How does TortoiseCVS handle binary files?
CVS can automatically merge text files if two people change them at the same time, but it doesn’t do so with binary files. It simply says there is a conflict, gives you a copy of both files, and lets you resolve it. Because of this you may want to use text files wherever possible. For example, use HTML or persuade Word to save as a text XML file. TortoiseCVS tries to automatically detect whether a file is binary or text when you add it: • Files with certain extensions, such as .doc and .exe, are always assumed to be binary. Other extensions, such as .cpp and .txt, are always assumed to be text. TortoiseCVS’ built-in list of binary extensions includes most common extensions; to customize the list, copy the file TortoiseCVS.Filetypes into your HOME folder and edit it. (You can even write a custom DLL for detecting the type of a file – see TortoiseCVS.Filetypes for details). • For other files TortoiseCVS examines the first few bytes of a file to determine the type. If the file type cannot
