136 lines
5.6 KiB
Markdown
136 lines
5.6 KiB
Markdown
---
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stage: Create
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group: Code Review
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info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
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type: index, reference
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---
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# Changes tab in merge requests
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The **Changes** tab on a [merge request](index.md), below the main merge request details and next to the discussion tab,
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shows the changes to files between branches or commits. This view of changes to a
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file is also known as a **diff**. By default, the diff view compares the file in the
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merge request branch and the file in the target branch.
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The diff view includes the following:
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- The file's name and path.
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- The number of lines added and deleted.
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- Buttons for the following options:
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- Toggle comments for this file; useful for inline reviews.
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- Edit the file in the merge request's branch.
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- Show full file, in case you want to look at the changes in context with the rest of the file.
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- View file at the current commit.
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- Preview the changes with [Review Apps](../../../ci/review_apps/index.md).
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- The changed lines, with the specific changes highlighted.
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## Merge request diff file navigation
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When reviewing changes in the **Changes** tab, the diff can be navigated using
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the file tree or file list. As you scroll through large diffs with many
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changes, you can quickly jump to any changed file using the file tree or file
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list.
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## Collapsed files in the Changes view
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> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/232820) in GitLab 13.4.
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When you review changes in the **Changes** tab, files with a large number of changes are collapsed
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to improve performance. When files are collapsed, a warning appears at the top of the changes.
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Select **Expand file** on any file to view the changes for that file.
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## File-by-file diff navigation
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> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/222790) in GitLab 13.2.
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> - [Feature flag removed](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/229848) in GitLab 13.7.
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For larger merge requests, consider reviewing one file at a time. To enable this feature:
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1. In the top-right corner, select your avatar.
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1. Select **Preferences**.
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1. Scroll to the **Behavior** section and select **Show one file at a time on merge request's Changes tab**.
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1. Select **Save changes**.
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After you enable this setting, GitLab displays only one file at a time in the **Changes** tab when you review merge requests. You can select **Prev** and **Next** to view other changed files.
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In [GitLab 13.7](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/233898) and later, if you want to change
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this behavior, you can do so from your **User preferences** (as explained above) or directly in a
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merge request:
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1. Go to the merge request's **Changes** tab.
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1. Select the cog icon (**{settings}**) to reveal the merge request's settings dropdown.
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1. Select or clear the checkbox **Show one file at a time** to change the setting accordingly.
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This change overrides the choice you made in your user preferences and persists until you clear your
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browser's cookies or change this behavior again.
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## Incrementally expand merge request diffs
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By default, the diff shows only the parts of a file which are changed.
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To view more unchanged lines above or below a change select the
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**Expand up** or **Expand down** icons. You can also select **Show unchanged lines**
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to expand the entire file.
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In GitLab [versions 13.1 and later](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/205401), when viewing a
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merge request's **Changes** tab, if a certain file was only renamed, you can expand it to see the
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entire content by selecting **Show file contents**.
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## Ignore whitespace changes in Merge Request diff view
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If you select the **Hide whitespace changes** button, you can see the diff
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without whitespace changes (if there are any). This is also working when on a
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specific commit page.
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NOTE:
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You can append `?w=1` while on the diffs page of a merge request to ignore any
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whitespace changes.
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## Mark files as viewed
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> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/51513) in GitLab 13.9.
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> - Deployed behind a feature flag, enabled by default.
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> - Enabled on GitLab.com.
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> - Recommended for production use.
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> - For GitLab self-managed instances, GitLab administrators can opt to [disable it](#enable-or-disable-file-views). **(FREE SELF)**
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When reviewing a merge request with many files multiple times, it may be useful to the reviewer
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to focus on new changes and ignore the files that they have already reviewed and don't want to
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see anymore unless they are changed again.
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To mark a file as viewed:
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1. Go to the merge request's **Diffs** tab.
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1. On the right-top of the file, locate the **Viewed** checkbox.
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1. Select it to mark the file as viewed.
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Once checked, the file remains marked for that reviewer unless there are newly introduced
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changes to its content or the checkbox is unchecked.
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### Enable or disable file views **(FREE SELF)**
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The file view feature is under development but ready for production use.
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It is deployed behind a feature flag that is **enabled by default**.
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[GitLab administrators with access to the GitLab Rails console](../../../administration/feature_flags.md)
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can opt to enable it for your instance.
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To enable it:
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```ruby
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Feature.enable(:local_file_reviews)
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```
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To disable it:
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```ruby
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Feature.disable(:local_file_reviews)
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```
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