14.6.7 VC Status Commands

To view the detailed version control status and history of a file, type C-x v l (vc-print-log). It displays the history of changes to the current file, including the text of the log entries. The output appears in a separate window.

When you are working on a large program, it’s often useful to find all the files that are currently locked, or all the files maintained in version control at all. You can use C-x v d (vc-directory) to show all the locked files in or beneath the current directory. This includes all files that are locked by any user. C-u C-x v d lists all files in or beneath the current directory that are maintained with version control.

The list of files is displayed as a buffer that uses an augmented Dired mode. The names of the users locking various files are shown (in parentheses) in place of the owner and group. All the normal Dired commands work in this buffer. Most interactive VC commands work also, and apply to the file name on the current line.

The C-x v v command (vc-next-action), when used in the augmented Dired buffer, operates on all the marked files (or the file on the current line). If it operates on more than one file, it handles each file according to its current state; thus, it may check out one file and check in another (because it is already checked out). If it has to check in any files, it reads a single log entry, then uses that text for all the files being checked in. This can be convenient for registering or checking in several files at once, as part of the same change.