PatchViewer Help

Viewing a patch file

A patch file can be examined as follows:

  1. Launch PatchViewer and, if necessary, open a new document using the File menu.
  2. Either drag a patch file in to the window, or click on the choose a patch file link to open a standard Mac OS X file selection dialog.
  3. Select the change(s) of interest and press the View button to launch the graphical file comparison tool.
  4. The graphical file comparison tool opens:
    Note that PatchViewer inserts blank lines into the original and modified files where no contextual data is available. This ensures line numbers in the generated preview match those in the files the patch data refers to.

Examining patch change details

Clicking on the disclosure triangle of a patch change reveals more detailed information about an individual change within the patch file.

Displayed are:
  • Full identifying details of the original and modified files (taken from the patch file).
  • The line number within the patch file that this change begins on.

PatchViewer doesn't filter or interpret the contents of the patch file. This means that where a file has been created or deleted you will see references to 'null' such as: