:: MacCVSClient :: User Guide
  Preferences
 

MacCVSClient's preferences dialog consists of various panels which can be selected through a popup button at the top of the window. We'll go through them one by one, skipping the first one, as it has it's own chapter Login Profiles in this manual.

 

Export Translators

 

When a "data fork only" file (see CVS Add and Storage Formats) is committed the type/creator information is not stored in the repository.

Now suppose somebody else has checked in files and you want to check them out. You surely would prefer an automatic way to get the file types back. MacCVSClient can help you with this.

 

 

You can configure MacCVSClient's behaviour here by editing the "Export Translators" list in the preferences. You specify both file type and creator codes and assign them a file name mask. If during CVS check out or CVS update this mask matches a new file, MacCVSClient assigns the corresponding type and creator codes to this new file.

For text files, you can choose between UNIX and Classic Mac OS style line endings (this setting is ignored in non-text files). Here, non-text files are files which have been added to (or imported into) the repository with the -kb keyboard substitution option, also known as Keep Old Keyword String + Inhibit CR/LF Conversion. See also CVS Add and Storage Formats.

If type (or creator) of a translator are set to *, no type (or creator) code is assigned when the file is created. You probably don't want to do this in Classic Mac OS, but in Mac OS X using e.g. ProjectBuilder and InterfaceBuilder this setting is useful as here the file types are determined by file name extensions.

Examples:

Mask Creator Type Description
*.[chly] CWIE TEXT all files with the extensions .c, .h, .y, and .l will be CodeWarrior text files
*.cp CWIE TEXT
*.gif
MKBY
GIFf Fireworks
*.png
MKBY
PNGf
*.html DmWr TEXT Dreamweaver
*.shtml DmWr TEXT
*.txt ttxt TEXT .txt files are SimpleText (there is no rational reason to do this)
* R*ch TEXT all other files are interpreted as text fils by BBEdit

You can use standard UNIX file name patterns including wildcards * and ? as well as the [] construct in file name masks. MacCVSClient will choose the first matching pattern it finds in the list.

To add translators to the list, you type them into the three text input fields by hand or you drag-and-drop a file from the finder into the translator list. If you do the the latter, the dropped file's type, creator, and name are entered as they are. Very often you would want to fix the file's name to make it a real pattern.

To create a new translator in the list, press the "New" button after filling in the three text fields. To change an existing translator, you select it first (which copies it's data into the text entry fields), change them there, and then press the "Change" button to transfer the changes into the list.

To remove an item from the list, select it and press the "Delete" button.

Be aware that the order of the items in the list is important! You can reorder items using drag-and-drop.

 

Import Translators

 

If you want to add new files to a module or want to import a module into CVS the very first time, you have to set the files' Storage Format and Keyword Substitution options correctly.

The Import Translators list can help you to automate this process to an extent that minimizes errors and bad files in the repository. Here's how.

 

 

The "New", "Change", and "Delete" buttons work the same way as the ones in the Export Translators above. Similarly, you can use drag-and-drop.

However, the mapping mechanism used for the Import Translators differs substantially from the one in Export Translators.

In the Import Translators, MacCVSClient tries to match a file that is added to a module or imported into the repository against the combination of file name pattern, file type code, and file creator code and if it matches, assigns the given keyword substitution option and Storage Format option to the file.

To specify a "matches all" file type or creator code, enter a single asterisk ("*") in the type or creator input field(s).

 

Ignore Files

 

You will sooner or later come to a point where you have files in your module folders that you don't want to have under revision control, but still need in your working folder (these might be e.g. Dreamweaver temp files, .c files created by Bison or Flex, etc.). To hide these files from MacCVSClient's module view, you have two options.

First, the standard .cvsignore file (which lists file name matching patterns and functions on a per folder basis; see other CVS documentation).

Second, the Ignore Files preference offers additional file type and creator based file matching and works globally for all your modules and folders.

 

 

The "New", "Change", and "Delete" buttons behave exactly the same as in Export and Import Translators. Drag-and-drop works here also.

The way the "Ignore Files" mechanism works is straightforward: whenever MacCVSClient reads a module folder on your disk, it matches every unknown file it finds against the Ignore Files list. Matching works the same as in Import Translators, based on the combination of file name pattern, file type code, and file creator code. If they match, the file is ignored.

For every entry in the Ignore Files list, the degree of "ignorance" ;-) can be selected:

Display
Matching files will not be shown as unknown files in the module window, but hidden instead.
Import
Matching files will be skipped in "CVS Import" operations.

Usually, you would want to select both, I reckon.

 

Windows

 

If the check box for automatic scrolling is checked, whenever you are opening opening a diff/conflict window the first time, its content will be scrolled down so far that the first diff/conflict line is visible at the top of the window.

If the check box for console output is checked, CVS annotate, log and diff output is echoed to the console window. Otherwise it will only be accessible through diff or log windows. See also: Info Windows.

The CVS "Import", "Add", and "Commit" commands expect (descriptive) comments on what is imported, added, or committed. The "Scrapbook" window is supposed to be used to compose such comments. See Committing Files to understand how the "Scrapbook" window interacts with the "Commit" dialog. The "Add" and "Import" dialogs behave similarly. Here's the choice of comment auto copy behaviours:

  • Copy the entire contents of the "Scrapbook" window.
  • Copy the "Scrapbook" window's current selection only.
  • Don't copy anything automatically.
The other settings on this panel should be more or less self explanatory.
 

Other Settings

 

Long file (and folder) names (more than 31 characters) are supported on systems and volumes that support long file names. This means that on a system on or after Mac OS 9 on HFS+ formatted volumes, MacCVSClient supports long file names. In all other situations, only standard (maximum 31 characters) file (and folder) names are supported. Long file name support can be disabled if you want to e.g. support compatibility across systems.

The "CVS" files in a sandbox folders store very important CVS control information for all files in the folder. The "CVS" files must never be manually changed or removed. To help enforce this, MacCVSClient can keep the files locked. This automatic locking can be disabled (which makes it easier to throw a whole CVS folder into the trash can and delete it.

The other settings on this panel should be more or less self explanatory.

Rev. 1.37 Copyright © 1997-1998 Fontworks Ltd., © 2000-2003 Jörg Bullmann