The following is a checklist for setting up the Client:
The SourceOffSite Client should be installed on machines from which Visual SourceSafe data will be accessed via the SourceOffSite Server. The Windows Client is supported on Windows XP/2003/Vista/2008/7 platforms. Installation instructions for the Unix Clients can be found in the SourceOffSite 4.2 help files.
The installation of the Client is straightforward. Simply run the installation executable. Please refer to the upgrade information if running the installation over a previous installation of SourceOffSite.
IDE integration may be enabled during the Client installation process. To enable SourceOffSite integration into development environments, click the Yes button in response to the question:
"Would you like SourceOffSite to be your default Source Code Control provider?"
If you do not want SourceOffSite to be the default Source Code Control provider, click No.
The IDE Client is supported in the following environments: Visual C++ 6.0, Visual Basic 6.0, Visual Studio .Net 2002, Visual Studio .NET 2003, Visual Studio® 2005, Visual Studio® 2008, and Visual Studio® 2010.
SourceOffSite provides a way for you to toggle between Source Code Control providers when using IDE integration. This feature can be accessed from the General Pane of the Options dialog. By enabling or disabling this option, you can change your system registry to choose either SourceOffSite or Visual SourceSafe as your SCC provider. While SourceGear recommends against changing back and forth between SourceOffSite and Visual SourceSafe on the same machine, this option is helpful for individuals who occasionally need to switch between SCC providers and are familiar with the ramifications.
After the setup is complete, start the SourceOffSite Client by using the entry created under the Start menu.
When the SourceOffSite Client is run for the first time, a Connect to Server dialog will prompt for a server machine and the port number to connect. These values are specific to the Server installation. The server name should be either the host name or IP address of the machine hosting the SourceOffSite Server. The port number is the port on which the Server was configured to listen for Client messages.
If the SourceOffSite Server has been configured to listen on a secure
port, the SourceOffSite Client must be initialized with an encryption key to connect to
the secure port. The encryption key is generated in the Users Keys section of the Server
Manager. An import key file should be obtained for the SourceOffSite Server to which the
SourceOffSite Client will be connecting.
To initialize the SourceOffSite Client with the encryption key, start the Client. In the SourceOffSite/Tools Options group of Tools tab of the ribbon, select the Import Encryption Key command and enter the location and name of the import key file. The file name will be <username>.iky. Connections can then be made on the secure port.
If the SourceOffSite Server has been configured to listen on an unsecure port, the SourceOffSite Client does not need an encryption key to access this port.
Please note: SourceOffSite 5 accepts encryption keys with fully qualified domain names. Some keys generated in SourceOffSite 4 may no longer work with SourceOffSite 5, becuae in previous version SourceOffSite truncated those keys with fully qualified domain names. If the key was created using an IP number, the same key will continue to work. However, if the key was originally created using a fully qualified domain name, or if the client connection is via a fully qualified domain name, a new key will need to be generated for use with SourceOffSite 5.0.
Retrieve project tree
The first time the SourceOffSite Client is run, the Client will retrieve a complete copy of the project tree of the Visual SourceSafe database. This does not mean that every file in the database will be retrieved. Only the project tree is retrieved. However, if the Visual SourceSafe database is very large, this can still be a time consuming operation. This will only happen the first time the Client is run. Thereafter, the hierarchy of the Visual SourceSafe database is cached locally on the SourceOffSite Client machine. Any changes to the VSS database that creates, moves, deletes or renames projects will not be shown until a Refresh Project Tree operations is performed.