XCode 4.5, where is FileMerge ?

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XCode 4.5, where is FileMerge ?

I just updated to XCOde 4.5, and FileMerge is gone... Any idea where it is hidden ? I hope it's still part of the Developer Tools...

Posted on Sep 20, 2012 1:31 PM

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Answer 1

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Mark Szymczyk

Level 4

2,354 points

Sep 20, 2012 4:59 PM in response to djsuperfive

FileMerge is located inside the Xcode application bundle in Xcode 4.3 and later. You can open FileMerge from Xcode by choosing Xcode > Open Developer Tool > FileMerge.

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Answer 2

djsuperfive Author

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Sep 20, 2012 11:27 PM in response to Mark Szymczyk

Hi Mark,

in XCode 4.5, this menu item is gone. I looked also in the application package and I couldn't find FileMerge.

Does this app have been removed from this last update ?

Maybe this app is downloadable as standalone ?

Thanks

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Answer 3

Sep 21, 2012 9:54 AM in response to djsuperfive

Choosing Xcode > Open Developer Tool > FileMerge opens FileMerge for me in Xcode 4.5. You could choose Xcode > Open Developer Tool > More Developer Tools to go to Apple's developer downloads site and see if FileMerge is in one of the auxiliary packages.

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Answer 4

djsuperfive Author

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Sep 21, 2012 10:56 AM in response to Mark Szymczyk

That's what I did: it leads me to https://developer.apple.com/downloads/index.action?name=for%20Xcode%20-

but FileMerge is not in any of the packages available...

It's really annoying because FIleMerge was really handful to make quick diffs between two files...

Do you think you could send it to me as a standalone application ?

Thanks

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Answer 5

Sep 21, 2012 11:43 AM in response to djsuperfive

The FileMerge that is bundled with Xcode 4.5 doesn't work as a standalone application. I tried compressing it from the application bundle. I was able to expand it to show the FileMerge app on the desktop. But when I tried to run it I got an error saying it couldn't be opened.

Apple's developer downloads site has every version of Xcode. You could try trashing your current version of Xcode 4.5, downloading Xcode 4.5 from the developer downloads site, and see if FileMerge is there. If not, you can download Xcode 4.4 and see if that has FileMerge.

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Answer 6

djsuperfive Author

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Sep 24, 2012 11:56 AM in response to Mark Szymczyk

Hi again,

Indeed, I downloaded a fresh new install of XCode 4.5 and put my updated 4.4 to 4.5 upgraded version into the trash and I have now all the developer tools again, including FileMerge. Weird...

Thanks for the tip !

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Answer 7

May 8, 2013 8:45 AM in response to djsuperfive

Even though Filemerge is part of Xcode, you can still create an alias/shortcut to it so that you don't have to open up Xcode every time just to use Filemerge.

You can create an alias/shortcut for Filemerge, by following these steps:

Go to Macintosh HD > Applications
Right-click Xcode.app
Click Show Package Contents
Go to Contents > Applications
Right-click Filemerge.app
Click Make Alias
You will need to type your password
Move the alias to your dock or desktop

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Answer 8

etresoft

Level 8

46,200 points

May 8, 2013 11:13 AM in response to sportsgurl13

Why not just install the Command Line Tools? That will give you the "opendiff" tool. Then, you create a little script like this one to make it useful and actually do a merge.

#!/bin/sh

# Get a hold of the last parameter.

eval LAST=\${$#}

# Now run opendiff with the previous version and the current version.

opendiff ${*} -merge "$LAST"

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Answer 9

Apr 17, 2014 5:30 PM in response to djsuperfive

The `opendiff` command-line program is available for when you want a command-line interface. I find it useful as-is.

If you want the GUI version, you can open Xcode (I'm on version 5.1.1) and from the the menu: Xcode > Open Developer Tool > FileMerge.

You can also create an alias to FileMerge which lets you skip opening Xcode just to find FileMerge (as another poster pointed out). In Xcode 5.1.1, it resides at /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Applications/FileMerge.app

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