Apply patches on Windows

Last updated November 9, 2010.

Patching on Windows can be done by a variety of programs. The command line patch utility can run on Windows natively with GnuWin32 or Unxutils, or via the emulation layer Cygwin.

If you require or fancy a graphical interface, you can use for example TortoiseSVN, the IDE Eclipse, or the IDE NetBeans.

Eclipse

To apply patches to code using Eclipse:

Menu > windows > open perspective > others > team synchronizing
Open the patch file, select all text and copy it to clipboard (Ctrl+ C)
Menu > project > apply patch
Select clipboard, click next, select the file you want to patch, click finish or next to setup patching options.

More information can be found with details on how to install and configure Eclipse for Drupal.

NetBeans

To apply patches to code using NetBeans:

Open the project and right-click on the file or folder you want to patch.
Tools > Apply Diff Patch...
Browse to and select the patch file you want to apply. > Click "Patch".

TortoiseSVN

Instructions for applying patches using TortoiseSVN are available on TortoiseSVN.net as are instructions for applying patches using TortoiseMerge.

Comments

A minimal solution

Posted by Jim Bacon on February 18, 2010 at 6:02pm

See http://drupal.org/node/75790#comment-2615716.

Thank you, yes. I have had

Posted by shiva7663 on March 11, 2010 at 3:45pm

Thank you, yes. I have had good patch experiences using your simple solution; perhaps it should be promoted to the main Windows Patch solution handbook?

Thanks

Posted by tech_nick on August 22, 2011 at 11:59pm

Thanks for sharing. I've done it fast.

NetBeans makes it really easy

Posted by lostchord on April 4, 2010 at 5:48am

The NetBeans IDE makes it really easy to patch modules once the development environment has been setup.

(1) Right-click the file in the Project navigation display,
(2) Select Tools > Apply Diff Patch...
(3) Navigate to the patch file in the file dialogue, select it, click the Patch button.

cheers

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We are born naked, wet, and hungry. Then things get worse.

Same thing in Eclipse

Posted by Francewhoa on April 8, 2010 at 5:22am

Same thing in Eclipse 3.5.x. Very easy. The menu is call TEAM instead of TOOLS.

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How to contribute to Drupal.

how to set up an environment

Posted by itserich on October 2, 2010 at 1:35pm

I want to apply a patch to a drupal module.

Do I need to set up a profile?

Applying a patch sounds so easy. I look in the Eclipse and NetBeans forums for "drupal apply patch" and can't find anything relevant.

Any tips? It all seems so easy once it is figured out. Thanks.

EDIT Ha ha the comment below seems relevant. Thank you!

I'd say NetBeans on Windows

Posted by Andy Wyer on January 16, 2011 at 6:13pm

NetBeans on Windows is great at applying .patch files to the - Module folder incl. Contents. Personal preference.

Regards

Andy
http://www.ethengi.com

Still getting the patch cannot be applied in the selected contex

Posted by tefnut on March 21, 2013 at 8:18am

I'm using these instructions: http://drupal.org/node/60179 and have saved the patch via save target to prevent Chrome (and tried IE) rewriting of the code.
When I try and apply the patch I keep getting 'the patch cannot be applied in the selected context'
Has anyone else had this problem

Remember

Posted by tanhaa on August 20, 2010 at 7:05pm

What this simple step-by-step patching solution is ignoring (and I had to struggle with it just now, not knowing eclipse at all) is that the file you are patching must be part of a project within Eclipse. So if you are using Eclipse PDT, make sure that you make a new project. Then within that project, make a new file and copy the content of the file that you will be patching in that new file and save the new file. Then follow the steps above to apply the patch.

At least that's how it worked for me after fiddling around with it for an hour or so trying to figure out how do I apply the patch!

thanks, what is the file being patched?

Posted by itserich on October 2, 2010 at 1:47pm

I am trying to patch a module.

Can't figure out how to move the file (the original module) into the project and file folders.

Do I extract the module? Pick one of those files based on the patch?

Move the whole module into the project file folder?

Any advice appreciated.

I downloaded eclipse and went

Posted by that_scouse_dev on December 16, 2010 at 2:31pm

I downloaded eclipse and went through the quite long setup process. When I finally came to applying the patch it wouldn't work so I downloaded netbeans and had my first page patched in afew minutes.
As someone mentioned above, you need to create a new project within netbeans or eclipse before following the instructions on patching a module.

Thanks, I might try it again,

Posted by itserich on January 16, 2011 at 8:50pm

Thanks, I might try it again, but I have tried several methods several times.

The hard part is, when I come across a patch and try it, I have no idea if it is a working patch. So when it fails, I do not know if the patch is bad or my patching method failed.

A single, step by step, "patch for dummies" with working examples would help a lot of people and stop a lot of repetitive questions.

Same thing applies for Netbeans too

Posted by roborracle on December 6, 2011 at 8:52pm

I did the same thing as described above and the patch was applied successfully in Netbeans.

NetBeans Patching Issue

Posted by jg314 on April 26, 2011 at 5:30pm

When I try to apply a patch to a file that is inside a project in NetBeans I get the following message:

"The patch cannot be applied in the selected context."

Does anyone know how to fix this problem?

Make sure you download the file

Posted by johandenooij on August 4, 2011 at 1:16am

I clicked on a patch link and then saved it from my Chrome browser. This is a mistake. It will add html tags which break the patch. Right click on the file and save it directly. Then you can patch it with Netbeans.

one successful patch

Posted by itserich on April 27, 2011 at 12:22pm

Here is the only set of instructions which have worked for me to successfully apply a patch.

It was in a VPS, using command line. I think it is set to create the module directory, install the original module, and then patch it.

Comment #56

http://drupal.org/node/422974

eclipse cannot apply patches with email info in them

Posted by aenw on September 23, 2011 at 6:19pm

If you're trying to apply a patch and can't seem to make it work, note that at this time eGit cannot apply patches with email info in them. IOW, if the patch has been generated with "To:... From..." email info as the first lines, eGit can't deal with it (no matter how many leading segments you ignore).
You can drop into a shell and use the 'git apply -v ...' command to apply the patch.

There is a page where the steps for applying a patch in Eclipse/eGit will go: Eclipse/EGit (Windows, Linux, Mac): Patching: Creating, applying, editing, reverting.

I use a combination of eGit (really nice for setting up a clone repo and tracking and making branches & tags), gitExt (nice for interactive rebasing and other commands not available in eGit), and git in a shell (for fast-forward merges and applying and creating patches). It's not ideal, but it's not too bad, since gitExt (Git Extentions) and git are straightforward and simple tools.

ECLIPSE SUCKS

Posted by enomertens on May 14, 2012 at 8:43pm

Maybe better if someone makes a guide from setup eclipse (for patching) on how to create a project. I hate Eclipse for patching!!!

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Apply patch

Posted by paknight on June 10, 2012 at 3:45pm

Thank-you, very well documented

Wow! Didn't know I can apply

Posted by payamspot on January 13, 2013 at 7:28am

Wow! Didn't know I can apply patches using NetBeans IDE so easily. Thanks.