Dev ->Test -> Vault -> Production

If you are having a problem using Vault, post a message here.

Moderator: SourceGear

Post Reply
chadslagle
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:01 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA

Dev ->Test -> Vault -> Production

Post by chadslagle » Thu Mar 23, 2006 3:59 pm

I am having a strange issue. I'm not sure if it's vault or dreamweaver...

I have a user that is trying to check in a page that is existing, but the page isn't actually making it to vault (in step 4 below). New files are moved fine, just existing.. Is it dreamweaver not moving the files, or does it have something to do with the same user have two working folders on seperate servers..

Environment:
Dev -> Test:
1) I have Content Developers who use DW templates to create new pages, and make changes to existing pages. They do their development on the Dev web server (not their local machine).
2) Once they are completed they get their changes are approved by their Content Creators (not the same as the Developers) they "check-in" their pages to the Test Web Server for testing by the Content Managers.
3) Once the Content Managers approve the page for publishing..

Test -> Vault:
4) The Web Publishers "Check-In" the page into a Vault repository using DW. The Test Server is the Local Site, and the Vault server is the Remote Site. (They set the working folder to the root of whichever website they are working on. Vault is used to store versions of approved web pages. Basically it's an archive of the site.)

Vault -> Prod:
5) The Web Publishers, using another DW site, "Get" the page from Vault to put the file into the Prod Server. The Prod Server is the Local, and Vault is the remote.

Vault replaced SourceSafe, and this same system was used.

hafsa
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 3:39 pm
Location: SourceGear

Post by hafsa » Fri Mar 24, 2006 11:56 am

We are trying to reproduce it at our end, and will post as soon as we complete. In the meantime we could use more information. The check in done in step 2 into Test Server, is it done using DW?

hafsa
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 3:39 pm
Location: SourceGear

Post by hafsa » Fri Mar 24, 2006 4:45 pm

Does this issue occur in prior steps, for example when moving files from Dev Web server to Test Server? and secondly, does it display any prompt when you try to checkin in changes in step 4?

hafsa
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 3:39 pm
Location: SourceGear

Post by hafsa » Mon Mar 27, 2006 11:17 am

We were able to reproduce the issue here. We have logged it as a bug.

chadslagle
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:01 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA

more information

Post by chadslagle » Tue Apr 04, 2006 11:37 am

The answers to your questions are:
Yes, DW is used to check it in from the dev web server to the test web server.
No, it does not occur on checking in from one web server to another.

:?: Does a file have to be checked out to be checked in?

hafsa
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 3:39 pm
Location: SourceGear

Post by hafsa » Tue Apr 04, 2006 12:59 pm

It is upto the user if they require checking out files before checkin. By default, "Require checkout before checkin" option is "on". The above issue occurs when you edit a file which is not checked out. Therefore checking in changes (in step 4) fails, as the file is not initially checked out. The workaround for this issue, is to change this option available under Tools->Option in Vault Client.

chadslagle
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:01 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA

VSS import

Post by chadslagle » Fri Apr 28, 2006 12:42 pm

That helped, but didn't completely solve the problem I was having... But it's an important detail.

FYI, A lot of the problems I am left with are related to the fact that the files are .shtml files that were imported from a VSS repository, and there are all sorts of merge issues since the users had stopped using VSS because of the problems they were having with VSS. I had to add *.shtml to the file list in the Admin tool.

The dates are so out of sync it's crazy!! I have to "resolve merge" practically every file that was existing in the repository. After that every files can be checked in without any more issues.. And it's really only done easily using the client tool. Ugh..

hafsa
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 3:39 pm
Location: SourceGear

Post by hafsa » Wed May 10, 2006 4:09 pm

Sorry for the late reply. Do you still see the same problem (modification to the existing page is not making it to vault - step 4). Do you have the "Require check out before check -in" option off in Vault before performing step 4? and can you tell me your exact steps or are you using the same scenario as mentioned above?

chadslagle
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:01 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA

Here is what is happening..

Post by chadslagle » Mon May 15, 2006 3:34 pm

Yes, not only am I still having this problem, the users have lost all faith in Vault and have gone back to using SourceSafe.

In the file list, even after I check in a file, the versions are not in sync.. Here is what is displayed on the file list screen:
File: "index.shtml"
Check Outs: " "
Local Version: "1"
Remote Version: "2"
Status: "Old"
Local Date: "6/25/2003 5:35:17PM"
Remote Date: "4/28/2006 1:45:02PM"
Modified Date: "6/25/2003 5:35:17PM"

But.. I have only checked in one version of this file into the repository, and the file itself was built on "6/25/2003 5:35:17PM" and hasn't been changed since.

Here are my settings in Tools -> Options -> Local Files:
Modified working copy:
"Attempt automatic merge"
Prompt before overwriting locally modified files: "Checked"
Save Files in backup folder before overwriting: "Checked"
Perform repository deletions locally: "Do not remove working copy"
Make writable: "Make all files writable"
Set file time: "Current"
On Undo Check Out: "Leave"
Override Native EOL Type: "Do not override"
Detect modified files using CRC's instead of modificatioin times: "Unchecked"

If there is any more information you need, please email me or something.. I like to get this solved as I am getting a lot of grief over this subject.

The file "index.shtml" is located on a webserver, and not on my local machine (1000+ page web site x 5 websites) if that makes any difference.. I am an domain administrator so there is no access issues...

What am I doing wrong?

dan
Posts: 2448
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2003 5:03 pm
Location: SourceGear
Contact:

Post by dan » Mon May 15, 2006 3:58 pm

By File List, are you referring to the file list in the Vault GUI client, or the file list in the Dreamweaver client? Can you post a screenshot so we can see exactly what you are seeing?

A Get Latest in the Vault GUI client with the Set File Time set to "Check In" should set the local file time to be the same as the remote file time. If your default is "Check In" in options, the dreamweaver client will work the same way.

Note however that doing a Get Latest when the file already exists locally does not change the local file time, so if you want all the files to match the remote server datetime, you'd have to delete them locally, then do a Get Latest to reset all the file times.

dan
Posts: 2448
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2003 5:03 pm
Location: SourceGear
Contact:

Post by dan » Tue May 16, 2006 3:56 pm

This thread is a bit confusing - I thought the issue was with datetime stamps of files - are there still other issues as well?

If you are going to check in files from the Test Server to Vault, I would suggest doing that from the Vault GUI client and not from Dreamweaver. If I am understanding your setup, the files on the Test Server are mostly modified outside Dreamweaver (via the developers own machines), so Dreamweaver is going to mostly be confused about the state of those files. It usually wants files to be checked out before checking them in, and when DW checks out a file, it overwrites it.

chadslagle
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:01 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA

timestamp

Post by chadslagle » Tue May 16, 2006 7:14 pm

All the problems are relative, although I've been able to eliminate DW as the problem.

I've described the environment in the first post.. But to summerize:
A) A decentralized web developer does the following:
1) file.htm located on a development server is modified using DW.
2) In the DW Site Manager, file.htm is moved from a development server to a test server using the "Put" option (not checked in).
B) A decentralized web master does the following:
1) Runs a test on file.htm.
2) Verifies file.htm is approved for publishing by content managers.
3) Upon approval the file is checked in from the test server into Vault (formerly VSS) using DW's Site Manager.
4) A refresh in DW Site Manager is performed to make sure that the dates match.
5) The file is "put" from the test server onto the production server using DW's site manager

It is step 4 that is failing, because the dates are not matching.

SO, that is the problem I am having in DW.

Now, here is what I have done using the Vault Client to try and resolve the problem.

1) I looked at the folder where file.htm is located, and I documented the information in my last post..

2) I tried using diff to compare what is in vault with what is located on the test server, and both file.htm's are identical.

3) I check file.htm in (using vault) and it ask to merge, or resolve merge. 4) Merge does not work, but "resolve merge" allow the file to be checked in.
5) The "local" and "modified" dates match, but the remote date does not, and the file goes back into "edited" status. I try and check the file in again (without making any changes) and it goes back into the "merge/resolve merge" thing.
6) I changed the setting you asked me to change, Set File Time set to "Check In", and I still do not have matching local/remote/modified dates.

This only happens with files that were imported from VSS, and not new files added to the project folder after the fact..

It's sounding like the only solution you are offering is deleting an entire 1000+ page web site, and reloading it from Vault, thus halting development while the load is occuring.. Doing this, to me, is a last resort option since development is pretty constant. I have to stop development for a weekend so Vault will work properly..

The problem I have with this is, isn't this a setting in a database? Couldn't you build something in the admin tool that would allow a administrator to sync the dates if the files were identical (in diff)? IMO, this is something that should be fixed in Vault, not take my websites off line to fix it to work with Vault..

I understand how we operate our site is confusing, so maybe this will help with a frame of reference. We have around 5 production websites (5000+ files), 9 Test websites (10000 + files), and 9 development sites (12000+ files). Working on these sites are 20+ web developers, 5 web publishers, 50+ content managers all working from three different locations. Everyone uses dreamweaver. Dependencies on related files and sheer site size does not allow for localized development of sites.

If you would like, I'll follow with screen shots.. But I would just like more control over the dates as an administrator..

dan
Posts: 2448
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2003 5:03 pm
Location: SourceGear
Contact:

Post by dan » Tue May 16, 2006 9:25 pm

The date a local file is set to *is* a setting in Vault. The problem is that it was set a different way than your process wants it to be when the conversion happened, so the only way to reset it is to do a Get without the files already being on disk.

One work around would be to recursively check all files out, and then recursively check them all in, making sure that Tools->Options->Check In->Check In Unchanged Files is set to "Check In". This will cause all the files to have their version numbers incremented, but it would also cause the Get Latest to reset file times.

I'm still a little confused about how the merged and resolve merge status plays into this. A file needs merged when it is edited locally and the remote version has changed since the file was last retrieved locally. Did that happen at some point?

Post Reply