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The Changes View

The Changes View is available on all 3 SmartGit Main Windows, showing the changes made to the file selected in the Files View.

The layout of the Changes View depends on whether the selected file has been staged or not:

  • When an unstaged file is selected in the Files View, the Changes View shows the difference between the Working Tree and Index.
  • When a staged file is selected in the Files View, the Changes View shows the difference between the Index and the HEAD commit in the repository.

Use the << and >> arrow buttons to move changed Hunks between panes, or use the x button to revert the Hunk.

Note

  • If you need to stage only specific lines within a Hunk, use the Index Editor.
  • You can’t move staged changes directly into HEAD, as that will require a new commit.
  • The Changes View has only 2 panes, and as a result, the HEAD (repository) file version does NOT appear in the Changes View unless the file has been staged. To view the 3 panes at once, please use the Index Editor.
  • Changes View won’t automatically compare files larger than the configured changes.maximumFileSize low-level setting. If you attempt to compare a file larger than this setting, SmartGit will warn that the ‘File size exceeds the configured limit’. Clicking Force Compare will override the limit temporarily for this file, and perform the comparison. The value can be changed more permanently in the Low Level Properties preferences.

There are several options to customize the layout of the Changes View:

  • Select between Unified and Side by Side mode to view the Index and Working Tree versions either as separate panes, or as a unified change.
  • Compact mode hides sections of the file which are unchanged.
  • Ignore WS will hide whitespace changes such as space, tab and newline characters
  • Use the Up and Down arrows to move to the previous, and next hunk of changes, respectively.
  • Additionally, the hamburger icon (☰) at the top right provides further customization:
    • Ignore case changes during line comparisons
    • Ignore line ending changes during line comparisons
    • Changing the Syntax Highlighting language
    • Further settings, such as tab sizing and whitespace visualization.