Copyright: Conflict Checker Professional  Copyright © 1997-2001 Lanovation All rights Reserved
Citation: Conflict Checker Professional version 4    Copyright © 1997-2001 Lanovation All rights Reserved


What	Change the product name here	Insert this field in the text
Product name, Prism Pack or Prism Deploy	Prism Pack	Prism Pack
Product executable (pictaker.exe, paedit.exe)	paedit.exe	paedit.exe


Introducing Conflict Checker Professional

Welcome to Conflict Checker Professional, an easy-to-use tool for finding conflicts in Prism files. Conflict Checker Professional compares the contents of your Prism files, and reports the potential conflicts.

There are four simple steps to follow in using Conflict Checker Professional:

1.	Load the desired Prism files into Conflict Checker Professional.

2.	Set conflict checking options.

3.	Start the Conflict Checker.

4.	View the report of conflicts found (if any).

Conflict Checker Professional runs on the Microsoft Windows 95/ 98/Me/NT/2000/XP and higher operating systems. Conflict Checker Professional is a 32-bit application. It does not run on Microsoft Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, or MS-DOS.

For more information on Conflict Checker Professional, visit the Lanovation Web site at www.lanovation.com.

For More Information:

What Conflict Checker Professional Can Do for You

What Conflict Checker Professional Cannot Do for You

The Conflict Checker Professional Main Window

What Is a Conflict?


What Conflict Checker Professional Can Do for You

•	Quickly and easily detect conflicts within one Prism file, or between two or more files.

•	Check for conflicts in Deleted Items.

•	Generate a conflict report.

•	Save the conflict report to a file or print the report to your default printer.

•	Help you understand your PC's configuration and how applications' setup programs affect your PC's configuration.

•	Evaluate the contents of Prism files before distribution to prevent distribution of conflicts and to ensure that Prism files will be installed correctly.

For More Information:

What Conflict Checker Professional Cannot Do for You

What Is a Conflict?


What Conflict Checker Professional Cannot Do for You

•	Detect initialization (INI) file settings conflicts.

•	Modify Prism files.

•	Resolve any conflicts detected – you must evaluate the conflicts and decide on appropriate corrective action, if any.

•	For version conflicts, cannot determine the "correct" version of a file.

•	For folder conflicts, cannot determine the "correct" folder for a file.

For More Information:

What Conflict Checker Professional Can Do for You

What Is a Conflict?


Understanding Prism Files

In order to understand Conflict Checker Professional, you must first have a basic understanding of Prism Pack and the files it creates. See the Prism Pack User’s Guide and online help topics for the Editor for more complete information. The types of Prism files are:

Picture
Prism Pack records the settings on your computer and refers to this record as a Picture. A Picture is a collection of Windows registry settings, initialization (INI) files, directories, shortcuts, and so on.

Prism Pack makes an image of each item, collects them all into one Picture, and stores the file in a compressed format. You can edit these files directly from the Editor.

Package
You can change your computer’s settings and then use the Editor to compare the changes with a Picture. Prism Pack stores the changes found during the comparison in a Prism file called a Package.

You can then install these Prism files on another computer. When you install changes on a computer, Prism Pack creates a unique Rollback file for each computer to which the file was installed. This ensures that, when the Prism file is uninstalled, the correct information is removed from the target PC.

Self-Installing file
A Package can be saved as a Self-installing file. A Self-Installing File has an .EXE extension. It contains the files, registry keys, INI file lines, shortcuts, or text file sections that were added, changed, or deleted.

The Self-Installing File differs from a Package in that the Client is not needed on the target machine in order to install the file. Self-Installing Files are most useful when for providing updates for a computer at a remote site or users who are not part of your company.

For More Information:

Prism File Entries


Prism File Entries

The items in a Prism file are entries. Entries include registry settings, folders, shortcuts, and files. Conflict Checker Professional considers only registry settings and file entries when checking for potential conflicts.

In Conflict Checker Professional, a file entry is identified by its file name, without the path; for example, URL.DLL. When a Prism file has been checked for conflicts, the conflict details show the Prism file in which the entry was stored, among other information.

For More Information:

What Is a Conflict?


What Is a Conflict?

A conflict occurs when one or more Prism files include two or more file entries that are not consistent. Conflicts detected by Conflict Checker Professional should be considered potential conflicts. It is up to you to determine whether the conflicts found by Conflict Checker Professional may have an adverse effect on a PC’s configuration.

Conflict Checker Professional detects three types of conflicts:

version conflicts

folder conflicts

registry conflicts

Conflict Checker Professional also categorizes conflicts into three groups: system file conflicts, program file conflicts, or registry setting conflicts.

For More Information:

The Conflict Checker Professional Main Window

Setting Conflict Checker Professional Options

Working with the Files to Check List

Starting and Stopping Conflict Checking


What Is a Version Conflict?

A version conflict occurs when multiple Prism files contain two or more file entries with different versions in the same folder.

To determine whether two or more file entries have different versions, Conflict Checker Professional compares the file attributes such as:

•	File size, in bytes

•	File version information stored in the file, if available

•	The file’s last modified time and date

In some cases, Conflict Checker Professional may even compare the file contents at the byte level to determine whether there is a true version conflict. In this case, a 32-bit cyclical redundancy check (CRC) algorithm is used to compare the file contents.

Conflict Checker Professional can often prevent detection of false version conflicts. For example, if two apparently different versions of a file (because of inconsistent time and date attributes) have the same size in bytes, then the file contents are compared. If no difference is detected, then this discrepancy is not flagged as a conflict. If you want Conflict Checker Professional to report time and date discrepancies, use the Conflict Checking Options to include date and time conflicts.

Version conflicts are significant because applications may require a particular version of a system file. Applications can also be incompatible with certain versions.

Example of a Version Conflict

You have created a Prism file to distribute an office suite application, and another Prism file to distribute an Internet browser application. In both cases, Prism Pack detected that the OLE2.DLL system file was installed to the windows/system folder, and this entry is included in the Prism files. Unfortunately, the setup programs for the office suite and browser install different versions of this file. Not only are the date and time attributes for the file different, but the sizes of the file in bytes are different. Clearly, there are different versions of this file contained in your Prism files.

You decide that before distributing the applications to the 500 users on your network, and risk inadvertently distributing an incompatible version of the DLL, you will perform some compatibility testing.

For More Information:

What Is a Conflict?

What Is a Folder Conflict?

What is a Registry Conflict?


What Is a Folder Conflict?

A folder conflict occurs when one or more Prism files contain two or more instances of a file entry that specifies more than one folder location for the file.

Conflict Checker Professional does not evaluate program files for folder conflicts. This is because finding multiple locations for an executable file is not considered a conflict. Only system files are evaluated for folder conflicts.

Folder conflicts are significant because:

•	You can conserve disk space by reducing or eliminating replicated system files on your hard drive.

•	You can gain control of which instance of a system file is used by applications. Since system files are often shared among two or more applications, eliminating replicated system files helps you control which instance is loaded when an application program or programs are invoked.

Example of a Folder Conflict

You are running low on disk space on your c: drive. You use to take a Picture of your c: drive. You then use Conflict Checker Professional to find folder conflicts within this Picture (you do not have to compare two Pictures; it is possible to have conflicts within a single Picture). You discover that there are 38 folder conflicts on your c: drive, most of them are backups of system DLLs that were copied to a folder by the installation program of an application you installed six months ago. Since you have not experienced any problems, you decide that you can recover some disk space by moving the file backups from your c: drive to a Zip® disk.

For More Information:

What Is a Conflict?

What Is a Version Conflict?

What is a Registry Conflict?


What is a Registry Conflict?

A registry conflict may occur in the following circumstances:

•	Registry values with the same name, but different types, occur in the same registry key in two or more Prism files.

•	Registry values with the same name and unequal data are located in the same registry key in two or more Prism files.

Note: Conflict Checker will identify a conflict between registry items if they are being added or changed. It will not check deleted registry items for conflicts.

Example of a Registry Conflict

•	You have two Self-Installing files, one containing an audio file player and one containing a video file player. In both Self-Installing files there is a registry setting which designates the default player for MP3 files. This setting is stored as the data for the default registry value in the key "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\m3uFile\shell\open\command". Each Self-Installing file has detected that this registry value should point to (such as, contain the path to) its application’s executable file. When Conflict Checker finds this registry conflict, you decide that you want the audio player to be the default MP3 player.

For More Information:

What Is a Conflict?

What Is a Folder Conflict?

What Is a Version Conflict?


The Conflict Checker Professional Main Window

From the Conflict Checker Professional main window, you manage the list of files to be checked, start and stop conflict checking, view conflicts, and generate conflict reports.

The Conflict Checker Professional main window has the following features:

•	Files to Check list

•	Previously Checked Files List

•	Conflict list

•	Conflict details

•	Status bar

•	Toolbar


The Prism Files to Check List
The Files to Check List

The Files to Check list at the top of the Conflict Checker Professional window displays a list of the Prism files to be checked for conflicts.

•	The File to Check column shows the name of the file without its extension.

•	The Folder column shows the location of the file.

The type of file is indicated by the icon displayed to the left of the file’s name:

Picture file

Package file

Self-Installing file

At the far-left side of the panel, a Conflict Checker icon displays information about the status of conflict checking for the file:

Blank (no icon):  The file has not been checked for conflicts.

 	The file has been checked for conflicts and none were found.

 	The file has been checked for conflicts and conflicts were found.

 	Conflict checking was attempted for the file, but an error occurred. For example, the file may be in use by another application, such as Prism Pack.

 	The file is currently being checked for conflicts. The progress meter in the Status Bar indicates the conflict checking progress.

In the file list, you can right-click on a file to display a pop-up menu of options. You can also select multiple files by pressing the <Ctrl> or <Shift> key while clicking on the files.

When you exit Conflict Checker Professional, the files in the file list are stored so that the next time you start Conflict Checker Professional, the most recent file list is automatically loaded.

For More Information:

Working with the Files to Check List

The Conflict Checker Professional Main Window

The Previously Checked Files List

The Conflict List

Conflict Details


The Conflict List

The conflict list at bottom left of the Conflict Checker Professional window displays the three categories of conflicts:

System Files

Program Files

Registry Settings

After conflicts have been checked, the number of conflicts found in each category is shown in parentheses.

You can expand the conflict list to view the file entries that have conflicts in each category. The conflict details are displayed in the conflict details area of the window.

For More Information:

The Conflict Checker Professional Main Window

The Files to Check List

The Previously Checked Files List


Conflict Details

The conflict details for the selected file entry in the conflict list are displayed at bottom right of the Conflict Checker Professional window.

Conflict details display the information for each conflict in five sizable columns:

Name:  Displays the names of all the Prism files that contain conflicts for the currently selected entry. It's possible for a file to appear more than once in this list, since several folder conflicts can occur within a single file.

Folder:  Shows the folder location within the Prism file for the currently selected entry.

Size (bytes):  Shows the file size stored in the Prism file for the currently selected entry.

Modified:  Shows the date and time stamp stored in the Prism file for the currently selected entry.

File Version:  Shows the version information stored in the Prism file for the currently selected entry. In some cases, this column may be empty for a particular conflict. This can occur for several reasons:

•	The file does not contain version information. For example, MS-DOS applications or older Windows programs may not include version information.

•	For performance reasons, Conflict Checker Professional only accesses version information when it is necessary to determine whether an apparent discrepancy between files is a "true" conflict.

•	Conflict Checker Professional uses Prism file data to determine version information for an entry. For some file entries, the contents of the files are not stored in the Prism file, so it's not possible to obtain the file's version information.

To view the version properties of a file listed in the conflict details section, right-click to bring up all available details about the file.

For More Information:

The Conflict Checker Professional Main Window

The Files to Check List

The Previously Checked Files List

Viewing Entry Properties


The Status Bar

At the bottom of Conflict Checker Professional is the status bar.

In its normal state, the status bar displays information about the current status of Conflict Checker Professional. On the far left of the status bar, a message indicates whether Conflict Checker Professional is ready for your commands. This space also shows a brief description of a command when the pointer is directly over a Toolbar button or a menu option.

When you start conflict checking, the status bar displays information about the progress of the conflict checking. The overall progress is indicated by a message such as "Checking Prism file 1 of 2."


The Toolbar

Click on a button below to display the help topic for each function:

The toolbar in Conflict Checker Professional is detachable. To move the toolbar, place the pointer on the toolbar away from the buttons and drag the toolbar to another location.


Working with the Prism Files to Check List
Working with the Files to Check List

Adding a File to the File List

To add a Prism file to the file list:

1.	Select Add from the File menu, or click on [image] in the toolbar. The Select file to check for conflicts dialog box displays.

2.	From the Look in: drop-down list, select the folder where the Prism file is located.

3.	Select the file that you want to add to the file list and click Open.

4.	Conflict Checker Professional adds the file you selected to the file list:

If the file you selected is already in the file list, Conflict Checker Professional does not add a second instance of the file to the list.

When you add files to the file list, conflicts are not checked until you start conflict checking.

Removing a File from the File List

Select a file in the file list. You can then:

•	Select Remove from the File menu.

•	Click on [image] in the toolbar.

•	Right-click on a file and choose Remove from the pop-up menu.

The selected file is removed from the file list. If conflicts were checked for the list before you removed the file, Conflict Checker Professional automatically updates the conflict list.

Moving a File to the Previously Checked Files List

1.	Select a file in the Files to Check list. To select more than one file, hold the <Shift> or <Ctrl> key down while clicking on another file.

2.	Select Move to Previously Checked Files from the File menu, or right-click on a file and choose Move to Previously Checked Files from the pop-up menu.

The selected file or files will be moved from the Files to Check list to the Previously Checked Files list. If you checked the files for conflicts before moving them, Conflict Checker Professional automatically updates the list of conflicts.

Note:  When you move one or more unchecked files from the Files to Check list to the Previously Checked list, a confirmation message displays. Click Yes to move the files, or No to cancel the move.

Clearing the File Lists

To quickly remove all the files from the lists, select New from the File menu.


Starting and Stopping Conflict Checking

Starting Conflict Checking

Once you have added the file(s) you want to check for conflicts to the Files to Check list, you can check conflicts by choosing Start from the Conflict Checking menu, or clicking on [image] in the toolbar.

When the file has been checked, Conflict Checker Professional displays a message indicting the number of potential conflicts found, and how many Prism files were checked.

Stop Conflict Checking

To stop conflict checking before it’s completed, you can either choose Stop from the Conflict Checking menu, or click on [image] in the toolbar.

For More Information:

The Conflict List

Conflict Details


  Program File

A program file is an executable application file. Examples of program files include WIN.COM and EXPLORER.EXE.


  System File

A system file is a file used by the Windows operating system or a particular application. Examples of system files include drivers (for example, DRV, VDX extensions), and dynamic link libraries (DLL extension).


  Registry Setting

The registry is where Windows 95/ 98/Me/NT/2000/XP or higher all store information about a user's desktop configuration; hardware-specific information; and software information, including information such as OLE (object linking and embedding) and file associations that support drag-and-drop operations and shortcuts.


Expanding and Collapsing the Conflict List

In the conflict list, a plus sign (+) or a minus sign (-) appears to the left of each conflict category to indicate there are conflicts in the category. A plus sign indicates that the category contains conflicts that are not displayed. A minus sign indicates that a category has been expanded and the conflicts are displayed.

To expand a conflict category

Click on the plus sign (or double-click on the name) for a category to select and expand it.

To collapse a conflict category

Click on the minus sign (or double-click on the name) for a category to select and collapse it.


Viewing Entry Properties

To view the properties for a file entry, right-click on a row in the conflict details and select Properties from the pop-up menu. You cannot change any settings or attributes for the file entry, but they may help you understand the nature of the conflict.

For More Information:

Viewing Version Properties


Conflict Reports

You can generate reports of the conflicts found by Conflict Checker Professional. There are several ways to generate conflict reports:

To report all conflicts:

•	Select Report from the Conflict Checking menu.

•	Click on [image] in the toolbar.

To report conflicts by Prism file:

•	Right-click on a file in the Files to Check list and select Report from the pop-up menu, or double-click on the file.

To report conflicts by entry:

•	Right-click on an entry in the conflicts list and select Report from the pop-up menu, or double-click on the entry.

In each case, the conflict information is presented in a format similar to the conflict list and conflict details, except that the report may be printed or saved as a text file.

The conflict details information is comma-delimited in the following order:

Size (bytes)

Last Modified Date and Time

Version

Folder

Prism File

For example:

449296,11/17/97 16:41,4.72.2106.4,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"


Report Conflicts by Prism File

To generate a conflict report by Prism file, right-click on a file or files in the Files to Check list and select Report from the pop-up menu. You can also double-click on a file. Only the conflicts for the selected Prism file(s) are included in the report. The follow is an example of a Conflict Checker Professional report by Prism file:

System file conflicts

E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF

 COMCTL32.DLL

  449296,11/17/97 16:41,4.72.2106.4,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

  182272,07/11/95 09:50,4.0.0.950,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 2.pwf"

 COMPOBJ.DLL

  31120,08/24/96 11:11,2.20.44,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

  31120,08/24/96 11:11,2.20.44,"Windows\sysbckup","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

  30976,07/11/95 09:50,2.20.40,"System","E:\Pictures\Picture 2.pwf"

 OLEAUT32.DLL

  491792,06/04/97 10:51,2.20.4054.1,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

  490256,09/18/97 00:00,2.20.4122.1,"System","E:\Pictures\Picture 2.pwf"

E:\Pictures\Picture 2.pwf

 COMCTL32.DLL

  449296,11/17/97 16:41,4.72.2106.4,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

  182272,07/11/95 09:50,4.0.0.950,"System","E:\Pictures\Picture 2.pwf"

 COMPOBJ.DLL

  31120,08/24/96 11:11,2.20.44,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

  31120,08/24/96 11:11,2.20.44,"Windows\sysbckup","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

  30976,07/11/95 09:50,2.20.40,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 2.pwf"

 OLEAUT32.DLL

  491792,06/04/97 10:51,2.20.4054.1,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

  490256,09/18/97 00:00,2.20.4122.1,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 2.pwf"

Program file conflicts

E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF

 No conflicts found

E:\Pictures\Picture 2.pwf

 No conflicts found

Registry setting conflict

E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF

 No conflicts found

E:\Pictures\Picture 2.pwf

 No conflicts found

Note:  In this example, conflicts for two Prism files were reported.

For More Information:

Printing a Conflict Report

Saving a Conflict Report to a File


Report All Conflicts

Use any of the following options to report all conflicts:

•	Choose Report from the Conflict Checking menu.

•	Click on [image] in the toolbar.

•	Run Conflict Checker from the command-line (see Generating a Conflict Report from the Command-Line)

All conflicts are included in the report. The following is an example of Conflict Checker Professional report of all conflicts:

System file conflicts

AVICAP.DLL

 72272,08/24/96 11:11,4.0.0.950,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

 72272,08/24/96 11:11,4.0.0.950,"Windows\sysbckup","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

AVIFILE.DLL

 109424,08/24/96 11:11,4.0.0.950,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

 109424,08/24/96 11:11,4.0.0.950,"Windows\sysbckup","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

COMMCTRL.DLL

 154880,07/16/97 21:39,4.0.0.950,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

 154880,07/16/97 21:39,4.0.0.950,"Windows\sysbckup","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

COMCTL32.DLL

 449296,11/17/97 16:41,4.72.2106.4,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 1.PWF"

 182272,07/11/95 09:50,4.0.0.950,"System","E:\pictures\Picture 2.pwf"

Program file conflicts

No conflicts found

Registry setting conflict

No conflicts found

Note:  In the above example, the first three entries are examples of folder conflicts and the last (COMCTL32.DLL) is an example of a version conflict.

For More Information:

Printing a Conflict Report

Saving a Conflict Report to a File


Printing a Conflict Report

To print a conflict report, click on the Print button in the Conflicts Report dialog box. The report will be sent to your default printer.

For More Information:

Saving a Conflict Report to a File


Saving a Conflict Report to a File

You can save a conflict report to a file. There are many things you can do with a conflicts report file, including:

•	Import the file into a spreadsheet or database application for additional tracking or analysis.

•	Save it in an archive.

•	E-mail it to a colleague for evaluation.

To save a conflict report to a file, click on the Save As button in the Conflicts Report dialog box. The Enter a name for the report document dialog box displays. Enter a file name and choose Save, and Conflict Checker Professional saves the conflict report in ASCII format.

For More Information:

Printing a Conflict Report


Setting Conflict Checker Professional Options

The Options dialog box configures how Conflict Checker Professional looks for conflicts. To open the Options dialog box, select Conflict Checking | Options.

For an explanation of the conflict checking options, click on a tab below.

If the current Files to Check list has been checked for conflicts when you change the conflict checking options, Conflict Checker Professional will re-check the file list according to the new preferences.

Restoring Conflict Checker Professional Options to Their Default Values

The Defaults button on each tab restores all settings to Conflict Checker Professional's default values. The settings are restored individually on each tab, so if you want to restore all settings, you must click the Defaults button on each tab.


Conflict Checking Options

Use the Options | Conflict Checking tab to customize how conflicts are evaluated.

Folder Conflicts

Select the Ignore Folder Conflicts check box to have Conflict Checker Professional ignore folder conflicts when it evaluates conflicts.

Version Conflicts

Select the Ignore Version Conflicts check box if you want Conflict Checker Professional to ignore version conflicts when it evaluates conflicts.

Date and Time Conflicts

By default, Conflict Checker Professional ignores date and time conflicts. This behavior helps to prevent reporting of false version conflicts.

Here's how Conflict Checker Professional uses the date/time information when determining if a true version conflict exists between two files:

•	If the size and version information is the same but the date and time information is different, this is not automatically a version conflict if the Ignore Date/Time Conflicts option is selected.

•	If the contents of the files are stored in the Prism files, Conflict Checker Professional compares the contents using a CRC computation.

•	If the file contents are equivalent, then the date and time discrepancy is not considered a version conflict.

If you prefer that all date and time discrepancies are reported as version conflicts, regardless of file contents, then uncheck the Ignore Date/Time Conflicts box.

Folder for Conflict Checker Temporary Files

In some cases, Conflict Checker Professional temporarily extracts the contents of a file from a Prism file to determine if there is a version conflict. When creating temporary files, Conflict Checker Professional uses the folder you define in the Folder for Conflict Checker Temporary Files text box. The default value is %TEMP%; that is, the Windows Temp directory. Conflict Checker Professional always removes files it has placed in the Temp directory, so you aren't left with unneeded temp files.

For More Information:

Setting Conflict Checker Professional Options

System File Options

Program File Options

Folder Options

Registry Options


System File Options

The Options | System Files tab defines the settings that Conflict Checker Professional uses for evaluating system file conflicts.

The system file extensions that Conflict Checker Professional evaluates are listed on this tab. Conflict Checker Professional filters out file extensions that are not included in this list. When a file extension is encountered that is included in the list, Conflict Checker Professional examines the entry for conflicts against other entries.

Use the Add and Remove buttons to manage the list of file extensions that you want Conflict Checker Professional to use when looking for system file conflicts.

If you want to ignore system file conflicts altogether, you don't need to remove all the extensions from the system file extensions list. Instead, check the Ignore System File Conflicts checkbox.

For More Information:

Setting Conflict Checker Professional Options

Conflict Checking Options

Program File Options

Folder Options

Registry Options


Program File Options

The Options | Program Files tab defines the settings that Conflict Checker Professional uses for evaluating program file conflicts.

The program file extensions that Conflict Checker Professional evaluates are listed on this tab. Conflict Checker Professional filters out file extensions that are not included in this list. When a file extension is encountered that is included in the list, Conflict Checker Professional examines the entry for conflicts against other entries.

Use the Add and Remove buttons to manage the list of file extensions that you want Conflict Checker Professional to use when looking for program file conflicts.

You may want to ignore program file conflicts altogether. Instead of removing all the extensions from the program file extensions list, just check the Ignore Program File Conflicts checkbox.

For More Information:

Setting Conflict Checker Professional Options

Conflict Checking Options

System File Options

Folder Options

Registry Options


Folder Options

The Options | Folders tab defines a list of folders to be ignored when checking for conflicts. When you configure Conflict Checker Professional to ignore a folder, the file entries in that folder are not reported, even if there is a conflict. The folder's subdirectories are ignored as well.

For example, an application might back up system files and place the backup in the sysbckup subdirectory of your windows directory, or c:\windows\sysbckup. If this folder is subsequently included in your Prism files, Conflict Checker Professional will detect folder conflicts for the system files that occur in the windows directory and the sysbckup subdirectory. If you decide that these conflicts are harmless and you don't want them included in future conflict evaluations, you can add c:\windows\sysbckup to the list of folders to ignore.

To specify a folder (including its subdirectories) to ignore, click on the Add button. The Folder to ignore dialog box opens.

For More Information:

Setting Conflict Checker Professional Options

Conflict Checking Options

System File Options

Program File Options

Registry Options


Viewing Version Properties

To view version properties for a file entry, right-click on the entry in the conflict details. The information displayed is similar to the Version Properties tab in Windows Explorer.

The Item name list in the Version Properties dialog box includes the CRC32. This is a 32-bit cyclical redundancy check (CRC32) value computed by Conflict Checker Professional. The value is displayed in hexadecimal notation. You do not need to understand the basis for the CRC32 computation. However, it is helpful to know that the CRC32 value represents the contents of a file in a way that can be used to compare two files. If the CRC32 values differ, the two files do not have the same content.

In some cases, it is not possible for Conflict Checker Professional to report version properties for a file entry. For example, if the file contents were not stored in a Picture, you may see a message such as:

Other version and copyright information is not available.
File contents were not stored in the Prism file.

For More Information:

What Is a Version Conflict?


Select the Folder to Ignore

The Folder to Ignore dialog box opens when you click the Add button in the Options | Folders dialog box.

Specify a folder (and sub-folders) to ignore when checking for folder and version conflicts. There are several ways to specify a folder to ignore:

•	Type the full path of the folder, for example c:\windows\system.

•	Click on the drop-down list, and select one of the pre-defined variable folder names, for example System.

•	Click on the drop-down list, select one of the pre-defined variable folder names, for example Windows, then type in a subfolder. For example, after selecting the Windows folder from the drop-down list, you could type \System to specify the Windows\System folder.

•	Click on the browse button [image] to open the Browse for Folder dialog box.


Registry Options

The Options | Registry tab defines a list of registry keys to be ignored when checking for conflicts.

To add a registry key to the list, click the Add button and type the name of the registry key in the Registry key to ignore dialog box.

Select the Ignore Registry Conflicts check box to have Conflict Checker Professional ignore registry conflicts when it evaluates conflicts.

For More Information:

Setting Conflict Checker Professional Options

Conflict Checking Options

System File Options

Program File Options

Folder Options


What Is a Previously Checked Prism File?
What Is a Previously Checked File?

As you check your Prism files for conflicts, Conflict Checker Professional allows you to move the files to a list of previously checked files. Files in the Previously Checked list are checked for conflicts against the Files to Check list, but not against each other.

For example, suppose you have Conflict Checker Professional configured with the following file lists:

Files to Check

Picture 3

Picture 4

Previously Checked Files

Picture 1

Picture 2

Package 1

Package 2

In this example, Picture 3 will be checked for conflicts against Picture 4, and against the four Prism files in the Previously Checked Files list. This is the only conflict checking that will be done. So if there are any conflicts between Picture 1 and Picture 2, for example, these will not be reported.

You move Prism files to the Previously Checked list to reduce the number of conflicts you must evaluate as you check new Prism files for conflicts.

Some of the conflicts you find in your Prism files are benign. For instance, you may have a backup directory of system DLLs that are reported as folder conflicts with the actual system folder DLLs. You might evaluate these folder conflicts, and determine that they are not consequential for the purpose of distributing software packages.

Without the previously checked files list, each time you added a new file to your list of files to be checked for conflicts, these folder conflicts would be detected and reported. You could use the Conflict Checker Professional options settings to ignore folder conflicts, but you would then risk missing folder conflicts that are significant.

So to avoid re-evaluating the folder conflicts you aren't concerned about every time you check for conflicts, move the file(s) to the Previously Checked list. Now, when you check for conflicts, any conflicts found between the files in the Previously Checked list are not reported.

Don't worry if this is a bit confusing at first. Go ahead and try it out - after checking some files for conflicts, move one or more files to the Previously Checked files list and watch what happens to your conflicts list. As you gain experience, you will find that this is a valuable feature for detecting and preventing the "true conflicts" that you will want to correct before distributing your files.


The Previously Checked Prism Files List
The Previously Checked Files List

The Previously Checked Files list is only visible when you have moved files to the list. When the list is empty, only the Files to Check list is visible. Once you have moved one or more Prism files to the Previously Checked Files list, Conflict Checker Professional automatically displays the window, in a new row immediately below the Files to Check window.

The information displayed for each file in the Previously Checked Files list is identical to the Files to Check list. Use the list exactly as you would the Files to Check list, with one exception. For obvious reasons, the Move to Previously Checked Files option is not available. See Working with the Files to Check List for details.

Hint:  If you make a mistake, and accidentally move a file to the Previously Checked Files list, you cannot move it back to the Files to Check list. Instead, you must delete the file from the Previously Checked list, then add it to the Files to Check list as you normally would.


Conflict Checker Professional Configuration Files

The most recently used file lists are automatically stored when you exit Conflict Checker Professional. The next time you start Conflict Checker Professional, the most recently used file lists are automatically loaded. Often, this does not provide the flexibility that you need for managing your lists of Files to Check and Previously Checked Files. Conflict Checker Professional offers the ability to save file list configurations (called a Conflict Checker configuration file). The file lists can be recalled and loaded from this configuration file at any time.

By default, Conflict Checker Professional assigns the extension "CCC" (for Conflict Checker Configuration) to the configuration files.

Note:  When a configuration file is open, the name of the file is displayed in the Conflict Checker Professional caption. For example, when the file "c:\Prism Files\Master Package List.CCC" is loaded, the caption reads:

Conflict Checker Professional - [c:\Prism Files\Master Package List.CCC]

When a configuration file is not loaded, the caption indicated simply "Untitled":

Conflict Checker Professional - [Untitled]

When to Use a Conflict Checker Professional Configuration File

Use configuration files whenever you have a list of files to check and/or previously checked that would be time consuming and tedious to re-create.

Let's say, for example, that you have an extensive library of Prism files containing software updates and changes. You continuously add Prism files to your master list of files to be checked for conflicts, and eventually move them to the Previously Checked Files list. The Prism files are located in several different directories on your network. In this case, it is a good idea to save a record of your file lists in the form of a Conflict Checker Professional configuration file. That way, you would not need to re-create your lists from scratch in the event of a system crash.

Or perhaps you want to do a special study and check for conflicts between just two of your Prism files. You can clear the file lists easily enough (using the File | New menu option), and then add the two Prism files to the Files to Check list. The difficult task would be to re-populate your master lists. But since you can save your configurations, this becomes a trivial matter.

For More Information:

Working with Conflict Checker Professional Configuration Files


Working with Conflict Checker Professional Configuration Files

Saving a Configuration File

You can save the current lists of Prism files you are working on as a Conflict Checker configuration (CCC) file, whether it is a new CCC file or it existed previously. You can save a copy of the current lists of Prism files with a different name or in a different location.

Saving a New Configuration File

1.	Select Save from the File menu. The Save As dialog box opens.

2.	From the Look in: drop-down list, select the folder where you wish to save the new CCC file.

3.	In the File name box, type a name for the CCC file, and click Save.

This saves the configuration file. Notice the Conflict Checker Professional caption is updated to indicate the currently active configuration file.

Saving an Existing Configuration File

To save an existing Conflict Checker configuration (CCC) file containing the current lists of Prism files, select Save from the File menu.

Saving a Copy of an Existing Configuration File

1.	Select Save from the File menu. The Save As dialog box opens.

2.	From the Look in: drop-down list, select the folder where you wish to save a copy of the CCC file.

3.	In the File name box, type a name for the CCC file, and click Save.

Loading Previously Saved Lists from a Configuration File

To open an existing Conflict Checker configuration (CCC) file to restore previously saved lists of Prism files:

1.	Select Open from the File menu. The Select a configuration file dialog box opens.

2.	From the Look in: drop-down list, select the folder where the CCC file is located.

3.	Select the configuration file that you want to load, and click Open.

Conflict Checker Professional clears the current file lists, and loads the lists stored in the configuration file. If the lists include files in the Previously Checked Files list, then Conflict Checker Professional displays the Previously Checked Files list.


About Conflict Checker Professional

Click the [image] icon to view the About Conflict Checker window. Use this window to check the current version and for links to the Lanovation web site.


Generating a Conflict Report from the Command-Line

Conflict Checker reports can be generated through the graphical interface or by executing a command from a command-line. When you run Conflict Checker from the command-line, you get the same results as using [image] in the toolbar. The Conflict Checker command:

1.	Checks for conflicts in the specified files

2.	Displays a report on all conflicts

Syntax

"c:\Program Files\PrismClient\ccpro.exe" [filename1] [filename2]...[filename_n]

The syntax above assumes that the Conflict Checker executable is installed in the c:\Program Files\PrismClient directory. If you installed the executable in another directory, replace the path shown here with the appropriate path.

[filename]

The name of a Prism file to check for potential conflicts.

Note: The [ ] indicate optional information. Do not type the bracket symbols when using the command.

Example

Suppose you plan to roll out two Prism files—one for a new application and one for a major update of an existing application. Before you install these programs on hundreds of computers, you want to compare the two Prism files for potential conflicts. To use the Conflict Checker command-line feature for this task, run the following command:

"c:\Program Files\PrismClient\ccpro.exe" c:\packages\new_app.pwc c:\packages\new_app.pwc update_app.pwc

For More Information

Conflict Reports

Report All Conflicts