How To Patch Files
Author: Debbie Grignani, 2BrightSparks Pte
Ltd.
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Ever had to email large
documents to your colleagues at work
and found it a real hassle due to long
download times? Well, you’re not
alone. Email is one of the most popular
forms of communication in this high tech
society and there is no more convenient
a way to send documents than attaching
them to your emails.
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As easy as this may sound, there are times
when sending a document could prove both time
consuming and frustrating due to the document
size. For example, Yahoo Mail only allows attachments
if they are less than 10MB. Any documents larger
than 10MB will have to either be manually divided
into a number of files, or smaller sizes, or
zipped using programs like WinZip to create
a Zip file containing the actual document.
The disadvantage of a creating a Zip file is
that it still contains repetitive information
that you would have emailed to your colleagues
already. The alternative is to create a patch
file.
What is a patch file?
A patch file is a text file that consists
of a list of differences between the original
file and the modified file. It is the best
and easiest way to share changes to a document
with friends and colleagues, without having
to send repetitive information. This way, you
can be sure that the file size you are emailing
is kept to its bare minimum.
Think of the original file in the illustration
on the next page as the reference file for
creating patches. The modified file is the
new file that is constantly being updated or
changed. The patch file contains the differences
between the original file and the modified
file:
When you patch a file you will also have the
original reference file. By using the patch
file you will create a new patched file which
is identical to the modified file:
Where can I find a patch program?
2BrightSparks introduced their OnClick
Utilities,
which is a collection of six very useful programs
that truly sum up the phrase “ease of
use”. All programs are operational by
a click of your mouse button, which explains
the origin of the name “OnClick”.
Among the six programs is one called PatchOnClick.
It creates a patch file that will be easily
attached to your emails and the recipient will
be able to patch the file to the original file
to get the whole updated document. It is that
easy and convenient. There are two versions
of PatchOnClick. They include a freeware version
and a commercial version, which is part of
the OnClick Utilities package, with the major
difference being that the commercial version
allows the use of command line parameters.
Think of PatchOnClick the next time you need
to send large documents that need constant
amendments to and fro with your colleagues
or friends. It will make your life a lot easier!
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