# Compare/Patch

The following preferences can be changed on the Compare/Patch page.

## General options

Option | Description | Default
--- | --- | ---
Open structure compare automatically | This option controls whether a structure compare is automatically performed whenever a content compare is done. Turn this option off if you don't want to see the structural differences. | On
Show additional compare information in the status line | If this option is on, additional information about a change is shown in the status line. Turn this option on if you are interested in additional information about a change. | Off
Ignore white space | This option controls whether or not whitespace change are shown in the compare viewer. Turn this option on if you want to see changes in whitespace. | Off
Automatically save dirty options before patching | This option controls whether any unsaved changes are automatically saved before a patch is applied. Turn this option on if you want to save changes automatically. | Off

## Text Compare options

Option | Description | Default
--- | --- | ---
Synchronize scrolling between panes in compare viewers | The two comparison viewers will "lock scroll" along with one another in order to keep identical and corresponding portions of the code in each pane side-by-side. Turn this option off if you do not want the compare viewers to lock scroll. | On
Initially show ancestor pane | Sometimes you want to compare two versions of a resource with the previous version from which they were both derived. This is called their common ancestor, and it appears in its own comparison pane during a three way compare. Turn this option on if you want the ancestor pane to always appear at the start of a comparison. | Off
Show pseudo conflicts | Displays pseudo conflicts, which occur when two developers make the same change (e.g., both add or remove the exact same line of code or comment). Turn this option on if you want pseudo conflicts to appear in compare browsers. | Off
Connect ranges with single line | Controls whether differing ranges are visually connected by a single line or a range delimited by two lines. | On

Here is what the Compare preference page looks like:

Compare Editor
CVS Synchronization View