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Tech Support for DELTA, The Comparison Tool
DELTA is a very mature product and bugs are not easy to find.
Here is a log of most of the non-trivial bugs found since 2/1997:
bizarre bug: if \file1 is identical to \subdir1\file1,
the directory comparison of \ vs \subdir1 is wrong.
I copied a file from \open\dti to the root, then tried to compare them:
DELTA behaves as if the second file does not exist. I can't get out of
the entry screen.
I modified the file in the root and the problem went away.
I made the files identical and the problem came back.
(2/97 fixed 3/97)
DELTA did not work under windows NT
Hi:
Thanks for the new version of Delta. It has always been my favorite file
comparison utility (and believe me I
have looked at a lot of them), and in Version 2 you added almost all of the
new features that I wished for.
There are a few glitches though:
1. Under Window NT 4.0 you get rudely dumped out to the DOS prompt (without
any error message being
displayed) if you move the mouse. It does detect the mouse (it says
Microsoft compatible 2 button mouse
detected), but any attempt to move it causes Delta to exit immediately.
This is repeatable about 95% of
the time. The other 5% of the time it does not crash, but the mouse
pointer doesn't move. This problem
does not occur under Windows 95.
2. A similar problem often occurs if you start Delta in a windowed (not
full screen) DOS box under NT 4.0,
and then press Alt-Enter to change to full screen. After the display has
changed to full screen you find
yourself at the DOS prompt, not in Delta anymore. This problem doesn't
occur under Windows 95 either.
3. The edit file feature works, but the behavior is a little strange. When
I press the 'e' key I end up in the editor with the cursor positioned not
at the highlighted line, but on the line that was at the top of Delta's
screen. I would
much prefer it if the cursor was positioned on the line that was
highlighted in Delta. When I exit from the editor
I land back in Delta, but the display has scrolled down so that the line
that was originally at the top is now at
the bottom of the screen, and I can no longer see the line(s) that I was
attempting to edit.
Jeff Bean
CWC Software
jeffbean@compuserve.com (3/97)
Dear Jean-Claude,
Thanks for the updated version of Delta 2.0 that you sent me in response to
my problems with NT.
The -dm switch does indeed solve the problems with crashes caused by mouse
movement and
the Alt-Enter key combination.
The interface to the editor is much improved too. Sorry to be picky, but I
do have one more
quibble though. When you return back to Delta from the Editor the current
(highlighted) line
is the same one that you were on when you left, but that line is positioned
all the way at the
bottom of the screen. It would be much nicer if it were positioned about
one third of the way
from the top of the screen, just as if you had used the nnnG command to
jump to that line.
Many thanks,
Jeff Bean
CWC Software
jeffbean@compuserve.com
*******************************************************************************
Bernard wrote:
As soon as I move the mouse over the DELTA DOS Windows, the application
closes.
No warning, no message, just a sudden end of the application.
Any idea of what could be wrong ?
JC replied:
The problem is that we don't have an NT machine to develop or test on.
Since we heard about this problem before, we have an option
delta -md
which disables the mouse. Hopefully, we'll solve the problem better
when we do get the right tools.
Thanks.
Bernard replied:
The '-md' option is good enough for the moment.
Thanks for your prompt answer. (6/97 fixed 6/97 and NT version fixed 8/97)
3/97 Completely fixed when Jean Michel got an NT machine in the summer of
97
How to print the differences only
Dear friends,
we purchased the lates version of Delta in March. Today I have had my first
contact with this new version and must say that my first impression was
"Hey, nice and quick!" After playing a little while, I recognize a
different in the print.
The previous version was able to print only the differences and in the form
I choose for displaying it on screen (side by side, top-bottom). Now I get
the "complete" text of both compared files in a side by side view if I
print to a file. Did I something wrong? I have read the manual carefully,
but couldn't find a hint, which solve my problem. I need the print to
documents the difference, but the current print is useless, if one can't
recognize the differences immediately.
I would be very happy, if you can give me a hint, how to print the "real"
differences.
Kind regards
Kay Wolf
TÜV Rheinland Sicherheit und Umweltschutz GmbH, Cologne, Germany (5/97 the
solution consists in pressing the = sign while watching the file compare, then
asking for print with F7)
An Option to silence the speaker
yosi shatz wrote:
> An option to silent the speaker. In 'delta' ver 1 there was no
> speaker and i didn't get complaints from my roommate every time i used 'delta'
> (and it happens very often)
>
> please do it
>
> I lose my friends in the room because of that awful noise. Please, Please
> give an option to cancel that
> speaker beeps
>
> yosi shatz
An option silencing the speaker was created just for you. Type
delta -v1024
on the command line to invoke it in versions of DELTA
dated after October 1997.
Jean-Claude Chetrit OPENetwork, Inc.
Thanks a lot
I didn't expect such a service and you did it !!
Well, you saved me, but what will do the other people ?
Think if it's not a good idea to drop the beep constantly, like in the
former version.
who should need it at all ?
again thanks from the bottom of my heart !!!
yosi shatz
Read the Manual!
Jean-Claude Chetrit wrote:
Jim McDaniel wrote:
> Hi,
> I have been using Delta for a long time, maybe 8 years. I downloaded the
> new version and before I even used it much I figured it would be an
> improvement and that I would want to switch over to it, so I called and
> paid for it. However now that I have used it, I am keeping my old one
> around. While some features are better ( I can now compare large files)
> many that I really like and use a lot are not there.
> Here are some of my requests and observations:
> 1. Please SORT the file lists in alphabetical order.
They are by default. You can change the sort order by hittingALt-E for
extension
Alt-S for size
Alt-T for time
Alt-N for name (the default)
or by clicking with your mouse on the words Ext Size Time or Name.
You can also change delta.cfg so that initially, the sort order is the one
you want. If you type DELTA -? you will get 3 screens of command line
options ending with this:
-vtn Set tabsize to n.
-vbn n is the sum of the browser flags coded as follows:
fold=1 show empty space=2 show tabs=4 show ansi sequences=8
show backspaces=16
-va[n] Use ai and optionally set ai sync size to n.
-vn n is the sum of the following flags:
best alignment=1 side by side=2 extension sort=4 size sort=8
time sort=16 side=32 use ai=64 use blinking colors=128
ÍÍ delta: Copyright(C) Jean MICHEL & OPENetwork Ver. of Nov 9 1997 ÍÍ
> 2. If I enter *.* in the file spec. (as the previous Delta needed)
> I am forced to go through every file in the directory one by one. I
> haven't figured out how to escape from this.
> Is there a way?
No there is not. This is the only case where the old DELTA functionalitywas
not copied. Instead, however, you have a much faster and flexible
directory comparison which should enable you to get the same results.
By the way, *.* is implied when you select a directory name.
> 3. One of the most useful features in the old Delta was to have it
> list all files that are common between two directories, but different .
> This seems to be missing in the new Delta!! Am I wrong?
You are. The same key, F4, toggles between common unequaland full compare.
In addition, you can more precisely ask for the
files you want shown: equal, left only, right only, older, newer, or any
combination (by clicking on =, l, r, < and > or using the mouse).
> 4. Another *very* useful feature in the old Delta was the ability to
> copy lines by line number from one file to another in the edit mode
> while viewing the differences. Simply opening an editor as you do now is
> not useful to me at all.
This is not implemented exactly in the same way as before. If yourcursor is
on a line, you can copy this line to the other side with "c" or
delete it with "d". After a few uses, you will find it very convenient.
> --
> Sincerely,
> Jim McDaniel
We have spent 2 years working hard on this new version:
please read the help screens and you will discover dozens
of improvements (tunable ai and others.)
Do read about smart backups with DELTA on our DELTA
Home Page.
Thanks,
Jean-Claude Chetrit OPENetwork, Inc.
Jean-Claude,
Thanks for the assistance. The features you mention seem to work well. I'll
spend a little more time in the help screens.
--
Sincerely,
Jim McDaniel
Please Reply to j.e.mcdaniel@ieee.org
--- McD Engineering - Embedded Systems Design and Test ---
(6/98)
A FAQ: How to print only the differences
Dennis Aoki wrote:
> I am trying your software and I find that I would much prefer something
> that supports Windows NT, or at least Windows 95. Are you planning to
> make a Windows version?
We are just starting on a Win 95/98 version.
> A Windows version would support long filenames,
The current version supports Win 95 long filenames.
> NTFS files, color hardcopy output with the differences highlighted and
> other very convenient items that would avoid clumsy workarounds.
>
> I haven't had the time to thoroughly explore Delta, but it seems to be
> lacking the ability to make a hardcopy of just the differences, along
> with the line numbers.
Please spend more time exploring DELTA. There are at least 2 waysto do this:
A) use DELTA as a diff (the unix tool) by typing delta -n file1 file2
on the command line.
B) in the visual comparison, = will eliminate what is equal on both sides.
Then using F7 to print will let you print just what is displayed.
> This would avoid going through reams of paper
> for just a few differences. Possibly the last matching line before the
> difference and the first matching line after the difference would be a
> good option to have.
True. That 's why diff has that feature. With DELTA, you invoke it
with DELTA -nc file1 file2
For a list of the very many command line options, try DELTA -?
Thanks for your feedback,
Jean-Claude Chetrit OPENetwork, Inc. (8/31/98)
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Last updated on September 25, 1998
Please send any comments to Jean-Claude Chetrit
These lines appear only for the benefit of search engines :-)
DELTA, The leading Vdiff engine for DOS programmers. DELTA, The Comparison Tool makes the difference in DOS.
DELTA, The leading Vdiff engine for DOS programmers. DELTA, The Comparison Tool makes the difference in DOS.
DELTA, The leading Vdiff engine for DOS programmers. DELTA, The Comparison Tool makes the difference in DOS.
DELTA, The leading Vdiff engine for DOS programmers. DELTA, The Comparison Tool makes the difference in DOS.
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