The Main Window of Fortress is divided into three panes: the Folder Tree, the File List and a third pane with three tabs, Pending Change Sets, Messages and Search. The Window also has a Status Bar.
When Fortress is opened, you must choose a Fortress Server and then a repository within that server to connect to. The Repository Name and the Fortress Server Name are then displayed in the title bar.
The main window has a menu bar with the following menus: File, Edit, View, Source, Tools and Help.
The standard toolbar contains commands for all the basic tasks.
- Create Folder
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The Create Folder command allows you to create a new empty folder within the open repository.
- Add Files
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The Add Files command allows you to add new files or folders to the open repository by selecting files or folders accessible on the local machine.
- Label
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The Label command allows you to tag a version of a file, or a complete folder structure, for later retrieval.
- Delete
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The Delete command allows you to delete selected files or folders from the repository. If multiple files are selected, the Delete command will delete them all at the same time.
Please Note: The Delete command is non-destructive. The file or folder still exists in the history of the repository and can be recovered by clicking the Undelete command found in the Folder Properties.
- Get Latest Version
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The Get Latest Version command allows you to retrieve a copy of the file from the Fortress server and place it in your working folder. If there is no current working folder, the Set Working Folder menu dialog will open first since a working folder must exist before files are retrieved.
- Check Out
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The Check Out command allows you to check out the latest version of a file or folder. You can then modify the file or folder.
- Check In
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The Check In/Commit command allows you to commit changes made to local files back into the repository. Files may or may not be checked out prior to checking in, depending on which options are set (See Check In Options.)
- Undo Check Out
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The Undo Check Out command allows you to undo the check out and not modify the contents of the file in the repository or change the version number.
- Share
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The Share command allows you to make files or folders appear in two distinct places in the repository.
- Branch
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The Branch command allows you to break a share (Share Branch) or to copy a file or folder to one or more locations allowing independent edits of the file following the branch (Copy Branch).
- View
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The View File command allows you to view the repository copy of a file without checking it out.
- Edit
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The Edit File command allows you to check out and edit a selected file in a single operation.
- Diff
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The Diff command allows you to compare working files and folders to the repository version or to the last version fetched from the server.
- History
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The History command allows you to open the History Explorer window to examine past versions to a file or folder.
- Set Working Folder
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the Set Working Folder menu command allows you to set a folder on the client machine to retrieve repository files.
- Refresh
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The Refresh command allows you to refresh the file list and folder tree by retrieving the latest information from the server. This command is merely used to update the display of status information – it does not modify the working folders in any way.
- Abort
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The Abort command allows you to cancel any current operation. After canceling the operation, the working directory and the repository will be in the same state they were before the initiating command was executed.
- Help
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The Help command allows you to view the Help files.
The Folder Tree is a listing of the folders in the repository. It reflects the status of folders as they exist on the server and does not reflect any pending changes. The Folder Tree is automatically refreshed periodically to retrieve any changes that may have been made on the server. This can be set in the General Options. The Refresh command (found on the Toolbar and View menu) manually refreshes both the File List and the Folder Tree.
Only one folder can be selected at a time. The files for the selected folder are displayed in the File List. Right-click on a folder to bring up the Folder Tree Context Menu for the selected folder.
The Folder Tree can by navigated by using the arrow keys. Up goes to the previous viewable folder and Down goes to the next one below. The right arrow expands the current node (if expandable) and the left arrow contracts the current folder, if contractible.
The Folder Tree displays the following kinds of folders.
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Regular Folders – shown as blue folders.
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Cloaked Folders – shown as gray folders. See Cloak Folders for more information.
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Shared Folders – shown as multiple folders behind one another. See Working with Shares and Branches for more information.
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Pinned Folders – shown as a folder with a pin icon over it. See Pin Folders for more information.
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Ghost Folders – shown as a light outline of a folder. See Ghost Folders and Files for more information.
The File List displays the files contained in the selected folder. It reflects the status of the files on the server and does not reflect any pending changes. Therefore, shares, pins, adds, deletes, branches, renames, moves, etc will not appear in the File List until they are committed to the server.
The File List must be refreshed periodically to retrieve any changes which may have been made on the server by other users. This can be set to automatically refresh in the General Options. The Refresh command (found on the Toolbar and View menu) refreshes both the File List and the Folder Tree.
One or multiple files can be selected. Right-click on a selected file to bring up the File List Context Menu for that file. Double click on the selected file to bring up View or Edit File dialog box. In the General Options, there is a setting to control whether a double-click’s default behavior will view or edit the file.
The File List can be sorted by clicking on the column headings. The sorted column is indicated by an arrow. An up arrow indicates the file list is sorted in ascending order. Conversely, a down arrow indicates the list is sorted in descending order. Click a different column to sort the list by that column. Clicking on the column which is already used for the sort will reverse the sort.
Following are the default columns for the File List. Other columns are available in the Options dialog, File List Columns pane.
The File column lists the names of the file in the selected folder. It also includes an icon for the file to indicate the state of the file. The appearance of the icon indicates the status of the file.
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When the file is not checked out and has not been pinned or shared, the icon is a single blue folder.
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When the file is checked out by a single user, regardless of who it is, the icon includes a red check mark.
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When the file is checked out by more than one user, the icon includes two red check marks.
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When the file is pinned, the icon includes a push pin.
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When the file is shared, the icon is a stack of multiple files.
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When the file is both shared and checked out, the icon is a stack of multiple files with one or two red check marks depending if it is checked out by one or multiple users.
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When a non-version-controlled file exists in your working folder, the icon is a dotted outline of a file (note this type of file will only show up if the “show non-version-controlled files ghosted in file list” option is turned on). See Ghost Folders and Files for more information.
The Check Outs column includes the name of any user(s) who has the file checked out. The term Exclusive appears next to the name if the file has an exclusive lock.
The Remote Version refers to the latest version number of the file in the repository.
The Status is a one-word description of the state of the working copy of the file. Following is an explanation of the possible status of a file.
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Status |
Explanation |
|---|---|
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(blank) |
The working copy has not been edited. The working copy matches the version in the repository. |
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Edited |
The working copy has been edited. The remote version has not changed. |
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Renegade |
The working copy has been edited but is not currently checked out. This status only exists for mergeable files when you require a check out before a check in (see Check In Options). |
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Needs Merge |
The working copy is checked out and edited. The remote version has also been edited. You must use the Show Merge command before this file can be checked in. |
|
Merged |
The working copy has been edited. The remote version has been edited and the file has been merged. You can use the Show Merge command to examine what was done or to revert back to Needs Merge status. |
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Old |
The server copy of the file is newer than the working copy. The working copy has not been edited. |
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Missing |
The working copy does not exist. |
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Unknown |
The working copy exists but Fortress cannot determine its status. |
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More Recent |
The working copy has not been edited and is a version of the file which is more recent than the current version on the server. |
If the Show non-version-controlled folders ghosted in folder tree is turned on in the General options, non-version-controlled folders that exist in your local file system along with all their contents[1] will show up ghosted in the folder tree. Ghost folders will only show up in the file tree if:
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The repository folder has a working folder defined.
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The non-version-controlled folder is not in the “folder exclusions” list defined in the Admin Web Client and is not a “special” Fortress folder (_sgvault, _sgbak)
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Ghost folders will not show up in a folder if that folder is cloaked
Ghost folders are updated in the folder tree when you log on, after a full refresh (f5) and after operations that change the folder tree (add folder, delete folder etc), and when the working folder is changed.
The Ghost folder context menu contains two menu items – Add this folder and Explore working folder.
Add this folder - This command will add the selected ghost folder to Fortress at its current location in the folder tree. If you choose to add a ghost folder that’s parent is also a ghost, then the selected folder’s parent will be also be created in the tree and the ghost folder and all of its contents will be added.
Explore working folder – This command opens a Windows Explorer window for the corresponding working folder.
If the Show non-version-controlled files ghosted in file list option is turned on, non-version-controlled files that exist in your local working folder will show up as ghosted in the file list. Ghost files will only show up in the file list if:
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The file’s parent repository folder has a working folder
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The non-version-controlled file is not in excluded by the “file exclusions” list defined in the Admin Web Client
Ghost files are updated when you click on a folder and when you activate the client.
The Ghost File context menu contains one menu item – Add this file. If at least one ghost file is selected the ghost file context menu will be displayed.
Add this File – The add this file command will add the selected ghost file or files to Fortress at the current location in the file list and folder tree. If the file or files selected for addition are in a Ghost Folder, the parent Ghost Folder(s) will also be created in the folder tree.
The Pending Change Sets tab contains a list of all changes, anywhere in the working folders, which are waiting to be checked in to the repository. This provides a constant, visual reminder of items that need to be checked in.
Fortress allows one direct change per item in a single transaction. In any given change set, an item will only be listed once. For example, you cannot both rename a file and move it in the same change set.
Multiple items can be selected and operations will apply to the items selected.
Comments can be created for the entire change set or for individual items within the change set. If an item does not have an individual comment associated with its action, the change set comment is automatically applied to it.
Right-click on a file or folder to bring up a Pending Change Set menu for the selected items.
Pending actions can be undone by selecting the action and hitting the delete key, using the Pending Change Set menu or the Pending Change Set toolbar.
The Pending Change Sets tab consists of a list and a toolbar.
The Pending Change Sets list contains the following information.
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Item – The full local path of the file or folder name on which the operation is taking place.
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Details – For file modifications, this is the size of the change (e.g., +9KB or -1KB). If the file has a state of Needs Merged, it is listed here instead of the Type column since the type is Modified. For folders, it is the size of all the files being added.
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Type – The type of change. This could be one of the following: Modified, Unmodified, Add, Delete, Branch, Label, Share, Move or Rename.
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Repository Path – The full path in the repository that corresponds to the item.
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Comment – The comment that will be applied to this particular item when it is committed / checked in. To change or enter the item comment, right-click on a selected item (or items) to bring up the Pending Change Set menu and click on Edit Item Comment.
The standard toolbar for Pending Change Sets contain the following commands.
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Commit – The Commit command allows you to Check In/Commit changes to the repository.
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Change Set Comment – You can add or edit the change set comment. Click OK to accept the comment or Cancel to revert to the comment that already exists.
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Undo – The Undo command will undo the selected operation. Modified files are reverted to their previous contents before they were edited, and if the file is checked out, it brings up the Undo Check Out dialog box on the selected item.
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Diff – The Diff command brings up the Diff dialog box for the selected file in the list.
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Show Merge – Brings up the merge window on the selected file. This is only available if the status of the file is Needs Merge or Merged.
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Rescan working folders – Searches all working folders on the local machine for files that have changed, and puts them in the Pending Change Set if they were not already there. This is available only in CVS mode (when “Require Check Out before Check In” is off)
The Messages tab displays messages during operations to show status. It also displays error messages (displayed in red) that do not require user action. Typical examples of error messages would be permission problems, transactions that fail or not being able to write to files.
This pane supports select and copy operations. The Copy command is available through the right-click menu or Ctrl+C.
The Search tab gives you the ability to search for files by status or filename in a selected folder.
The standard toolbar for Search contain the following commands:
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Search In – Select a folder in the Folder Tree to begin a search. The selected folder will appear in the Search box. Select a different folder and the contents of the Search In box will be updated as well as the new search results.
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Search By – Select the type of search –either a search by a specific status or a filename. When a new status is selected, a new search is automatically performed. The default is Don’t Search and no searches will occur when this is selected.
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Username – A list of all Fortress users for the current repository will appear when the Checked out by status has been selected. Select the user to search on.
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Recursive – When checked, the search from the selected folder will be recursive to include all subfolders. The default is unchecked
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Lock onto this folder – This allows you to keep the search results on a locked folder as you select other folders in the tree. Normally, selecting other folders will update the search results automatically. If you want the search results for a folder to remain in the list regardless of which folder is currently selected, check this box. The default is unchecked.
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Background updates – Check this to continue to update the search on the selected folder even as you use the Pending Change Set tab or the Messages tab. To notify you of a change, the Status Search on the tab will become bold. Lock onto this folder must be checked in order to use this option. The default is unchecked.
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Filename – When a Filename search is selected, this input field becomes active. Enter the filename you wish to search on, and use ‘*’ for wildcards. Press Enter to start the search.
The Search list contains the following information. You can right click on an item to bring up the Status Search Context Menu. You can also double click an item to display it in the main file window.
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Item – The name of a file matching the search criteria.
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Repository Path – The full path in the repository that corresponds to the item.
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Status – The status of the file matching the criteria.
The Email tab allows you to be notified by email if there are changes to the contents of the tree.
The standard toolbar for Email contain the following commands:
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Add – Add a folder in the to the list in the Email pane to be notified when anything under that folder is changed. The currently selected folder in the Folder Tree is the folder that will be added to the list.
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Delete – Remove item selected in the Email list. Once removed, you will no longer receive email notifications for that folder.
The Email List contains the list of all folders within the Fortress tree that you will receive email for when the contents change.
You can double click an item to display it in the main file window.
The status bar displays the following information.
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Status Messages – Displays Ready when nothing is happening and Working, Uploading, Downloading, and Updating Local Files, etc when an operation is in progress.
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User – Lists the name of the user who is currently logged in.
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Secure Connection Status – Displays a padlock icon when the user is currently connected with SSL.
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Connection Status – Shows the connection state: Connected, Offline or Connecting.
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Progress Meter – Shows the progress of operations as they occur.
[1] If a Ghost folder has files, its files will show up ghosted in the file list if the Show files not in repository ghosted in file list option is turned on.