Version Diff

Owned by Christoph Bergner
Feb 22, 2023
3 min read

Using the Version Diff

The Version Diff functionality allows you to compare two versions of a model in order to easily understand the differences.

  1. Start Version Diff from the screen menu.

  2. Select a context from the project tree. A context can be a model and its version or any node inside a model. The version diff analysis will be carried out on all elements transitive down of the selected node.

  3. Select two versions you want to compare from the version drop-downs. The two versions do not have to be in consecutive order.

  4. Select Diagram View or Element View: The diagram view calculates differences based on diagrams while the element view highlights differences at an element level.

  5. Start the calculation by clicking Calculate.

  6. Check Logical Diff Only: The option only shows differences which change the logic of the model, e.g. moving a class in a class diagram is not a logical change and will, therefore, not be highlighted if this option is checked. However, moving a task from one lane to another is a logical change and will be highlighted. If you uncheck the option Logical Diff Only, the calculation of differences will show all changes including the non-logical ones. Non-logical changes will be marked with an icon.

Diff Level 1: List of Changed Diagrams

Having done the calculation for a diagram view, the list area shows all changed diagrams in a change tree.

The  button after the diagram name allows you to open both versions of the diagram on the left and on the right. The older version will be opened on the left-hand side, the more recent one to the right.

Diff Level 2: Highlighted Changes in the Diagrams

Per default, both versions are locked when you open them via . This means that zooming or panning a version on the left or right will also zoom or pan the other version of the diagram. You can remove the lock in the splitter menu.

Expanding a changed diagram shows all the detailed changes by listing all added, deleted and changed elements in the change tree. Opening both versions of the diagram via the lens allows you to highlight the elements in the diagram by simply clicking them in the change tree.

An added element will be highlighted in green on the right-hand side in the more recent version. Deleted elements will be shown in red on the left-hand side in the older version. Changed elements will be highlighted in blue in both versions of the diagram.

Diff Level 3: Changed Properties of Model Elements

The reason why a changed element is marked in blue as changed might not be visible at first glance. A property which is not visible in the diagram might have been changed. Therefore, you have to examine the property grid of the elements which have been marked as changed. You can do this by simply clicking the lens to the right of a changed element. This will open the floating container with both versions of the properties loaded.

Changes of properties are colorized.

Level 4: Changed Values of Properties

In some cases the values of a changed property are longer texts. In this case, it is difficult to understand what has actually changed. Clicking the "Diff" button allows you to open the text diff window so that you can see how the text has changed.

PDF Report Generation

The "PDF" button allows you to generate a PDF report of all changes of the selected model versions.