details). Merge is fully integrated with the Avid Alienbrain clients that include it.
AllChange
Intasoft has selected Merge as the preferred comparison and merging tool for its AllChange configuration management product. By creating a Virtual File System (VFS) plugin, Intasoft is the first company to take advantage of the tight integration with SCM systems made possible by Merge. This means that Merge is able to browse AllChange repositories directly, providing a way accurately to control and compare baselines within the AllChange environment. The plugin offers hierarchical comparison of baselines, important for product release management and variant management. Further information is available on the AllChange File System Plugin page, and from the AllChange/Merge integration page on the Intasoft website.
ClearCase
Several customers have kindly contributed the alternatives below for integrating Merge and ClearCase. Please note that Araxis has not tested these possibilities, and they are provided ‘as is’ in the hope that they may be useful.
CS-RCS
We have been provided with the following instructions for integrating Merge with CS-RCS by a customer:
- Run CS-RCS’s Document Explorer.
- Choose Project▸Settings▸File Types
- Either choose a specific file type (e.g. TXT) and click Edit, or click Default to edit the default behaviour.
- In the Difference Analysis Tool section, choose Custom Tool and fill in the path to
compare.exe (located in the Merge installation directory). Ensure that Use long names is checked.
- In the Merge Analysis Tool section, choose Custom Tool Base1 and fill in the path to
compare.exe (located in the Merge installation directory). Ensure that Use long names is checked.
Dreamweaver
Adobe (Macromedia) Dreamweaver 8 integrates with Araxis Merge and can launch a two-way file comparison. Consequently, the Standard Edition of Merge is sufficient if you will be using it only with Dreamweaver.
Eclipse
For Eclipse, see the entry for Subclipse.
FinalBuilder
Araxis Merge can easily be integrated into your FinalBuilder build process. FinalBuilder includes two actions, ‘Araxis Compare Files’ and ‘Araxis Compare Folders’. These enable you to perform file and folder comparisons using Araxis Merge. The actions are configured in the FinalBuilder GUI, and don’t require knowledge of the command-line arguments for Merge. The actions can also be used to alter the flow of the build process, depending on the result of the comparison.
FreeVCS
It has been reported that Merge integrates smoothly into FreeVCS using compare.exe. FreeVCS is widely used in the Delphi community.
Git for Windows (msysGit)
Merge integrates tightly with Git for Windows. Araxis provides a Git File System Plugin to enable Merge to access files in Git repositories directly. For file comparisons (but not folder comparisons), Merge is also able to populate the Versions button drop-down versions menu with other revisions of each file being compared. For more information, see Comparing Text Files (or Typed/Pasted Text).
Git for Windows can also be configured to use Merge for file comparison and merge operations.
The following configuration step has been tested using Git for Windows v1.9.2.
Git (Windows Subsystem for Linux)
As of version 2017.4929, Merge can be integrated with Git running under the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), provided that all the repositories and files to be accessed by Merge are stored on the Windows file system (e.g. under /mnt/c, from the perspective of WSL). Please read the following warning carefully to understand the reason for this limitation.
CRITICALLY IMPORTANT: Under no circumstance should you create and/or modify Linux files using Windows applications such as Araxis Merge. Due to the design of WSL, breaking this rule will likely result in loss of data and/or damage to your Linux environment. The integration of Merge with Git and Mercurial running under WSL therefore requires that you store repositories and files to be used from both Windows and WSL on the Windows file system (e.g. under /mnt/c, from the perspective of WSL). For more information, please see Do not change Linux files using Windows apps and tools.
The integration instructions in this section endeavour to adhere to the above restriction, but there may nevertheless be certain cases not taken into account. When saving or copying any file or folder using Merge, you are therefore advised to verify that the file or folder is not being written to the WSL file area under %localappdata%lxss.
Git (Cygwin)
Git on Cygwin can be configured to use Merge for file comparison and merge operations.
The following configuration step has been tested using the Cygwin distribution of Git v1.7.1.
Git Extensions
Git Extensions, a graphical user interface for Git, is easily configured to use Merge for file comparison and merging operations.
The following steps have been tested with Git Extensions v2.47.3.
IBM Rational Synergy
IBM Rational Synergy can be configured to work with Merge.
Ensure that compare.exe is accessible to Synergy by adding C:Program FilesAraxisAraxis Merge (or the correct path to your Merge installation directory) to your PATH environment variable.
Edit C:Program FilesIBMRationalSynergy7.1etcccm.properties file as follows:
replace
windows.tool.compare.ascii = %ccm_compare
with
windows.tool.compare.ascii = compare.exe /max /2 %file1 %file2
and replace
windows.tool.merge.ascii = %ccm_merge
with
windows.tool.merge.ascii = compare.exe /max /wait /3 /a2 %file1 %ancestor %file2 %outfile
Thank you to Herve Burtin for providing the original instructions.
For further information on integrating third-party software tools with Synergy, see the Synergy documentation on the IBM website.
IntelliJ IDEA/PhpStorm
IntelliJ IDEA and PhpStorm can be configured to use Merge for file and folder comparisons, and also for file merging. The following steps have been tested with IntelliJ IDEA 12.1.1.
Jalindi Igloo and CVS
Jalindi Igloo is a program that allows you to connect Microsoft Visual Studio and other IDEs directly to a CVS repository. The program is completely free and can be used anyway you like. When used with CVS for source control it enables seamless integration of Merge with the products on the Jalindi Igloo compatibilty page.
Mercurial
Merge integrates tightly with Mercurial. Araxis provides a Mercurial File System Plugin to enable Merge to access files in Mercurial depots directly. Merge is also able to populate the Versions button drop-down versions menu with other revisions of each file being compared. For more information, see Comparing Text Files (or Typed/Pasted Text).
Mercurial can also be configured to use Merge for file/folder comparison and file merge operations. The comparison integration uses the Extdiff extension, which is supplied with Mercurial.
The following integration instructions have been tested with Mercurial v4.2.1.
Mercurial (Windows Subsystem for Linux)
As of version 2017.4929, Merge can be integrated with Mercurial running under the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), provided that all the repositories and files to be accessed by Merge are stored on the Windows file system (e.g. under /mnt/c, from the perspective of WSL). Please read the following warning carefully to understand the reason for this limitation.
CRITICALLY IMPORTANT: Under no circumstance should you create and/or modify Linux files using Windows applications such as Araxis Merge. Due to the design of WSL, breaking this rule will likely result in loss of data and/or damage to your Linux environment. The integration of Merge with Git and Mercurial running under WSL therefore requires that you store repositories and files to be used from both Windows and WSL on the Windows file system (e.g. under /mnt/c, from the perspective of WSL). For more information, please see Do not change Linux files using Windows apps and tools.
The integration instructions in this section endeavour to adhere to the above restriction, but there may nevertheless be certain cases not taken into account. When saving or copying any file or folder using Merge, you are therefore advised to verify that the file or folder is not being written to the WSL file area under %localappdata%lxss.
Mercurial (Cygwin)
It has been reported that Mercurial will work within Cygwin. The following configuration has not been tested but is expected to work. Please see the previous entry for examples of using a configuration such as this.
Perforce
Merge integrates tightly with Perforce. Araxis provides a Perforce File System Plugin to enable Merge to browse Perforce depots directly. This means that, for example, you can compare branches of source code directly within a depot without syncing them to the client workspace. Merge is also able to populate the Versions button drop-down versions menu with other revisions of each file being compared. For more information, see Comparing Text Files (or Typed/Pasted Text).
If you have Perforce’s P4EXP installed, you can perform various Perforce actions (including Submit and Open for Edit) directly from within Merge. To do this, right-click a file or folder comparison and choose Explorer▸Perforce from the context menu that appears.
Serena Dimensions CM
Merge is now bundled with Serena Dimensions CM 14 and later. Please contact Serena if you require assistance using Merge with Dimensions CM.
SmartGit/Hg
SmartGit/Hg can be configured to use Araxis Merge for file comparison and merge operations.
SmartSVN/SmartCVS
SmartSVN and SmartCVS clients can be configured to use Araxis Merge for file comparison and merge operations.
Source Integrity Enterprise Edition
MKS Source Integrity Enterprise Edition (SIEE) has the ability to integrate with Merge and MKS have kindly provided the instructions here. You need to set a variable in the client’s IntegrityClientSite.rc file called vdiffCommand that points to Merge. An example line would look like the following (all on one line, regardless of the formatting below as shown in your browser):
vdiffCommand=C:/PROGRA~1/Araxis/ARAXIS~1/compare /a2 /title1:"{1}" /title2:"{2}" "{3}" "{4}"
Merge makes use of the title inputs from SIEE, using /title1 and /title2 flags. It is also necessary to use quotes around the inputs, and it is necessary to escape them with backslashes (c:tempF2EB.tmp vs revision 1.2).
With the vdiffCommand variable in place, Merge integrates almost seamlessly into SIEE’s interface.
Source Integrity Standard Edition
MKS Source Integrity Standard Edition (SISE) version 7.5+ for Windows has the ability to integrate with Merge and MKS have kindly provided the instructions here. SISE makes use of Windows environment variables and can pass this information to Merge. The following is a script (araxis.cmd) which can be added to the SISE’s toolbar as a shortcut, and will compare revisions depending on the window you are in (Project or Archive) and what revisions you have selected. The script locates the appropriate revisions and checks them out into a temporary location, and passes the PATHS and other variables to the Merge compare.exe utility.
REM Setup temporary file names
set FILE1="c:temprevision1"
set FILE2="c:temprevision2"
REM Checkout the two revisions to the temporary files
co -p%MKSSI_REVISION1% %MKSSI_FILE% > %FILE1%
co -p%MKSSI_REVISION2% %MKSSI_FILE% > %FILE2%
REM Substitute the path to compare.exe below with the
REM appropriate Merge installation directory on
REM your machine (use the short form of the path
C:/PROGRA~1/Araxis/ARAXIS~1/compare.exe /a2 /title1:"Revision %MKSSI_REVISION1%" /title2:"Revision %MKSSI_REVISION2%" %FILE1% %FILE2%
SourceAnyWhere
We have preliminary instructions for integrating DynamSoft SourceAnyWhere 4.2.4 with Merge, and would appreciate feedback on these from SourceAnyWhere users, particularly with respect to the merging settings.
SourceGear Vault
The following configuration steps were received from a customer and verified by Araxis for the Windows SourceGear Vault client v4.1.4.
SourceOffSite
For version 2.0 of SourceOffSite, choose the Options… item from the Tools menu, and fill in the fully-qualified path to compare.exe in the Application for comparing files field on the first page (General). We are told by SourceGear that SourceOffSite 3.5.1 should also work well with Merge. The follow caveats apply to version 3.0 and may also apply to other versions:
- The merge will only work on a Check In operation. SourceOffSite does not support merge on a Get. Ensure that you are performing a Check In that has conflicting changes (due to multiple check outs being enabled in the VSS database).
- The path to the
compare.exe utility must be specified in SourceOffSite without spaces in the path name. If there are spaces in the path name, the compare.exe utility will not work properly.
Support for SourceOffSite is available from the SourceGear website.
StarTeam
Starbase inform us that StarTeam v5.1 has the ability to integrate with Merge.
Subclipse
Subclipse is an Eclipse plug-in providing support for Subversion within the Eclipse IDE. It can be configured to use Merge as its merging tool. Merge will then be used whenever you choose Edit Conflicts from a Team menu in Eclipse.
Merge can also integrate directly with Subversion. Please see Subversion section for more information.
The following steps have been tested with Subclipse 1.6.13, Eclipse 3.6.0 and Subversion 1.6.
Subversion
Merge integrates well with Subversion. Araxis provides a Subversion File System Plugin to enable Merge to browse Subversion depots directly. This means that, for example, you can compare branches of source code directly within a depot without syncing them to the client workspace. Merge is also able to populate the Versions button drop-down versions menu with other revisions of each file being compared. For more information, see Comparing Text Files (or Typed/Pasted Text).
See also the entries for Subversive, Subclipse and TortoiseSVN.
Subversive
Subversive is the official Eclipse plugin providing support for Subversion within the Eclipse IDE. It can be configured to use Merge as its merging tool. Merge will then be used for file comparisons, and for merging whenever you choose Edit Conflicts from a Team menu in Eclipse.
Merge can also integrate directly with Subversion. Please see Subversion section for more information.
The following steps have been tested with Subversive 0.7.9, Eclipse 3.6.0 and Subversion 1.6.
Surround SCM
Surround SCM has built-in support for Araxis Merge.
Team Foundation
See the entry for Visual Studio Team Foundation.
The Operations Pack (TOP) for HP NonStop
comForte states that its TOP software now provides built-in support for comparing and merging files on NonStop servers using Araxis Merge.
TortoiseGit
The Diff Viewer and Merge Tool pages of the TortoiseGit Settings window enable external diff and merging programs to be configured.
Merge can also integrate directly with Git. Araxis provides a Git File System Plugin to enable Merge to access files in Git repositories directly. Merge is also able to populate the Versions button drop-down versions menu with other revisions of each file being compared. For more information, see Comparing Text Files (or Typed/Pasted Text).
The following steps have been tested with Git for Windows v1.8.4 in combination with TortoiseGit v1.8.6.0.
TortoiseHg
TortoiseHg has direct support for Araxis Merge 2010.3829 and later. If TortoiseHg finds Araxis Merge on a computer (via a registry key search), it will use Araxis Merge as the default diff and merge tool without any further configuration.
If you are using an older version of Araxis Merge, TortoiseHg will not find Araxis Merge automatically. In this case, add the following line to your user Mercurial.ini:
[merge-tools]
araxis.executable=${ProgramFiles}/Araxis/Araxis Merge/ConsoleCompare.exe
TortoiseSVN
The External Programs section of the TortoiseSVN Settings window enables external diff and merging programs to be configured.
Merge can also integrate directly with Subversion. Please see Subversion for more information.
TrackWare
Certain GlobalWare TrackWare clients include Merge (see the GlobalWare website for full details). Merge is fully integrated with the TrackWare clients that include it.
Veracity
Veracity is an Open Source, distributed version control and bug tracking system for Windows, macOS, and Linux. SourceGear, the company behind Veracity, has helpfully provided the information here.
Veracity supports Araxis Merge out of the box for both diff and merge operations. Simply use --tool araxis with any command that supports external comparison or merging tools. Alternatively, you can configure Merge as your default tool for various operations as described below.
For support using Veracity with Araxis Merge, please see http://veracity-scm.com/qa.
Visual Studio Team Foundation
Team Foundation integrates with Araxis Merge for both file comparison and merging.
The arguments for merging are taken from James Manning’s Blog. Yonatan Leonov has also written about using Merge with Team Foundation, with a particular emphasis on Merge Standard.
WinCvs
The WinCvs client can be configured to use Araxis Merge for file comparisons. The following steps have been tested using WinCvs 2.1.1.
