Reviewing changes between file versions

You can review changes made between code review file versions. The latest file version in the code review is compared to the version before the oldest version in the review. For example, if versions 3, 6, and 8 are in the review, differences between versions 2 and 8 are displayed. As you review the changes, you can select different versions to display to view only the changes made between specific versions or since you last reviewed the file.

You can also review entire files without highlighted changes. See Reviewing files.

1. Open the code review and double-click the file to review.

Differences between file versions open in a new tab in the Code Review window.

Note: Large files take longer to open in code reviews if syntax highlighting is used. You can set a maximum file size limit in the user options to disable highlighting in large files to improve performance. See Changing file viewer and editor text display options.

2. Click Previous Change and Next Change to go to the previous or next change.

The Previous Change button is disabled if the first change in the file is selected and the Next Change button is disabled if the last change is selected.

3. To compare different versions, select a Version from the list to display in each area.

Versions not included in the review are displayed in gray. If you are reviewing updates after a review was restarted, versions less than or equal to the last version you reviewed are displayed in italics.

Tip: To include differences for file versions that are not included in the review, click the Options button and choose Show differences for versions not included in the review. Changes in the excluded versions are highlighted.

4. Click a view button to display the differences side by side, top over bottom, or combined. You can also view the file without the differences highlighted.

Button Displays:
Differences side by side
Differences top over bottom
Differences combined in a single file
One file version without highlighted differences

5. Click the Options button to apply syntax highlighting or change the differences output, text font, or tab width in files. See Changing code review view options.

6. If you are reviewing an image file, click a button to change how differences are displayed or enter a percentage to change the magnification. See Viewing image file differences.

7. To find text in the file, enter the text in the search field and click Find.

8. On the Comments tab, add comments, navigate between them, or mark them as addressed.

Note: The content that a comment applies to may move to a different line as the file is updated and reviewed again. To view the content a comment applies to in the version it was originally added to, right-click the Comment icon or the Multiple Comments icon next to the line number and choose Show Version. The available options depend on the view you are using (e.g., side by side or top over bottom) and the version currently displayed.

9. Click the History tab to view history information for the file.

You can also perform actions on historic file versions. See Viewing file history. The code review is updated based on actions you perform. For example, if you select a version on the History tab and add it to the code review, the review updates to include that version.

10. Select the check box in the Completed column when you finish reviewing the file. You can only mark files as completed if you are a reviewer in the code review.

The file status changes to Needs Attention or Approved when all reviewers complete the review. See Understanding code review status.