Perforce 2008.1 Command Reference
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p4 changelist

p4 change

Synopsis

Create or edit a changelist specification.

Syntax

p4 [g-opts] change [ -s ] [ -f | -u ] [ changelist# ]
p4 [g-opts] change -d [ -f -s ] changelist#
p4 [g-opts] change -o [ -s ] [ changelist# ]
p4 [g-opts] change -i [ -s ] [ -f | -u ]

Description

When files are opened with p4 add, p4 delete, p4 edit, or p4 integrate, the files are listed in a changelist. Edits to the files are kept in the local client workspace until the changelist is sent to the depot with p4 submit. By default, files are opened within the default changelist, but multiple changelists can be created and edited with the p4 change command.

p4 change brings up a form for editing or viewing in the editor defined by the environment or registry variable P4EDITOR. When no arguments are provided, this command creates a new, numbered changelist.

Changelist numbers are assigned in sequence; Perforce may renumber changelists automatically on submission in order to keep the numeric order of submitted changelists identical to the chronological order.

To edit the description of a pending changelist, or to view the fields of a submitted changelist, use p4 change changelist.

If p4 submit of the default changelist fails, a numbered changelist is created in its place. The changelist must be referred to by number from that point forward.

The command p4 changelist is an alias for p4 change.

Form Fields

Field Name
Type
Description

Change:

Read-only

Contains the changelist number if editing an existing changelist, or new if creating a new changelist.

Client:

Read-only

Name of current client workspace.

Date:

Read-only

Date the changelist was last modified.

User:

Read-only

Name of current Perforce user.

Status:

Read-only

pending, submitted, or new. Not editable by the user. The status is new when the changelist is created, pending when it has been created but has not yet been submitted to the depot with p4 submit, and submitted when its contents have been stored in the depot with p4 submit.

Description:

Writable,
mandatory

Textual description of changelist. This value must be changed before submission.

Jobs:

List

A list of jobs that are fixed by this changelist. The list of jobs that appears when the form is first displayed is controlled by the p4 user form's JobView: setting. Jobs may be deleted from or added to this list.

Files:

List

The list of files being submitted in this changelist. Files may be deleted from this list, and files that are found in the default changelist can be added.

Options

-d

Delete the changelist. This is usually allowed only with pending changelists that contain no files or pending fixes, but the superuser can delete changelists under other circumstances with the addition of the -f flag.

-f

Force flag. Allows the description, modification date, or user of a submitted changelist to be edited. Editing a submitted changelist requires admin or super access. Superusers and administrators may also overwrite read-only fields when using the -f flag.

-f -d

Forcibly delete a previously submitted changelist. Only a Perforce administrator or superuser can use this command, and the changelist must have had all of its files removed from the system with p4 obliterate.

-o

Write a changelist description to standard output.

-i

Read a changelist description from standard input. Input must be in the same format used by the p4 change form.

-s

Allows jobs to be assigned arbitrary status values on submission of the changelist, rather than the default status of closed. To leave a job unchanged, use the special status of same.

On new changelists, the fix status is displayed as the special status ignore. (If the status is left unchanged, the job is not fixed by the submission of the changelist.)

This option works in conjunction with the -s option to p4 fix, and is intended for use in conjunction with defect tracking systems.

-u

Update a submitted changelist. Only the Jobs: and Description: fields may be updated, and only the submitter of the changelist may update the changelist. The -u and the -f flags are mutually exclusive.

g-opts

See the Global Options section.

Usage Notes

Can File Arguments Use
Revision Specifier?

Can File Arguments Use
Revision Range?

Minimal Access Level Required

N/A

N/A

open

Examples

p4 change

Create a new changelist.

p4 change -f 25

Edit previously submitted changelist 25. Administrator or superuser access is required.

p4 change -d 29

Delete changelist 29. This succeeds only if changelist 29 is pending and contains no files.

Related Commands

To submit a changelist to the depot

p4 submit

To move a file from one changelist to another

p4 reopen

To remove a file from all pending changelists

p4 revert

To list changelists meeting particular criteria

p4 changes

To list opened files

p4 opened

To list fixes linked to particular changelists

p4 fixes

To link a job to a a particular changelist

p4 fix

To remove a job from a particular changelist

p4 fix -d

To list all the files listed in a changelist

p4 opened -c changelist#

To obtain a description of files changed in a changelist

p4 describe changelist#


Perforce 2008.1 Command Reference
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p4 branches
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p4 changelist
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Last updated: 07/08/08