Subversion

The following provides a quick guide for setting up and using TortoiseSVN for Senior Projects. Please read the Subversion and TortoiseSVN manuals for details.

TortoiseSVN

  1. Download and install TortoiseSVN - you may need to restart your computer.

Setup of Directories

  1. On your computer, create a directory (folder) for your SVN files. For example, under My Documents you should create a directory called svn.
  2. In the svn directory, create a sub-directory called Projects.
  3. Right-click on the Projects directory and select SVN Checkout....
  4. Set the URL of the Repository to be https://sandilands.info/svn/Projects/. The other fields should not need changing.
  5. If prompted for username/password, enter your details as I provided you.
  6. Repeat steps 2 to 5, but using the Common directory (instead of Projects - as members of a Senior Project group you have access to both the Projects and Common repositories on this server).

Update Your Local Copy

The SVN server maintains the repository of files. You need to update your local copy (the one in the folder you created in the steps above), which means downloading the files from the server to your computer. To update:

  1. Right-click on the Projects folder and select SVN Update. The first time you do this it may take awhile to download all the files; but every subsequent time you update you only need to download the latest changes (in some cases, none).

It is important you update on a frequent basis. My approach is to update when I start working on files (e.g. at the start of the day, or when I start working on the senior project).

Commit Your Local Copy to the Server

After making changes to files in your local copy, you should commit them to the repository server. This means the files are uploaded to the server. To commit:

  1. Right-click on the file or directory you want to commit, and select SVN Commit.... Yuo may add a log message, as well as select the specific files to commit (this is useful when you commit an entire directory). Press ok, and the files (at least their changes since the last update) are uploaded to the server.

So that other users can see your changes, you should commit on a regular basis. My approach is to commit when I have finished working on a file (e.g. at the end of the day, or the report is completed).

Other Features

There are many other features of TortoiseSVN and Subversion - ask me or find details in their manuals.

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