Modify Archive (see also)

QVCS will allow you to change various aspects of the header information of an archive file. These options are accessible either through the File→Modify Archive menu options, or through the context menu that appears when you right click on a file. The various fields that can be modified are:

• Attributes...
• Description...
• Access List...
• Comment Prefix...
• Default Branch...
• Author...

Change File Attributes

If you want to change how QVCS treats certain files, you can change the attributes of a specific QVCS archive by selecting the file, right clicking, and selecting Modify Archive→Attributes from the context menu. Doing so will bring up the following dialog:

For project-level operations, all the check boxes are greyed or "ghosted." To change an attribute for all the files of a project, change that attribute check box to be either checked, or not checked. Any attributes you leave greyed out will remain as they have previously been defined for each archive. Only those which you alter to be on or off will be changed.

Modify Module Description

A file's module description is essentially a brief description of what the file is, unassociated with any particular revision. Typically you define this when you create the QVCS archive for a file. The module description is displayed when the $Log$ or $LogX$ keyword is expanded.

You can change the module description associated with a file by right clicking on the file and selecting Modify Archive→Description from the context menu. Doing so will bring up the following dialog:

The OK button remains disabled until you define a new module description.

Maintain Access List

You can modify the access list for a single file by selecting the file, right clicking, and selecting Modify Archive→Access List from the context menu. Doing so will bring up the following dialog:

The controls on the dialog are:

QVCS Users:

This list shows those QVCS users known to QWin that aren't already present on the access list for the selected file. Double click on an entry or use the [>>] button to move it to the New Access List.

New Access List:

This list shows those QVCS users who will be on the access list of the selected file(s) after the OK button is clicked. Double click on an entry or use the [<<] button to remove it.

New User

Use this button to create a new QVCS user and add that user to the "New Access List" list.

[>>]

Use this button to move a user from the list of QVCS Users to the "New Access List."

[>>>>]

Use this button to move all users from the list of QVCS Users to the "New Access List."

[<<]

Use this button to remove a QVCS user from the "New Access List." This is the way to remove someone from the access list of a file(s). Note that the OK button will become disabled if all users are removed; Qwin requires that there be at least one QVCS user on the access list of a module.

[<<<<]

Use this button to remove all QVCS users from the "New Access List". The OK button will become disabled until at least one person is on the access list.

Modify Comment Prefix

The comment prefix is used when the $Log$ and $LogX$ keywords are expanded and appears at the beginning of each line. The purpose of the prefix is to ensure that if you are working with program code, each line of the log will appear as a comment to the compiler used for the given file. QVCS has a number of default comment prefixes defined for the more common file types.

You can change the comment prefix string for a specific file by selecting the file, right clicking, and selecting Modify Archive→Comment Prefix from the context menu. Doing so will bring up the following dialog:

The fields on this dialog are:

Existing comment prefix:

This read-only field shows the current comment prefix (surrounded in double quotes) for the selected file. If multiple files are selected, the field shows the string: ... Multi-file operation .

New comment prefix(quotes not required):

Use this field to enter a new comment prefix string for the selected file(s). There's no need to surround the new string in quotes. Just enter those characters that define the new comment prefix string. Make sure to include in the string any leading or trailing space characters that you need.

Select Default Branch

Typically the default branch for a QVCS archive is the TRUNK, or the branch beginning with revision 1.0. Probably most files will only have the TRUNK branch. You might end up creating a branch if, for example, you've discovered a bug in an earlier release of your product that you want to fix without instituting any changes you may have made since in your bug fix. In this instance, you would go back to a previous revision, make your edits to fix the bug, and end up checking that file back in as a new revision on a separate branch. If you foresee the need to make a number of changes on the new branch, you may wish to make it the default branch so that its tip revision becomes the default revision -- i.e., so that you can check out and modify the file more easily.

To change the default branch for a single QVCS archive, right click on the file and select Modify Archive→Default Branch from the context menu. Doing so will bring up the following dialog:

The selection list will be populated with all the possible branches for the selected archive. Select the branch that you want as the default, and click the OK button.

Modify Module Author

The module author, or owner, is initially set to be the user who created the QVCS archive for a given file. The module author is displayed when the $Owner$ keyword is expanded. You can change the author associated with a file by right clicking on the file and selecting Modify Archive→Author from the context menu. Doing so will bring up the following dialog:

The Select the new module author selection list shows those QVCS users who can be selected to as the new author for the given file(s). This list is created from the access list for the selected file(s). The OK button remains disabled until you have made a selection.

See also: the corresponding qmodhdr command line utility.