I cant figure out the filters. Here's what I've tried.

[laptop-doug]

EDIT: oh hell, do i have to specify what filters, when i pick the dirs to compare?

i have this folder, in one of the compared dirs.
C:\Users\asdf\Documents\asdf\d_theme_3\inc
I have a few of these folders, scattered around
_gsdata_

here's what i've tried:

def: include
d: \\_gsdata_$
 
d: \\_gsdata_\$
 
d: \\\_gsdata_$ 

d: \\\_gsdata_\$ 

d: \_gsdata_$ 

d: \\\_gsdata_$ 

d: \_gsdata_\$ 

d: _gsdata_$  

and similar iterations for the specific dir.
If I change the filter, in notepad (in the C:\Program Files\WinMerge\Filters dir) and then refresh, does that work?
If I change the filter, from the Filters dialog, then refresh, does that work?
Do I have to delete and reinstall the filter?

[sdottaka]

d: \\_gsdata_$ should work.

If I change the filter, in notepad (in the C:\Program Files\WinMerge\Filters dir) and then refresh, does that work?

If you edit with Notepad launched from a location other than the Filter dialog, you will need to restart WinMerge for the changes to take effect.

If I change the filter, from the Filters dialog, then refresh, does that work?

That should be the case as long as you are using a recent version of WinMerge. However, if your filters are stored in C:\Program Files\WinMerge\Filters, you may not have write permissions unless you start WinMerge with administrator privileges.

Do I have to delete and reinstall the filter?

I don't think that's necessary.

[laptop-doug]

ok, here's how it works. When you select your folders for compare, you choose 1 (one) filter. Only that filter is active now. You can change the filter, outside of Winmerge, open in notepad, from windows. When you make a change, you hit F5 to refresh and your changes are reflected.

Now, the docs, I finally found "Applying File Filters" But it says there is a 'Filter Field', but there isnt.
In the Filters dialog, use the Filefilters tab to choose a file filter and load it in the Filter field.
Note If a file filter is currently enabled, the selected file filter is already loaded in the Filter field.

[sdottaka]

Oh, I didn't think that the filter changes made in the external editor would be reflected immediately by pressing the F5 key.