Repository Branches

Updated on 15 Jul 2024
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Overview

A branch refers to version control that allows users to work on different versions of a project simultaneously. The purpose of a branch is to enable users to make parallel changes to a project without affecting the main project.

Different users can work on separate branches and later merge their changes back into the main project, making it easier for users to work together on complex projects.

This document demonstrates the following topics:

Creating a Branch

When a new branch is created, it includes all the entities from another branch that was utilized as the base to create the new branch.

Navigate to the Designer Repository server. Select the Project Folder to create the branch. Click on the CREATE BRANCH button in the top Action bar.
From the drop-down, select a branch (in this case, Trunk). Define a Branch Name and click on Create Branch.
Refresh the browser after creating a new branch.
The branch will be created by the given name within the Project Folder. Refer to the following image.

Connecting to a Branch/Changing Branch

A Decisions server can only be connected to a single repository branch. To checkin the changes into a specific branch, users need to change the connection to that specific branch.

Warning!

Changing the branch will update the project in the Decisions server. This means all the entities that were committed to the current branch will be replaced with the entities from the new branch. Hence, ensure to checkin all the changes before switching branches.
Changing the Branch will change the current Branch for all connected users. Please be sure to let users know if they are working on the same Project.

Navigate to the System > Designers > Repository > Right-click on the project > Change Branch.
From the Change Branch dialog box, select the branch you wish to connect. Click on Change Branch.
A new window will appear. Selecting Advanced will allow a specific Revision or specific Date of the Branch to pick.
Select Checkout and continue the import process of the branch, similar to checking out a Project.

The following section demonstrates the actions that can be performed on a Repository Branch. Navigate to the Designer Repository > Select the Project > Right-click on the Branch.

Setting Name		Configuration
Create or Update Resource		Allows adding a separate entity to the project. Only accepts one file (.decOBj) at a time.
Create Tag		Append the revisions of the Branch with the given message.
Create Branch		Creates a new branch using this as a base.
Merge to Branch		Allows merging entities into another branch.
Delete		Deletes the Branch
Download
	Download Project	Downloads the project in a Zip file.
	Download as of Date	Downloads the Project that was committed at a specific Date and Time.
	Download Specific Revision	Downloads the Project of a specific revision. Revision ID should be specified.
Manage
	Manage Permission	Allows to Manage the Permissions on folder.
	Open Containing Folder	Opens the Parent Folder Dashboard (Project Folder).
	Permissions: Disable Permissions Inheritance	Disables Permission Inheritance on the Project Folder.
Open		All actions under this category will open in a new tab.
	Open Branch Summary	Opens the dashboard of the Branch
	Open Checkout History	Opens the Checkout History
	Open Commit History	Opens the Commit history
	Open Folder	Opens the Dashboard of the current Branch
	Open Folder View	Opens the branch in a Folder view with all entities listed
	Open Resources	Shows all the resources from the branch
Roll Back
	Rollback Project to Date	This will Rollback the project to the selected date with the latest revision.
	Rollback Project to Revision	This will Rollback the project to the selected revision.

Merge to Branch

Merge to Branch is an action available on the Designer Repository that allows branches to be merged together.

Navigate to the Branch you wish to Merge. Right-Click on the Branch > Merge to Branch.
Select the Destination branch to merge. In this example, QA is been merged with Production.
There are two available options at the bottom of the dialog box for merging entities into a branch. These options are:

Select From all Entities

This option will show all the latest entities from all the revisions of the branch and allows users to manually select the entities they wish to merge. Clicking on Merge will merge the selected entities.

Feature Details
Introduced in Version	8.10
Modified in Version	---

Select Based on Revisions

This option will show all the Revisions IDs associated with each commit.

When a revision is selected, all entities from that revision and its subsequent revisions will be selected unless the ‘Merge Entities from Selected Revision only’ is Enabled.

E.g. When revision R-000140 is selected, all entities from R-000140 through R-000143 will be automatically selected. However, if the user wishes only to select entities from R-000140, they should enable the 'Merge Entities from Selected Revisions only' option.
All the entities from the selected revisions will be displayed in the next window-'Merge Branch', which allows users to manually select the entities they wish to merge. Clicking on Merge will merge the selected entities.

Confirming the Merge

After completing the merge, navigate to the merged branch folder. On the Branch Summary dashboard, a new Revision with the latest date under the Commit History section should be visible. The commit message for this revision should indicate that resources from one branch were merged into another branch, such as Merge resources from [BranchName] branch to [BranchName] branch.