Review changed files

When DataMind Oda changes files in a turn, the answer ends with the changed-files card, and any file on it can be compared with the state it had when the turn started. This page covers the card's review controls, the preview beside it and the review in the side panel. Changed files and comparisons covers what Oda records and keeps, and Delivered files covers the files Oda hands over.

The changed-files card

• After a turn that changed files, the card sits under the closing message. Its header reads Edited {count} files and totals the lines the turn added and removed.
• Each row names one file with its line counts. A binary file is labelled binary, and a file too large to compare is labelled too large; both are listed without line counts.
• Four files show before the fold. Choose All {count} files to show the rest, or Collapse to fold them back.
• The card appears only when the turn's recorded changes list at least one file.

Open a turn's changes in the side panel

1. Choose the card header, named Review this turn’s changes in the sidebar, or a file row, named View changes to {name}. Enter or Space on a row does the same.
2. The review opens as a tab in the side panel next to the chat, titled Review · turn {turn}.

The header opens the review at the first file, and a row opens it at that row's file. Opening the review itself needs nothing but Oda; actions that open a file in another app are covered below.

Preview a comparison beside the card

• Point at a file row for half a second and a single-column preview of that file's comparison opens beside the card, showing the file's path and its before and after lines.
• Move onto the preview and it stays open; move away or press Escape and it closes.
• If the preview cannot be read, use Retry.
• Pointing at the card header replaces its counts with the Preview in sidebar hint.

Compare before and after in the review

• The review shows the selected file as it was when the turn started next to how it ended. New reviews start side by side.
• The file selector, named Choose the file to review, lists the turn's files with their added and removed counts (+N and -N).
• The view control switches the layout and names its next state in its tooltip: Switch to split view or Switch to unified view. The wrap control turns long-line wrapping on and off: Enable line wrap or Disable line wrap.
• In the side-by-side layout, the two columns scroll together.
• Each review tab keeps its own view and wrap choices; a new review opens side by side, without wrapping.

What a comparison can say

• Reading changes… while the file is being read.
• Created in this turn for a file the turn created, and Deleted in this turn for a file it removed.
• Both sides hold the same lines when the two sides match.
• Binary file; changes cannot be shown and File too large; changes cannot be shown when a line comparison is not possible.
• Line comparison timed out; shown as a whole-file replacement when a comparison takes too long. Oda then shows every old line as removed and every new line as added.
• Showing the first {count} lines when the comparison is longer than the view shows; the view shows at most 5,000 lines.
• Could not read the changes, with Retry, when the comparison cannot be read.
• The contents of this turn’s changes are no longer available when the stored comparison has been retired. The next section, and Changed files and comparisons, cover what is kept.

Open the file itself

• Open the whole file in the sidebar, named Open {name} in sidebar, opens the current file as a read-only preview in the side panel; Preview workspace files covers the preview and its viewers.
• Where Oda can reach a desktop on your computer, the review adds actions that open the file in its usual app or show it in the file manager, and their confirmation stays for about five seconds. Without a desktop these actions are not shown, and the sidebar open remains. Open files and folders in other apps describes the controls.

What is recorded, and for how long

• Changes are recorded per chat: a chat with a workspace folder records its own changes, and a helper chat Oda starts for part of the work does not record a list of its own.
• Files in the system's temporary area stay out unless they sit inside the project.
• Comparisons survive restarting Oda when its storage is configured, and the standard setup keeps the 100 most recent turns of a chat and 30 days of turn content.
• When a turn's comparison content has been retired, its card stays and the comparison reports itself unavailable.
• Changed files and comparisons has the full recording rules, the file labels and the warnings Oda can write to its logs.

Questions, answered

How do I open a turn's changes for review?

Choose the card header, or any file row; on a row, Enter or Space works too. The review opens in the side panel, titled Review · turn {turn}. The header opens it at the first file, and a row opens it at that row's file.

What does the preview beside the card show?

After you rest on a file row for half a second, a single-column preview of that file's comparison opens beside the card. It shows the file's path and its before and after lines. Move onto it and it stays open; move away or press Escape and it closes. If it cannot be read, use Retry.

How do I switch between side-by-side and single-column comparisons?

Use the view control in the review. A new review starts side by side; the control switches to the unified view and back. Its tooltip names the next state: Switch to split view or Switch to unified view.

Can I wrap long lines in a comparison?

Yes. The wrap control turns wrapping on and off; its tooltip reads Enable line wrap or Disable line wrap. The choice is kept for that review.

Which file does the review open on?

The row you choose opens the review at that file, and the card header opens it at the first file. Inside the review, use Choose the file to review to switch files; each entry shows the file's added and removed counts (+N and -N).

Are the view choices kept when I close a review?

Each review keeps its own view and wrap choices while it stays open. A new review opens side by side, without wrapping.

Why does a comparison stop partway through a file?

A comparison shows at most 5,000 lines, and the note Showing the first {count} lines tells you when a file is longer than that. Use Open the whole file in the sidebar to read the rest in a full preview.

Can I open the whole file from the review?

Yes. Open the whole file in the sidebar, named Open {name} in sidebar, opens the current file as a read-only preview next to the chat. Preview workspace files covers the preview and its viewers.

Why is there no action to open the file in its usual app?

That action needs a desktop Oda can reach on your computer. Without one, the review keeps the sidebar open only, and the app and file-manager actions are not shown. Open files and folders in other apps describes them.

Why do the counts disappear when I point at the card header?

The header swaps them for the Preview in sidebar hint while the pointer is on it. Move away and the counts return.