The IDE's CVS support enables you to maintain different versions of an entire
code base using branches. Branches are created by attaching a branch tag to
a file or folder in the repository. When you modify files in a branch it does
not affect the files in the main code line or "trunk". You can, however, merge
any modifications you make in the branch back to the trunk at a later stage.
Checking out Branches
If you need to edit files on a branch that already exists, you can check out
the branch to copy the files to a local working directory. You must, however,
create a new local working directory within which to checkout the branch.
To check out a branch to a local working directory:
Choose Versioning > CVS > Checkout from the main menu.
On the first page of the CVS Checkout wizard, specify the location of the
CVS repository by choosing a preconfigured URL from the CVS Root drop-down
menu. If you are unfamiliar with the syntax, click the Edit button and
enter the required information in the Edit CVS Root dialog.
Enter your repository password in the Password field.
If you are using a proxy, click the Proxy Configuration button and enter
the required information. Click Next.
On the Module to Checkout page, specify the files and directories you
want to check out in the Module field or click the Browse button to
choose from a list of all modules in the repository.
Specify the branch, revision number, or tag to checkout in the
Branch field or click the Browse button to choose from a list of all
branches in the repository.
Specify the local working directory into which you want to check
out the selected branches. Alternately, you can click the Browse
button to navigate to the desired directory on your system.
Click Finish to check out the files. The IDE initiates the checkout
command for the branch. The IDE's Status bar, displaying in the
lower right corner of the IDE, indicates the progress of the files
downloading from the repository branch to your local working
directory.
Switching to a Branch
If you want to switch a project, directory, or file to a branch that already
exists for stabilization or experimentation purposes, you can do so using
the Switch to Branch command.
To switch to a branch:
In the Projects, Files, or Versioning window, right-click the file or
folder you want to be the root of your branch and choose CVS > Switch
to Branch.
In the Switch to Branch dialog, enter a Branch name or click Browse to
see a list of available branches.
Click Switch. The IDE moves the selected file to the specified branch
by adding a branch tag.
Creating a Branch
If you want to work on a separate version of your file system for
stabilization or experimentation purposes, you can do so by creating a
branch. Branches are created by adding a branch tag to a project,
directory, or file revision.
To create a branch:
In the Projects, Files, or Versioning window, right-click the file
or folder you want to be the root of your branch and choose CVS
> Branch.
In the Branch dialog, enter a Branch name or click Browse to see
a list of available branches.
If you want to tag the file or directory, select the Tag Before
Branching checkbox and enter a Tag name.
If you want to switch to the new branch after creating it, select
the Switch to This Branch Afterwards checkbox.
Click Branch. The IDE creates the branch by adding a branch tag to
the selected file or directory.
When you add a branch tag, the branch is created in the repository
immediately and does not require using the Commit command.
For more information on working with branches, see the CVS documentation at: