File repository svn

The file storage revision system Subversion (svn) is an integrated part of trac and plays a key role in the collaboration room and project activity. First and foremost svn is the system which holds all project files.

Files are available both by download from a web browser or by connecting to the file storage using a svn client. Read more below.

In addition to being a file storage, svn has features which are beneficial for the development of the data standards. svn contains a revision history of all changes and allows for arbitrary rollback in file versions. It has also the capability to compare and find differences between different versions of a file.

Access

There are several ways to access the files. The simplest ones are to use the trac svn browser or the svn web server interface. Browse to the file you want access to and simply open like any regular link.

If you want to download many files, e.g., a complete project or the whole file storage, this is best done by using an svn client. We recommend using TortoiseSVN as the svn client. To install go to http://tortoisesvn.net/downloads and download the version that fits your system.

To download (parts of) the file storage you need to use the command Checkout. Follow the link and use the following values in the Checkout dialogue:

  • URL of repository: https://www.posccaesar.org/svn
    • if you want to connect to a different repository, then use the URL to this repository here
    • if you just want to download a specific folder, then input the complete path to that folder, e.g. https://www.posccaesar.org/svn/projects/IDS-ADI
  • Checkout directory: any folder on your client computer

For the other settings the default values should be sufficient most uses.

The Update command downloads the changes in the repository from the version you have locally on your client computer. You should always update before you start working or reading a file to make sure that your using the latest version.

To write to the file storage you will need a user account to the trac.

To upload your work to the file storage, use the commit command. Since svn keeps track of all file changes there is no need to include version information in file names, e.g., like filename_[date].txt.

If you are not uploading a changed file, but a completely new file (i.e., the file or folder does not exist in the file storage), you will need to add the new files and folders first.

For more information see the complete TortoiseSVN manual.

See also RepositoryTortoiseSVN for a walk-through of how to use the TortoiseSVN client.

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