Perforce p4 "describe" command does not list affected files

Question

When "p4 describe changelist#" is issued, sometimes the affected files are listed; sometimes they are not and just show:

Affected files ...

Anyone knows why that is?

Answer 1

Most likely explanation: You do not have 'list' rights for the affected files. The docu for p4 protect explains the respective rights.

For example, if you have list, but no read rights, p4 describe will output:

Affected files:
   //depot/path/to/file
Difference:
   ...

Likewise, if the list right is also missing, p4 describe will have the output that you saw. Check with your Perforce admin what the rights are for the respective depot path (let him issue p4 describe for the mentioned checklist :))