On my last project we used SourceGear Vault to store all of our source code. One hack I was able to implement to improve my Vault experience was to integrate WinMerge as the default editor for viewing differences and merging. WinMerge made me more productive since I could edit the file inside of the program and perform merges without having to check out the file from the server. I also enjoyed one-key merging*! Therefore, the first time I called Show Differences after moving back to Visual SourceSafe (VSS) I almost cried. Then I smiled, because I discovered the Custom Editors tab in VSS options. Now viewing differences and merging are a hell of a lot nicer!
How to do it:
- Download WinMerge
- Open Visual SourceSafe
- Go to Tools | Options | Custom Editors (last tab)
- For "Operation" choose "File Difference"
- For "File Extension" enter ".*"
- For "Command Line" enter "C:\Program Files\WinMerge\WinMerge.exe" "%1" "%2"
- Click "Add"
- Choose "File Merge" for the "Operation"
- Enter ".*" for "File Extension" again
- For "Command Line" enter "C:\Program Files\WinMerge\WinMerge.exe" "%2" "%1" "%4"
- Click "Add"
That's it! Good luck, and if you have any problems, or just want to say how awesome this hack is, feel free to leave a comment letting me know.
*For an improved file viewing/merging experience be sure to turn on "Merge Mode" in WinMerge (File | Merge Mode) and use the arrow keys!