merge - solution for clearcase evil twins?

Question

I have an issue with ClearCase merge: Instead of a ClearCase merge for a file, I have performed "add to source control" (merging a file from one branch to my branch).

Now I don't get the version history and I am not able to see merge arrow from source branch to mine.
After google it, I found that my problem is "evil twins".
Actually I am unaware of that the file should not have been added to a branch if same one already exists.

Many forum say I can fix it by renaming the file.
But, there is a problem, the file which got the issue was merged to other new branches.
If I rename the file, does this change make any problem in other related branches? Do they loose their file?

What would you recommend to fix this issue?

Answer 1

The rename which is suggested in "About Evil Twins" affects only the current version of the parent folder: after the rename, a version tree of the parent folder would show a new version, which list the same file under a new name.

That means the other branches would still show that file with the old name (which means they are still evil twins).

You would need to merge the branch in which you did the rename to the other branches (where the file was previously merged) in order to propagate that rename.

I prefer rmname instead of rename, as shown in "Clearcase: How do I merge in a specific file from one view, into another, to avoid the Evil Twin scenario?".

Finally, you would need to merge the branch with the actual file (the one with an history) to the branch where you created the evil twin (where you added to source control the file with the same name and no history), in order to use the right element.

See more with "When clearcase “evil twins” will be created and how to avoid it?".

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You can also check if you haven't any other evil twins ("What's the easiet way to detect “evil twins” in Rational ClearCase?")