title: Git and DiffTool problems : What do LOCAL and REMOTE point to?
body: <p>Ive been working on getting tortoisemerge working as the difftool option in Git with my .gitconfig file currently showing :</p>
  
  <pre><code>   [diff]
          tool = tortoise
  
      [difftool "tortoise"]
          cmd = tortoisemerge.exe -mine:$LOCAL -base:$REMOTE
  
      [difftool]
          prompt = false
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>According to <a href="http://tortoisesvn.net/docs/release/TortoiseMerge_en/tme-automation.html" rel="noreferrer">tortoise merge docs</a> the 'mine' command states which file will be shown on the right, in a two way diff.</p>
  
  <p>My question is, what do the LOCAL and REMOTE variables as provided by GIT actually point to? The <a href="http://git-scm.com/docs/git-config" rel="noreferrer">documentation</a> is a little vague stating that </p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>LOCAL is set to the name of the temporary file containing the contents of the diff pre-image and REMOTE is set to the name of the temporary file containing the contents of the diff post-image.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>The problem arises when I modify a file, and then enter 'git difftool' tortoisemerge is started with the working directory file on the LEFT and not the right as I assume.
  I know I can merely switch  the 'mine' and 'local' commands but I was trying to figure out what the local/remote points to and the best way to resolve this issue </p>