INFO: Readme.wri: Section 1, Software Installation Information

ID: Q139358

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Visual SourceSafe for Windows, version 4.0
  • Microsoft Visual SourceSafe for Windows NT, version 4.0
  • Microsoft Visual SourceSafe for MS-DOS, version 4.0
  • Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Editions of Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows, 16-bit and 32-bit, version 4.0

SUMMARY

This article gives Section 1, Software Installation Information, of the Visual SourceSafe 4.0 Readme.wri file found in the main Visual SourceSafe directory. For more information about other sections of the Readme.wri file, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q139359 Readme.wri: Section 2, General Notes and Tips
Q139361 Readme.wri: Section 3, Issues and Considerations
Q139360 Readme.wri: Section 4, Documentation Notes
Q139362 Readme.wri: Section 5, New Features of Visual SourceSafe


MORE INFORMATION

In a typical standalone Visual SourceSafe installation, an administrator installs Visual SourceSafe on a network server to which all users have access. The Server Setup is the only installation required. Nothing needs to be installed by individual users. Instead, all users can run Visual SourceSafe directly from the server.

However, you must install the integration option directly on your own hard disk if you want to integrate Visual SourceSafe directly into the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) of Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 (Enterprise and Professional Editions) or Microsoft Developer Studio, which includes Visual C++, Visual FORTRAN, and Visual Test. To integrate Visual SourceSafe with an IDE, the Visual SourceSafe server installation must be performed first. The IDE and the Visual SourceSafe client can then be installed in any order. See Section 1.2 for more information.

If you have installed Visual SourceSafe 4.0 and need to perform an additional installation on the same computer, the SETUP program displays the installation maintenance program dialog box. This program enables you to install only those portions you need, repeat the most recent installation, or remove the previously installed Visual SourceSafe installation.

Creating a Visual SourceSafe Installation on a Server

If Visual SourceSafe has not been installed at your site, run the Setup.exe program on the Visual SourceSafe disk. Setup asks for the directory in which to install Visual SourceSafe. Choose a directory on your network, such as R:\Vss, that is accessible to everyone who will be using Visual SourceSafe. From the Setup options, choose the Server Setup option.

After the Setup program is finished, you have a complete Visual SourceSafe installation on your network, ready to use.

Using NETSETUP to Integrate Visual SourceSafe with Integrated

Development Environments

After an administrator has created a Visual SourceSafe installation on the server, users can perform a client setup to install Visual SourceSafe directly on their own hard disks. This action integrates Visual SourceSafe with their personal copies of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), including Visual Basic 4.0 (Enterprise and Professional editions) and/or Microsoft Developer Studio, which includes Visual C++, Visual Fortran, and Visual Test.

You run the Netsetup.exe program from the directory in which the Visual SourceSafe server was installed. To perform a network client installation, specify a new directory on your computer's hard disk, such as C:\Vss, as the location of the Visual SourceSafe client.

If you run Netsetup in an environment with an existing Visual SourceSafe client installation, use the installation maintenance program. This program gives you the choice of reinstalling the most recent installation or removing the previously installed components.

After the Netsetup program is finished, you have a miniature Visual SourceSafe installation on your computer's hard disk. The executables are there, but they point to the main database on the server. In addition, your computer is configured to allow you to use Visual SourceSafe from directly inside Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 or Microsoft Developer Studio.

You might see a "File not found" error message during the netsetup procedure if the Visual SourceSafe server setup was installed by using the Custom setup option. For example, the administrator installing Visual SourceSafe might have chosen not to install certain non-essential files, such as the help system, the online version of the user's guide, or the integration macros. In these cases, you can ignore the message and continue with the netsetup. If any of the essential files, such as the Visual SourceSafe executable program or the database, are missing, contact your administrator.

Using the Custom Setup Option

When installing Visual SourceSafe to a server, you can choose the Custom setup option. This option is useful in many situations, such as the following:

  • You have limited disk space and want to save space by not installing certain options, such as the online books or the integration macros.


  • You installed Visual SourceSafe but are unable to use it with Visual Basic because you have not performed a client or netsetup installation. You can integrate your installation with Visual Basic by using the Custom installation option and clicking the checkbox for Visual Basic and Microsoft Developer Studio Registration.


  • You want to have a private Visual SourceSafe database on your own hard disk. You can install your own database by using the Custom installation option and clicking the Create SourceSafe Database option.


Upgrading a Previous SourceSafe Installation

If you have an older version of SourceSafe on your server, use the Visual SourceSafe Server Setup to install Visual SourceSafe 4.0 directly on top of the existing SourceSafe installation. Visual SourceSafe creates its new directory structure, converts your database to the new format if necessary, and installs the new executables so that you can run Visual SourceSafe 4.0 with all your existing users, projects, and files intact.

Notes about upgrading:

  1. Back up your SourceSafe database before upgrading. The installation process converts your existing database into a new format. If there are problems during this process, there is no way to return to your previous database without a backup.


  2. Make sure all users exit SourceSafe before installing a new version.


  3. If users have copies of the SourceSafe executables on their computer's hard disks, they need to use the Network Setup to copy the new SourceSafe over the old, after the server setup is completed.


  4. The SourceSafe directory structure and filenames have changed for Visual SourceSafe 4.0. For this reason, the icons in your Windows Program Manager for SourceSafe 3.x will not work with Visual SourceSafe 4.0. New icons are installed during the setup process, pointing to the correct new program locations.


The Installation Maintenance Program

When you run the Setup program in a Visual SourceSafe 4.0 server environment with a current installation of Visual SourceSafe 4.0, you run the installation maintenance program. You can run the Setup program from the Setup directory, which is under the directory in which you installed the Visual SourceSafe server. This program provides the following choices when you run Setup in a server environment:

  1. Add/Remove: Click this choice to add or remove options from a list including a Visual SourceSafe database, 16-bit or 32-bit versions, Visual Basic and Microsoft C++ registration, Help files and online version of the User's Guide, integration macros, conversion utilities, and the network client setup.


  2. Reinstall: Click this choice to repeat the last installation of Visual SourceSafe and restore missing files and settings.


  3. Remove All: Click this choice to remove all previously installed components.


When you run SETUP in a Visual SourceSafe 4.0 client environment, your options are Reinstall and Remove All.

After the Installation

After Visual SourceSafe has been properly set up on the network for the first time, the Visual SourceSafe administrator should run the Visual SourceSafe Admin program to create a list of users. Add each user who will run Visual SourceSafe to the list. Whenever possible, users' Visual SourceSafe names should be the same as their Windows NT, Windows 95, or network names.

Once users have been added, they can immediately begin running Visual SourceSafe from the server or from their computer's hard disk if they have performed a network client setup.

Uninstalling Visual SourceSafe

To uninstall Visual SourceSafe (remove exising components or the Visual SourceSafe program and database itself), run the Setup program from the Setup directory, which is under the directory in which you installed the Visual SourceSafe server. This action displays the installation maintenance program.

To remove specific components, click Add/Remove. The setup program displays the Maintenance Mode dialog box containing a list of options.

To remove the entire Visual SourceSafe program, click Remove All. Then follow the directions on the screen.

For the uninstall procedure to complete successfully, run the Setup program on the same platform you used to install Visual SourceSafe. For example, run the Setup program under Windows 3.1 to uninstall Visual SourceSafe if you installed Visual SourceSafe on a Windows 3.1 system; run the Setup program on Windows NT if you installed Visual SourceSafe on a Windows NT system.

When you run the uninstall procedure, certain critical files are maintained to protect against accidental deletion. The \Data directory is preserved, and if users have been added to the installation, the \Users directories for users and files created by the Ssadmin program are also preserved. In addition, the Setup directory, the Srcsafe.ini file, the Users.txt file, and Mscreate.dir are preserved. All other files are deleted. If you run the uninstall procedure and find that you need to reinstall Visual SourceSafe, reinstall back to the same location. Only customizations to the Ss.ini files for the guest and admin users are lost.

When you want to completely uninstall Visual SourceSafe, run the uninstall procedure. Then, from the MS-DOS shell, use the DELTREE command to delete the directory in which you installed Visual SourceSafe and all the directories remaining under it.

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Last Reviewed: August 18, 1999
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