INFO: Visual Interdev/Visual SourceSafe Integration Discussion

• Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, 32-bit, for Windows, version 5.0
• Microsoft Visual InterDev, version 1.0

SUMMARY

Microsoft Visual Studio contains a number of source code control operations on the Project/Source Control menu. These operations do not have any effect on a Visual InterDev project.

In Visual C++, Visual J++, and other Visual Studio projects, source code control is a client-side issue. Any source control operations are performed on a source code database stored either on the client machine or on a machine with a LAN connection to the client. To support projects that use this type of connection, the Project\Source Control menu is used, and the source code client lives on the client machine.

Unlike the cases above, however, it is possible that the Visual InterDev project can be stored on the other side of a firewall, on some location where a LAN connection cannot be made. This requires the source code control database to likewise be behind the firewall, to ensure the security of the project database. Visual InterDev uses FrontPage Server Extensions to access the Web Server for this robustness, therefore Visual SourceSafe and Visual InterDev integration is done via the FrontPage Server Extensions.

This requires Visual InterDev to use a different model for source code control than the other Visual Studio projects. As a result, the options on the Project\Source control menu do not work against a Visual InterDev project. To differentiate the client-side source control model of other Visual Studio projects from the server-side source control of Visual InterDev projects, different terminology is used for these operations. These options are available by right-clicking any file in the Visual InterDev project window.

In Visual InterDev, a "Get Working Copy" operation on a file retrieves the file, and performs the server-side "check-out" action if the project is under source control. "Release Working Copy" removes the file from the local drive and checks in the file to the server. And "Discard Changes" performs the equivalent of an undo checkout.

To use source code control in Visual InterDev, always use the Visual InterDev server-side commands (accessed by right-clicking the files in the project pane). The client-side commands available on the Project\Source Control menu do not work with the server-side source control databases required by Visual InterDev.

MORE INFORMATION

If you need to access any of the higher-level source control functionality on the web server, then you need to access the source control server directly, either on the server or on a machine connected to the server through a LAN connection. When you are using Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, for example, you can view the history information by running the Visual SourceSafe client on the server machine. Likewise, the rolling back of changes, Visual SourceSafe administration, and other source control tasks can be performed in this way. However, note that if you use this approach, you have to ensure that you move the changes you make directly to the Visual SourceSafe database to the server directory that stores your web in order to keep the Visual SourceSafe database and your web site in sync.

REFERENCES

To setup up Visual SourceSafe on your web server, consult the Visual InterDev user's guide for the chapter "Using Visual SourceSafe with your web."

Keywords          : ssidev ssint VIFPSE VIServer kbprg
Version           : 1.0 5.0
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbinfo