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Linux Tools Project/ChangeLog/User Guide

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Overview

The ChangeLog plug-in for Eclipse is a basic set of extensions to enable ChangeLog functionality for projects in Eclipse.

Before using the plug-in, you should set the ChangeLog preferences. These preferences include the name and e-mail address you wish to use in a ChangeLog entry.

The default name and e-mail address used by the ChangeLog plug-in are your workstation username and your username@hostname information, respectively. If you set the environment variables ECLIPSE_CHANGELOG_REALNAME and/or ECLIPSE_CHANGELOG_EMAIL, the ChangeLog plug-in will use these as the default name and e-mail address instead.

ChangeLog Preferences

To configure your ChangeLog preferences, navigate to Window > Preferences and click ChangeLog. This will open the ChangeLog sub-menu.

Linuxtools-ChangeLogPreferences.png

The screenshot above displays the preferences associated with the ChangeLog plug-in. These preferences are:

Author Name 
The name of the Author to be included in the ChangeLog entry.
Author Email 
The email address of the Author to be included in the ChangeLog entry.
Formatter 
The name of the formatter module Eclipse should use for ChangeLog entries. The form of each ChangeLog entry depends on which formatter module the ChangeLog plug-in uses. The ChangeLog plug-in provides a GNU-style formatter. There is an extension point by which other plug-ins may contribute alternate formatters.
Editor 
The name of the editor module Eclipse should use for editing the ChangeLog file.

ChangeLog Editor

The ChangeLog plug-in provides a special editor for ChangeLog files. This editor has syntax highlighting and provides a file-hyperlink feature. To use the file-hyperlink feature, hold the Ctrl key and click on any filename to open the corresponding file.

Linuxtools-ChangeLog-editor.png

You can also copy all ChangeLog file changes (since the last check-in to the repository) to the clipboard. To do so, use the key combination Ctrl+Alt+V. This is useful if you wish to use the ChangeLog entry as your comment when you perform a commit.

ChangeLog Plug-in Functions

The ChangeLog plug-in has two functions: Insert ChangeLog and Prepare ChangeLog.

The first time you invoke either function for a specific project, a Folder Selection menu will appear. This menu will allow you to select where to save the ChangeLog file for that project.

Screenshot-FolderSelection changelogplugin.png

After selecting where to save the ChangeLog file, Eclipse will open it in your workspace editor. The ChangeLog plug-in will then generate an appropriate pre-compiled entry for you to edit further. You can close the ChangeLog file after saving it; when you invoke the Insert ChangeLog or Prepare ChangeLog function again, Eclipse will use the same ChangeLog file.

The following sections describe both functions in more detail.

Insert ChangeLog

This function generates a single ChangeLog entry for the currently selected file in the editor. To use this function, navigate to Edit > ChangeLog Entry. Alternatively, you can also use the key combination Ctrl+Alt+C.

Linuxtools-ChangeLog-insert-changelog.png

Invoking the Insert ChangeLog function for another file in the same project will create a new ChangeLog entry for the file. If an entry already exists for a file, invoking the Insert ChangeLog function for that file will place the insertion point in the appropriate entry.

Prepare ChangeLog

This function generates a full ChangeLog entry based on the differences between the local changes you made to a project and its source control repository. As such, using this function requires access to the the source control repository of a project.

The ChangeLog entry generated by the Prepare ChangeLog function will include new files, removed files, and modifications. To invoke this function, navigate to Project > Prepare ChangeLog. Alternatively, you can also use the key combination Ctrl+Alt+P.


Linuxtools-ChangeLog-prepare-changelog-result.png

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