Diff module
Content management Bundled: DX Core
| Edition | DX Core |
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License |
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Issues |
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Maven site |
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Latest |
3.0.0 |
No |
The Diff module enhances Magnolia core versioning functionality. The module uses the daisydiff Java library to compare two HTML files. Insertions are highlighted in green and deletions in red. Users can see exactly what has changed between two versions of the same content. The module is used by the Pages app to compare page versions. Line-by-line text comparison and changes in asset selection allow editors and publishers to see at a glance exactly what has changed.
Installing with Maven
Maven is the easiest way to install the module. Add the following to your bundle:
<dependency>
<groupId>info.magnolia.diff</groupId>
<artifactId>magnolia-diff</artifactId>
<version>3.0.0</version> (1)
</dependency>| 1 | Should you need to specify the module version, do it using <version>. |
For integration with the Pages app there is also magnolia-diff-pages-integration.
<dependency>
<groupId>info.magnolia.diff</groupId>
<artifactId>magnolia-diff-pages-integration</artifactId>
<version>3.0.0</version> (1)
</dependency>| 1 | Should you need to specify the module version, do it using <version>. |
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Note the changes in |
Compatibility module
We have been gradually removing the old Content API from our modules since Magnolia 5.6. If you have custom code relying on classes from the old diff module then you must do one of two things:
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Update your code for the new version of the diff module.
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Or you can use the
magnolia-diff-compatibilitymodule together with themagnolia-core-compatibilitymodule.
Add the following snippet to your POM file:
<dependency>
<groupId>info.magnolia.diff</groupId>
<artifactId>magnolia-diff-compatibility</artifactId>
<version>3.0.0</version> (1)
</dependency>| 1 | Should you need to specify the module version, do it using <version>. |
Configuration
In most circumstances, the Diff module requires no configuration.
However, version comparison relies on functionality provided by the Diff module and, if implemented, may require the following configuration.
Diff servlet
info.magnolia.module.diff.VersionDiffHtmlServlet is
registered in the Magnolia
filter
chain in the Configuration app >
/server/filters/servlets/VersionDiffHtmlServlet. The controller
generates the diff view between two versions of a page by checking the
toVersionNr and fromVersionNr request parameters.
Diff configuration
The default settings for headers, cookies, host and port can be set by configuration.
By default Magnolia is set to generate a JSESSIONID cookie. This is
configured in the diff module in the Configuration app >
/modules/diff/config/cookies.
You can configure custom settings for:
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cookies: You can specify any number of custom session cookie names to forward. -
headers: The default value isnone. By adding aheadersconfig node you can specify any number of headers to be sent to the diff servlet thereby automatically excluding any headers that are not specified. -
hostandport: The default host and port islocalhostand8080. However, the Diff module will work even if you change the default Tomcat port. This means that you can use the diff functionality against another server.
Due to a security issue, the functionality of host and port is no longer available in Magnolia 6.2.38.
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| Headers and cookies are configured separately. |
Diff HTML generator
info.magnolia.module.diff.VersionDiffHtmlGenerator
compares two HTML files using
HTMLDiffer
and returns HTML that highlights the differences between the compared
pages:
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The comparison only includes the body of the HTML document.
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The differences are marked with span tags.
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The header is taken from the HTML of the page that is compared to.
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CSS is added.
Here’s a snippet from diff.css
(GIT)
located in the mgnl-resources folder of the module jar.
/*
* Styles for the HTML Diff
*/
span.diff-html-added {
font-size: 100%;
background-color: #ccffcc; /* light green */
cursor: pointer;
}
span.diff-html-removed {
font-size: 100%;
text-decoration: line-through;
background-color: #fc6f6f; /* light red */
cursor: pointer;
}
span.diff-html-changed {
background-color: #95c6fd; /* light blue */
cursor: pointer;
}
span.diff-html-selected {
background-color: #FF8800; /* light orange */
cursor: pointer;
}
Diff utility classes
Two utility classes are provided:
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info.magnolia.module.diff.util.DiffUtil provides the
buildComparisonURL,buildComparisonURLToCurrentandbuildComparisonURLToCurrentUnversionedmethods. -
info.magnolia.module.diff.util.VersionComparison is a POJO that
getsandsetstheversionFromandversionTomethods.
Compare actions
info.magnolia.module.diff.app.action.CompareLocalizedVersionsAction and
info.magnolia.module.diff.app.action.CompareToPreviousLocalizedVersionAction
open the diff subapp (see below) configured in the
Pages app. The action definitions are configured in the
Configuration app >
/modules/pages/apps/pages/subApps/browser/actions.
Diff subapp
The diff view that opens when comparing different page versions is
configured in the Pages app. This configuration is in the
Configuration app > /modules/pages/apps/pages/subApps/diff.
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class: info.magnolia.ui.framework.app.embedded.EmbeddedPageSubAppDescriptor embeds the page in an iframe. -
label: Renders in the subapp tab. -
subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.framework.app.embedded.EmbeddedPageSubApp is the main tab in an embedded page app.
Example: Here’s the diff subapp for the
/travel/about/what-we-believe page. The URL is:
http://localhost:8080/magnoliaAuthor/.magnolia/admincentral#app:pages:diff;/.magnolia/versionDiff?diffViewContentHandle=/travel/about/what-we-believe&fromVersionNr=1.0&toVersionNr=1.1&diffLocale=en
Note the reference to the diffViewContentHandle, fromVersionNr, and
toVersionNr parameters.
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Restoring a previous version does not restore the name or location (path) of the item if these have been changed. |