Team Collaboration Using Subversion (SVN)
- Further Notes
Golden Rules
- All team members should place their project files in the same location on their hard disks, e.g. "C:\Design Projects\Project 1\". While this doesn't matter for individual projects, when those projects reference other sub-projects or library projects, the paths need to be consistent for all team members so it's best to just stick to this rule for all projects.
- Before issuing "SVN Update" or "SVN Commit" commands, use the "File | Save All" menu command (or the associated toolbar button) in GUI Design Studio to ensure that all project changes have been saved to disk first.
Deleting Files and Folders
If a project has not been set up with Subversion control then deleted files and folders are sent to the Recycle Bin from where they can be recovered if needed.
However, with a Subversion controlled project, the delete operations are handled by Subversion. Unfortunately, SVN does not send deleted files and folders to the Recycle Bin. In many cases, an SVN Revert command can be used to restore deleted files and folders but this may not work depending on the state of the working copy and the repository.
So, to be on the safe side, before letting Subversion handle the delete, GUI Design Studio first makes a copy with a ".deleted" suffix and sends that to the Recycle Bin. Such files and folders can then be restored and renamed as necessary.
Another interesting point about Subversion is that when it deletes a folder, the folder remains within the working copy (empty of files) until the changes have been committed because it contains important information used by SVN. However, GUI Design Studio will correctly recognise SVN deleted folders and will not display them in the Project file tree.
Moving Folders
Subversion treats a Move operation as an Add (while retaining version information) followed by a Delete. For a folder, this means that, just like normal deletion, the original folder will still remain within your working copy (without any files) and marked as 'deleted' until the next commit.
GUI Design Studio will recognise this condition and not display the original moved folder within the Project tree. Unlike deletion, though, no copy will be placed in the Recycle Bin because the folder has been moved and so a copy exists in the new location.