The Change Bindings Dialog

        The Change Bindings dialog allows you to configure Vault Professional as the source control provider for projects which are already on disk and in the Vault Professional repository.  You can get to this dialog by choosing the Change Vault Professional Bindings menu item in the File menu.

How do I bind a solution and all of its projects?

Bring up the Change Vault Professional Bindings dialog, and select the solution and click the Bind… Button.  In the Bind dialog, you will be asked to map the Deepest Common Ancestor of the selected projects.  

How do I bind Projects without binding the Solution?

If you already have the project on disk and in the repository, you may select any project that you wish to bind and click the Bind button.  There are some things that should be noted when trying to work this way:

  1. Add to Vault Professional and Open From Vault Professional operations are still solution-specific.  You cannot yet add or open just one project.  You will have to use the Vault Professional standalone GUI client to add new projects and download projects that are in the repository but not on disk.

  2. If you select multiple projects to bind, you will be prompted to map a working folder for the Deepest Common Ancestor.  If you’re prompted to map an unexpected folder (for example, C:\), then bind the projects one at a time.

How do I add just one project to the Vault Professional repository, but not the solution file or other projects in the solution?

At the moment, this is not supported through the Enhanced Client.  You should upload the project using the standalone GUI client and then use the Change Bindings dialog to bind the project on disk to the project in the repository.

How do I add just one project from the Vault Professional repository to my current solution?

At the moment, Add from Source Control is not supported through the Enhanced Client.  You should download the project using the standalone GUI client, use Add Existing Project to add it to the solution, and then use the Change Bindings dialog to bind the project on disk to the project in the repository.

How do I go offline for my bound Solutions and Projects?

Uncheck the Online/Offline checkbox at the bottom of the Change Bindings dialog.  This will set all projects that use the current Vault Professional repository to Offline.  You will no longer be prompted to login when loading any project bound to that repository.

How do I go back to online status?

You can select any node in the Solution Explorer and click the Online button to return to Online status.  Alternatively, you may check the checkbox at the bottom of the Change Bindings dialog.  A prompt will appear for you to log in to the Vault Professional server.  

How do I fix common binding problems?

Most problems can be corrected by rebinding the project.  Select the project or solution, and click the Bind button.  Find the project in the Vault Professional repository, and rebind the solution or project.  If the project or solution can not be found in the repository, then you should use the Add Solution to Vault Professional context menu in the Solution Explorer, or add the project manually using the standalone GUI client.

What do each of the binding Statuses mean?

  • Not Bound – The project on disk is not associated with Vault Professional.  

  • Bound (Offline) – The project is bound to Vault Professional, but the Vault Professional IDE client is currently set Offline for that project’s repository.  Right click on the solution or project file and select Go Online. Or, use the Online/Offline checkbox at the bottom of the Change Bindings dialog to return to Online status.

  • Invalid – The project is bound to Vault Professional, but there is a problem.  Click the link in the status column to read a more detailed reason for the binding problem.  Some common causes of problems are:

    • The Working Folder Association is missing.

    • The project/solution file does not exist in the location that is expected by the current working folder association.

    • The project file is bound to a different repository than the solution (or other projects).

  • Valid – The project is bound to Vault Professional and working as expected.

  • Pending Add – The project has been bound to Vault Professional, but not yet been added to the repository.  

What is the Deepest Common Ancestor?

If you are binding multiple projects, or a solution which contains multiple projects, you will be asked to map a working folder for the Deepest Common Ancestor of all of those projects.  In the simplest case, suppose that you are mapping two projects in an unbound solution.  If the working folder is structured as:

  • C:\work\Project1

  • C:\work\Project2

then, you will be asked to provide a working folder mapping for the C:\work directory on your disk.

If you have a slightly more complicated example of two projects structured as:

  • C:\work\Project1

  • C:\work\otherfolder\Project2

You will be asked to provide a working folder mapping for the C:\work directory on your disk.

The most common case where the Deepest Common ancestor is completely unexpected is when the two projects being mapped share no common ancestor other than the root of the drive.  For example:

  • C:\inetpub\wwwroot\TestWebSite

  • C:\work\Project2

The Deepest Common Ancestor would be C:\.  In this case, it is advisable to bind each project one at a time.