HOWTO: Use UNC Paths in Visual SourceSafe

ID: Q138296

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, 32-bit, for Windows versions 4.0, 5.0

SUMMARY

Previous versions of Visual SourceSafe could not use universal naming convention (UNC) paths. Visual SourceSafe now allows the user to use UNC paths in most SourceSafe Explorer, SRCSAFE.INI or SS.INI settings. This eliminates the need to map a drive to run SourceSafe and allows the administrator to easily place the Visual SourceSafe database on a different network server without any end-user intervention.

MORE INFORMATION

UNC paths may be used in many locations, but not every location in Visual SourceSafe. The following list contains the files, environment variables, and .INI file variables that accept UNC paths:

SSDIR environment variable.

SSINI environment variable.

#INCLUDE in the SRCSAFE.INI file. For more information about possible problems with using the #INCLUDE option, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q136401 Visual SourceSafe "Invalid Data Path" Error

SRCSAFE.INI variables:
Data_Path
Journal_File
Shadow
Temp_Path
Users_Txt

SS.INI variables:
Comment_Editor
Comment_Template
Editor
File extension masks

Visual SourceSafe cannot use UNC paths in the following situations:

Working directories.

File dialog boxes:
Add file
Get
Checkout
Checkin

NOTE: These situations do not apply to Visual SourceSafe 5.0. You can use a UNC name anywhere you can supply a pathname.

REFERENCES

Query using the UNC keyword in Visual SourceSafe Books Online.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbSSafe400 kbSSafe500
Version :
Platform :
Issue type : kbhowto