Application

The controls on this options page enable you to configure the Merge startup and shutdown behaviour.

When Merge starts maximize application

Check to have Merge maximize to cover the whole screen when it starts.

… open an empty text comparison

Check to make Merge open an empty text comparison window when Merge first starts.

… open an empty folder comparison

Check to make Merge open an empty folder comparison window when Merge first starts.

Confirm application close when file comparisons are open

Check to make Merge display an exit confirmation message box when the main window is closed and there are still some file comparison windows open within it.

If you are working with maximized file comparison and editing windows, it is sometimes possible to accidentally click on the application close button instead of the comparison window close button. If this option is checked, then you’ll be given a chance to cancel the close operation and prevent Merge from closing.

Save and restore workspace across Windows sign-outs and restarts

Check to have Merge save the current workspace of all open comparisons when it exits automatically due to a Windows sign-out or restart. The saved workspace is restored when Merge is next launched.

Also save workspaces for recovery every # seconds

Check to save a workspace at the specified interval. Should Merge unexpectedly exit due to a problem such as a power failure, the most recently saved workspace will be restored when Merge is next launched.

Include ‘Compare with Araxis Merge’ in Windows File Explorer menus

Check this option to include the Compare with Araxis Merge and Queue for Comparison items in the context menu that appears when you right-click one or more files or folders in File Explorer. These two menu items work as described below.

Compare with Araxis Merge File Explorer menu item

This enables you to compare up to three files or folders that you have previously selected.

Queue for Comparison File Explorer menu item

Although Compare with Araxis Merge menu item is helpful, it only works if the files or folders that you have selected are within the same containing folder in File Explorer. The Queue for Comparison item improves on this by making it possible to select items in different File Explorer folders, queue them, then compare them against a further item.

For example, first queue a file from a particular folder in File Explorer by selecting it, right-clicking, and choosing Queue for Comparison. Next, open a different folder in File Explorer, select another file and right-click. You may then either compare the second file with the first using Compare with Araxis Merge (+1 in queue), or else queue the second file using Queue for Comparison again, making it possible to compare the two queued items against a third, subsequently-selected, file.

Include Explorer menus in Merge context menus

Check this option to include the File Explorer menu for a file or folder at the top of Merge file and folder context menus. Some File Explorer context menu plugins do not work properly in Merge and can cause the context menus not to appear, or to freeze Merge. If you encounter this problem, uncheck this option.

Show file versions from SCM systems

Some plugin file systems (e.g. Perforce, Subversion, Mercurial, and Git) are able to provide access to other versions of a compared file. Check this option to make Merge display a button in the file path fields when other versions of a compared file are available for comparison. When the button appears next to the drop-down history and browsing buttons, click on it to display a list of other versions of the file.

Show file and folder versions from System Restore

Check this option to include versions of files and folders stored by Windows System Protection in the list of available versions of compared files and folders.