Patent ID: 7539943

Claim:
A computer system comprising storage media with appropriate instructions for displaying a graphic user interface (GUI) for exposing a software development environment, said GUI comprising: a software development environment GUI; a workspace within said GUI for displaying files, wherein a developer can modify at least one file when said file is displayed in said workspace during each editing session; at least one first type of visual marking that identifies first modifications to said at least one file, wherein said at least one first type of visual marking identifies a cause of said first modifications to be a source code control (SCC) sync and merge operation; at least one second type of visual marking that identifies second modifications to said at least one file, wherein said at least one second type of visual marking identifies a cause of said second modifications to be an operation other than said SCC sync and merge operation; wherein said at least one first type of visual marking differs from said at least one second type of visual marking; wherein at least one backtracking log file persists over a plurality of editing sessions a history of manually and automatically caused modifications of properties and contents of said file, including said first and second modifications; and wherein said GUI permits said developer to select one or more of said modifications, respectively identified by said types of visual markings and persisted in said backtracking log file over a plurality of editing sessions, to reject said selected one or more modifications to restore said file to a state preexisting said modifications.