MRU list not updated if file not changed

[Michael Bulgrien]

I have a vbScript that performs a programatic analysis of files in two folders and launches the files in BC3 if certain conditions are met. The script opens up to 20 text compare sessions in separate tabs. I then manually merge content from one side to the other to complete the task.

Sometimes the content that I need to copy to the right side needs to come from two different files. I copy some lines from the file that originally opens in the text compare session, then I choose another file from the MRU list to copy other content that is needed but was missing from both sides of the compare. Lastly, I need to return the left side to the original file that opened in the compare to do a final review of the changes.

Problem, the original file that was opened on the left side is not in the MRU list (or is far enough down on the list that it is no longer available). In other words, unless I've made changes to the left file that requires a save, the MRU list is not updated when I change files.

Request: It doesn't matter to me if the default MRU logic is changed, or if the functionality is implemented as an option or tweak...but, please, when I choose a new file for one side of a compare, I would like the existing file name that I am leaving brought to the top of the MRU list so that I can easily return to it even if changes were not made and no file save occurred.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Additonal clarification:

This problem occurs because BC3 only updates the MRU list when loading a file. Since I am loading multiple files, the filenames for each compare session get bumped down on the MRU list as each new compare session is loaded. The only way for the MRU list to stay in sync with where I am actually working would be if it were updated when files were unloaded as well as loaded (instead of only when loaded).

[tlscales]

Is a three-way merge an option for you? Or don't you know what the third file is until after merging the second?

[Michael Bulgrien]

I am quite adept at 3-way merges. This effort is actually a code conversion effort that is quite complex. The original modules were generated some 8 years ago, and the generator has changed significantly since then, plus a lot of custom code has been added to the code currently in production. I've already run a script to update the current code to conform it to the standards in the current code generator (for left side of a merge), regenerated the modules in the code generator to create a "base" version, then generated a new set of modules with an updated code generator with new functionality to use on the right-side of a 3-way merge. I've already updated the majority of some 1800 modules in a 3-way merge. The stage I am in now is confirming that everthing merged correctly, and if not, manually editing the modules. The merge was complex enough (actually a rewrite of existing functionality rather than simple adds, deletes and edits) that working in the 3-way merge environment for this final stage would be tedious at best. And as I said in my original post, some of the changes are coming from sources other than the files actually used in the merge...hence the need to be able to bring up another input source and return to my original compare.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Retested in 3.0.5.9025 and this problem still occurs.

Please bring the current filename to the top of the MRU list when a new file is selected in the dropdown list.

[Tim]

Thanks for your suggestion, Michael, but I'm hesitant to change this behavior without further consideration. I think it's reasonable and intuitive that the "U" in MRU refers to the last item opened. I just tried MS Word with multiple documents open and it acts like BC: Opening a document places it at the top MRU lists in all windows, and the rest of the list stays the same.

It seems to me that a Back button would be more useful for your situation.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Word doesn't have a dropdown MRU list at the top of the screen to instantly move between different files. Neither does it have the context of a compare session. When you open a new file in Word, you are opening a new edit session.

From a user perspective, when you select a new file in one side of a BC3 compare session, you are updating the existing session. The ability to move back and forth between files smoothly within a singe compare session is important (at least it is to me).

When one wants to compare portions of multiple files on the left against a single file on the right (copying text into the right side when appropriate) the back button does not feel appropriate since we don't want to go back to a prior state (we don't want to undo anything we've already done), we simply want to continue working with the right file, but against a different file on the left hand side.

If you make changes to the left-hand file, it file comes to the top of the MRU list when you select a different file in the dropdown (most likely connected to the save event). I am simply asking for the same thing to occur when you don't trigger a save event. And I don't mind if it is implemented as a Tweak.

[Michael Bulgrien]

I think it's reasonable and intuitive that the "U" in MRU refers to the last item opened.

Although I agree that most implementations update the MRU list when a file is opened... by definition it is not an MRO (Most Recently Opened) list... it is an MRU (Most Recently Used) list. The reason that I am passionate about this particular enhancement request is that when I select a new file from the MRU dropdown, the one I am leaving is, in fact, the most recently used file prior to the new one being opened.

Individuals that don't work with multiple tabs, or don't change one side of the compare using the MRU dropdown won't even see a change in the MRU list...because I am not asking for the MRU list to be updated whenever a file is closed...but only when a new file is brought into an existing session.