How to view remote changes with TortoiseGit

Question

I cannot figure out how to view remote changes with TortoiseGit.

Someone pushed some code to the server. I would like to see the changes before i do a git pull. How can i see the remote changes with TortoiseGit?

I tried the "fetch" command, but when I do a "Show log" after fetching, it does not show the remote changes.

Answer 1

"Fetch" was the correct command to retrieve all remote changes without integrating/merging them.

Click on "All branches" on the lower left on the log dialog to show all branches (also the remote ones). Or click on the branch label in the upper left and then select the branch(es) you want to see in the log dialog.

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In general, there are several ways to see what changed on the remote.

First, when you do a normal fetch only the local remote tracking branches are updated and not you local branch you are working on. After the fetch you can open the log an compare your local branch to the now updated remote tracking branch.

Maybe a bit more easy: Second, you can use the Sync dialog. After a successful fetch, there is the new tab "Ref list". There you can see what remote tracking branches have changed (e.g. changetype fast forward). Then you can open the context menu on an entry a request a diff.

Third, when you are on the branch and you also want to directly integrate the changes, just pull the remote branch. After the pull, you can see the changes by selecting "Pulled logs" and "Pulled diff" on the menu on the lower left.

Fourth, you can also use the RefLog to compare two states of the local remote tracking branch after a fetch.