Running Viewpoint Comparisons

You can compare two viewpoints to determine the differences between them. You can also compare two different hierarchies in the same viewpoint by opening a duplicate tab for a viewpoint.

You can compare viewpoints to:

Find Missing Nodes: Finds nodes that exist in one viewpoint that do not exist in the other viewpoint.
Compare Relationships: Finds nodes that exist in both viewpoints but that have different parents.
Compare Property Values: Finds nodes that exist in both viewpoints but that have differences in one or more property values.

Note:

When running compares for properties with the String or Boolean data type, both the displayed value and the actual value for properties are evaluated for differences. For example, if the displayed value is "True" for one Boolean property and "Yes" for a second Boolean property, those properties are not identified as having different property values.

Tip:
You can specify the properties that you want to display as columns to make the comparison easier. See Configuring How a Viewpoint Displays Properties.

You can run multiple types of comparisons at the same time. For example, you can run a comparison for missing nodes and nodes that have different parents.

Tip:

For comparisons that are run repeatedly, you can create compare profiles that enable you to save a set of comparison parameters in a reusable profile. Then, instead of manually specifying the parameters each time you want to run that compare, you select the predefined profile from the drop down menu. See Creating, Editing, and Deleting Compare Profiles.

If the Alternate Name property is available on the node types being compared, both the node names and the alternate names are evaluated during the comparison. A match on the name property takes precedence over a match on the alternate name.

For hierarchy viewpoints, you can compare the entire hierarchy, or you can select a top node to compare a portion of the hierarchy. You can also compare only the bottom nodes of the entire hierarchy or of a selected top node.

As you correct differences between the viewpoints, the compare results are automatically updated.

Note:

If you run a comparison of viewpoints that use different node types, you'll get a message indicating that you need to set up node type converters. For more information, see Working with Node Type Converters.

Comparing Two Different Viewpoints

From the left pane, click Compare to open the Compare tab.
Perform an action:
- To select a compare profile:
  1. Click the drop down menu under the Compare Viewpoints header.
    The options to interactively compare Left to Right and Right to Left are displayed first, followed by your predefined Compare Profiles. Compare profiles are displayed only when both viewpoints are active. Profiles that include any archived viewpoints are not displayed.
  2. Select a compare profile to run.
    The viewpoints in the profile are selected automatically. All other compare parameters are disabled.
  3. Optional: After you select a compare profile to run, click Compare Actions and then select Inspect to inspect or edit the compare profile parameters.
  For information on creating compare profiles, see Creating, Editing, and Deleting Compare Profiles.
- To build an interactive viewpoint comparison:
  1. Select the viewpoints to compare.
  2. Select a direction for the compare.
    
    For example, for missing nodes:
    - If you select Left to Right, the compare determines which nodes are in the left viewpoint but not in the right viewpoint.
    - If you select Right to Left, the compare determines which nodes are in the right viewpoint but not in the left viewpoint.
  3. Select the nodes that you want to compare (select one):
    - All Nodes: Compares all of the nodes in the viewpoint.
    - Bottom Nodes: Compares all of the bottom nodes in the viewpoint.
    - Selected Node and Descendants: Compares the node that you selected and all of the nodes underneath it. (Hierarchy viewpoints only)
    - Bottom Nodes for Selected Node: Compares the bottom nodes underneath the node that you selected. (Hierarchy viewpoints only)
  4. Click the type of comparison that you want to run (select one or more):
    - Find Missing Nodes
    - Compare Relationships (Hierarchy viewpoints only)
    - Compare Property Values
  5. Optional: When comparing property values, click Select Properties to Compare and then use the property selector to select specific properties for comparison. Click a property on the right to select it. Click X to remove a selected property.
Click Run Compare to run the compare for the selected viewpoints or compare profile.

The nodes in the compare results are displayed in the Compare pane. For hierarchy viewpoints, the parent name is also displayed. If the compare results exceed the maximum that are able to be displayed on the screen, you can download the results to see the full set.

Click a node to see it in the viewpoint where it exists. See Aligning Nodes.

Note:

For property comparisons, Align: Left is selected automatically, and when you click on a node in the compare results, the node is located in both viewpoints. For relationship comparisons, you can click on either viewpoint and then click a node in the compare results to locate the node in both viewpoints.

You can create a request to resolve node differences between the viewpoints, see Correcting Node Differences From Compare Results. As you resolve each difference, the nodes are removed from the compare results.

Note:
Each shared node under a different parent is listed separately in the compare pane.
Optional: Change the comparison criteria and then click Compare Refresh to run a new comparison.
Optional: Download the compare results to an Excel file by clicking Action in the Compare Viewpoints header and selecting Download to file. The viewpoints are displayed on separate tabs in the downloaded file.

Note:
The downloaded file contains the full compare results, not just the results that are displayed on the screen.

Comparing Different Hierarchies in the Same Viewpoint

Open a duplicate tab of the viewpoint that contains the hierarchies that you want to compare. See Using Duplicate Viewpoint Tabs.
From the left pane, click Compare to open the Compare tab.
Perform an action:
- To select a compare profile:
  1. Click the drop down menu under the Compare Viewpoints header.
    The options to interactively compare Left to Right and Right to Left are displayed first, followed by your predefined Compare Profiles. Compare profiles are displayed only when both viewpoints are active. Profiles that include any archived viewpoints are not displayed.
  2. Select a compare profile to run.
    A duplicate tab of the viewpoint is added to the view (if it does not already exist) and is displayed in the side by side layout. All other compare parameters are disabled.
  3. Optional: After you select a compare profile to run, click Compare Actions and then select Inspect to inspect or edit the compare profile parameters.
  For information on creating compare profiles, see Creating, Editing, and Deleting Compare Profiles.
- To build an interactive viewpoint comparison:
  1. Select the original and duplicate tabs of the viewpoint to compare.
  2. Select a direction for the compare.
  3. Select the nodes that you want to compare (select one):
    - Selected Node and Descendants: Compares the node that you selected and all of the nodes underneath it.
    - Bottom Nodes for Selected Node: Compares the bottom nodes underneath the node that you selected.
    Note:
    Because the original and duplicate tabs display the same viewpoint, the All Nodes and Bottom Nodes options will not generate any compare differences.
  4. Click the type of comparison that you want to run (select one or more):
    - Find Missing Nodes
    - Compare Relationships
    - Compare Property Values
  5. Optional: When comparing property values, click Select Properties to Compare and then use the property selector to select specific properties for comparison. Click a property on the right to select it. Click X to remove a selected property.
Optional: When comparing property values, click Select Properties to Compare and then use the property selector to select specific properties for comparison. Click a property on the right to select it. Click X to remove a selected property.
Click Run Compare to run the compare for the selected viewpoints.

Working with Compare Results

After you run the compare, the nodes in the compare results are displayed in the Compare pane.

Note:

Each shared node under a different parent is listed separately in the compare pane.

You can perform the following actions on your compare results:

Click a node to see it in the viewpoint where it exists. See Aligning Nodes.

Note:

For relationship and property comparisons, the direction (Align Left or Right) is selected automatically based on the direction of the compare, and when you click on a node in the compare results the node is located in both viewpoints under the selected node that is being compared. For relationship comparisons, you can click on either viewpoint and then click a node in the compare results to locate the node in both viewpoints under the selected node that is being compared.
Create a request to resolve node differences between the viewpoints, see Correcting Node Differences From Compare Results. As you resolve each difference, the nodes are removed from the compare results.