Merge Resolution Sessions

Overview

A merge resolution session lets you prepare and review merge results for a change list before changing its pending files. The Visual Client selects the appropriate planner for the task: pending work that must be advanced to newer revisions, or an undo operation that must reverse an earlier edit without losing later work.

The session keeps its work separate from the change list until you select Apply merged items. For the underlying workflow and safety model, see Merge Resolution Sessions.

When you use it

Use a merge resolution session in either of these situations:

• Advance to Latest: a change list contains pending edits and another revision of one or more of those files is available on the Kimura server. This lets you bring the change list forward without overwriting its pending work as you investigate each file.
• Reverse Cherry-Pick: Undo revision into changelist requires a merge to remove the selected revision's change while preserving later work.

The session window displays the planner selected for the workflow in the Planner row.

How the Visual Client Selects a Planner

Advance to Latest

When you create a merge resolution session from Workspace changes, the Visual Client uses the Advance to Latest planner. Create merge resolution session becomes available when one or more files in a change list are no longer at their head revision. Select the change list, right-click it, and choose the command. Once created, the same command becomes Open merge resolution session.

Reverse Cherry-Pick

In History, choose Undo revision into changelist. When the undo requires a merge, the Visual Client selects the Reverse Cherry-Pick planner and automatically opens the resulting session window for the target change list.

A Reverse Cherry-Pick session is created only when it is needed, and it includes only the files that require merge resolution. If every operation can be reversed at the head revision, the Visual Client reverses those operations directly without creating a session.

What you can do here

• Create or reopen a session for a selected change list.
• Review each file's current revision, target revision, state, and resolution.
• Resolve content with Auto merge, 3-way merge, Merge, Use target, or Use current, when the action is available.
• Use Compare... to inspect the workspace file, target revision, and prepared merged output.
• Use Reset to discard the prepared result for one item and return it to its initial session state.
• Use Refresh availability to update the session when workspace or server state has changed.
• Apply all resolved items together, or use Cancel and delete session to discard the session.

Typical flow

1. Create a merge resolution session from Workspace changes, or use Undo revision into changelist in History. The Visual Client selects a planner for the task.
2. If you closed a session, select its target change list in Workspace changes, right-click it, and choose Open merge resolution session.
3. Review the files in the session, including their current and target revisions.
4. For each file, choose an available resolution action. Use Compare... when you need more context before deciding.
5. Review the state and resolution shown for every item. Resolve or reset any item that is not ready.
6. Select Apply merged items once every item is resolved.
7. Review the updated change list, then continue with the usual submit workflow.

Configure Compare And Merge Tools

Open Preferences, then select Compare and merge tools. The Visual Client can find installed supported tools automatically on Windows, or you can add a tool and configure its commands, arguments, and file extensions manually.

The built-in presets currently support the following merge modes:

Tool	Three-way merge	Auto merge
Beyond Compare	Yes	Yes
Araxis Merge	Yes	Yes
WinMerge	Yes	No
Meld	Yes	Yes
KDiff3	Yes	Yes
VS Code	Yes	No
TortoiseGitMerge	Yes	No

For a custom tool, provide the command and arguments needed for the modes you want to use. The Visual Client enables three-way merge and auto merge only when their command and arguments are configured. Associate file extensions with the tool so Kimura can select it for the relevant files.

Notes

• A change list has one active merge resolution session at a time. Closing the window does not apply or discard it; reopen the session from the change list to continue.
• Merge and compare actions depend on an appropriate tool being configured for the file type. If an action is unavailable, configure a suitable tool or choose another available resolution.