Folder-fun with VSS (how do you delete/rename folders?)

[LisaR18]

Hi all,

I posted a thread to the RoboSource Control category, and someone suggested I post a message here as well, since VSS folks may never go into the RSC category. If you use VSS integrated with RoboHelp, please read on. I'd like your take on how to rename and delete folders with minimal headaches.

We use RH6 and VSS (integrated together -- we're new to using this system with existing help projects) and had a problem in the last few days where someone on my team renamed a folder and the other two of us weren't able to easily obtain the "new" folder or delete the "old" one from our systems. We soon learned that this happened because RH doesn't tell VSS that the folder was deleted or renamed. With Gravenstein's advice by way of the RSC forum, we discovered that we had to do a lot of crazy stuff like manually fixing FPJ files, deleting CPD files, and manually deleting the old folder from VSS. We finally figured out a process (see further below) to get this to work next time someone renames or deletes a folder. We tested this process this morning during another folder-renaming event. The process worked, but this amount hoop-jumping seems ridiculous -- maybe there's something we're missing.

Does this process look right to you, or are we performing extra steps that could be skipped or aren't necessary if we just did things a different way? How do you do this in your own teams? (What steps do you go through?) Is there some setting we're missing somewhere that would "automate" this? After all, we don't need to do this every time someone deletes a help topic. Why is a folder any different? Thank you so much, in advance, for any advice or thoughts. Our "process" is pasted below. Thanks! Lisa

***
After the original writer has deleted a folder (or renamed a folder), the other writers should peform these steps on their machines:
1. Open the out-dated help project and “get” files from VSS. This action retrieves any new folders or topics.
2. Save and close the help project.
3. In Windows Explorer, browse to the help project folder on the C drive (located in C:\SourceControl\).
4. In the help project folder, locate the CPD file for the help project. This file bears the name of the help project and has a CPD extension.
5. Delete the CPD file.
6. Open the help project.
7. If a message displays asking to make an FPJ file writable (such as the skin FPJ), click Yes.
8. If a message displays stating that an error occurred while saving data to the FPJ file in the previous step, click OK.
9. When the message about the CPD file being corrupted displays, click OK.
10. Close the help project.
11. Relaunch the help project and get the newest version, as usual.
12. If any messages display about a writable copy of a file (like the FPJ file in steps 7 and 8), select Replace your local file with this version from SourceSafe? and click OK.
13. After files have been retrieved, open the Project tab and verify that the old, deleted folder is absent and the new folder (if any) is present. Verify that all topics display in the new folder.
14. Close the help project, checking in files if prompted.
15. In Windows Explorer, manually delete the old folder from your C drive.
16. Once all writers have synchronized their versions of the project, one of the writers should launch VSS and manually delete the old folder from the help project in VSS.

[Amebr-ke0mH4]

Unfortunately that sound about what we do. Although I normally click No at step 7, because in our projects that seems to delete all the topics out of the folder mentioned in the message, which we then have to restore or do a re-"get" of that FPJ file.

We also don't get step 9. We had it for a while, but I think that was solved by giving the user Admin rights and going through the uninstall/reinstall routine. (it was a while ago, so I'm not certain that was the solution, but I know we did do that at one point.) I seem to remember a few threads about the error, so you could do a search of the forums for some additional advice about it - you never know, I might have been organised and posted solutions somewhere.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

[LisaR18]

Thank you for your response, Amebr! So, when you say you give the user Admin rights, do you mean VSS Admin or something else? And what do you mean by the "uninstall/reinstall" routine? Do you mean that user has to uninstall and reinstall VSS or RH? I'll do a search on that error in the forum and see what else I find. It'd be nice to at least simplify this process. Thanks again!

Best regards,
Lisa

[RoboColum_n_]

Hi Lisa.

We use VSS with RHX5 but have never hit upon the problem you describe. However we treat the two products very separately. We check out a project from VSS. Then we edit the RH project but as if VSS never existed. When we have finished we check the project back into VSS. Renamed/moved folders or files are not an issue so long as you use the Show Differences function.

No sure if this helps you any.

[LisaR18]

Hi Colum! Thank you for your response. It sounds like you have only one writer at a time working on the project, then, right? We have VSS and RH integrated this way so we can multiple writers working on it any one time (not in the same topic, of course, but on different topics in the same project). I don't think we'd be able to work it your way and still work in the project at the same time, but I could be wrong! (It's happened before!) :)

Thank you so much for your response!
Lisa