The History Browser

Opening a History Browser Tab

History Browser Tab Layout

The Summary Pane

The Comment Pane

The Versions Pane

Working in the Summary Pane

Summary Pane Controls

Summary Pane Commands

Working in the Versions Pane

The History Browser displays some or all of the transactions A record in the AccuRev repository database that indicates a particular change: promoting of a set of versions, changing the name of a stream, modification to an issue record, etc. associated with a particular element A file or directory that is under AccuRev version control. See version., stream The AccuRev data structure that implements a configuration of the elements in a particular depot. The configuration of a dynamic stream changes over time; the configuration of a snapshot (static stream) never changes. Each workspace has its own private workspace stream. See workspace, stream hierarchy., or depot The portion of the AccuRev repository that stores the entire history of a particular directory tree. See element, version.. In addition to viewing information about a transaction and the versions A particular revision of an element, reflecting a content change (files only) or a namespace change (files and directories). All versions are originally created in workspaces, and can subsequently be promoted to dynamic streams. The original (workspace) version is termed a 'real version'. Each promotion to a dynamic stream creates a 'virtual version', which serves as an alias for (pointer to) the original real version. involved in it, you can perform operations on the individual versions (View, Diff, etc.) and on the transaction's set of versions (Promote, Revert).

Opening a History Browser Tab

There are several ways to launch the History Browser:

History Browser Tab Layout

The History Browser appears in a separate tab of the AccuRev GUI's multiple-tab display. The tab is divided into three panes:

 

The Summary Pane

The summary pane displays a table containing a set of transactions, one per row. Each row of the summary pane's table displays the following information about an individual transaction:

Time

A timestamp, indicating when the transaction took place.

Action

The kind of transaction: keep, promote, etc.

User

The principal-name of the user who initiated the transaction.

# (transaction number)

The unique number (within this depot) of the transaction.

Version

(only for transactions involving an individual element) The real version or virtual version of the element that was created in this transaction. This column doesn't appear in displays of a stream's history or an entire depot's history; the version(s) created by the transaction appear in the Versions pane.

Comment

The first line of the user-supplied comment for this transaction. If the comment extends to additional lines, an ellipsis ("dot dot dot") appears here. For the full text of the comment, look in the Comment pane.

The Comment Pane

The Comment pane displays the full text of the user-supplied comment for the transaction currently selected in the Summary pane.

Since transactions are immutable, you cannot change an existing comment in any way.

The Versions Pane

The Versions pane displays a table of all the versions, if any, created by the currently selected (highlighted) transaction.

Element (or separate "Name" and "In Folder" columns)

The element's pathname within the depot.

Virtual Version

Real Version

The two version-IDs The unique identifier for a version, consisting of two parts: (1) the name or number of the workspace or stream in which the version was created; (2) an integer. Examples: talon_dvt_mary/14, 245\19. of this version. The real version-ID indicates the workspace stream The private stream that is built into a workspace. All new versions of elements are originally created in workspaces; AccuRev records these versions in workspace streams. where the version was originally created. The virtual version-ID is different if this transaction records:

See Real and Virtual Versions.

Ancestor

(transactions in a workspace stream only) The predecessor (direct ancestor) The real version from which a given version was derived. A version and its predecessor are not necessarily located in the same workspace stream. In the Version Browser, a version and its predecessor are connected by a black line. (Exception: a version created by the Revert command is connected to its predecessor by a dashed blue line.) version, which this version was derived from.

Merge

(keep transaction recorded by the Merge command only) The "from" version to the merge operation that created this version.

Patch

(keep transaction recorded by the Patch command only) The "from" version to the patch operation that created this version.

Issues

The AccuWork issue records A data record, consisting of values of data fields, stored in a Dispatch issue database. (change packages A set of entries, each in the form of a basis-version/head-version pair, recorded on the Changes tab of an issue record. The change package records the changes to one or more elements, made to implement the feature or bugfix described in that issue record. Each entry in the change package describes changes to one element: the changes between the basis version and the head version. See patch.) to which this version has been added. This field indicates that the version is currently in those issue records’ change packages. It does not reflect change package membership at the time the version was created, or at any other time in the past.

Working in the Summary Pane

There's potentially a large number of transactions to display in the Summary pane -- for example, when displaying the history of an entire depot. Retrieving all the transactions at once from the depot's database can be time-consuming. The History Browser handles this situation by initially retrieving a small number of transactions, then letting you control the retrieval of additional transactions with the toolbar located just above this table.

Controls at the top of the Summary pane determine which transactions are displayed. You can invoke commands on one or more transactions that you select. See also:

AccuRev's standard table-manipulation operations

Summary Pane Controls

The controls pictured below determine how many transactions (and which ones) are retrieved from the depot's database and loaded into the summary pane. Click on a control in the image below for more information about it:

 

Once a certain set of transactions has been loaded into the summary pane, you can browse through those transactions. Click any transaction to select it; the Comment and Versions panes are updated with the transaction's details. You can use the usual navigation keys to change the selected transaction: up-arrow and down-arrow, PgUp and PgDn, Ctrl-PgUp and Ctrl-PgDn.

Summary Pane Commands

You can select one or more transactions in the Summary pane, and invoke commands on them. Use the selection's context menu or the toolbar buttons above the Summary pane.

Revert

(from dynamic stream history only) For the selected Promote transaction, performs the equivalent of an "undo" in a particular child workspace of the dynamic stream. AccuRev prompts you to specify which workspace. Older versions of the transaction's elements will be activated in that workspace. For details, see the revert reference page in the AccuRev CLI User's Guide.

Diff Against Other Version

(from text-file element history only) Compare the version in the selected transaction with the version in another transaction. AccuRev prompts you to select another transaction from the summary pane.

Diff Against File in the Workspace

(from text-file element history only, when in the context of a particular workspace) Compare the version in the selected transaction with the file in the workspace from which the History Browser was invoked. This workspace is listed at the bottom on the AccuRev GUI window. This enables you to invoke a comparison with a file that you have changed in your workspace, but have not yet preserved in the repository with a Keep command.

This command is disabled if you invoked the History Browser from a non-workspace context.

Send to Change Palette

(from dynamic stream history or Show Active Transactions only) Record each of the transaction's versions in the Change Palette, for promotion to another stream.

Send to Workspace

Activate each of the transaction's versions in a particular workspace. AccuRev prompts you to specify one of your workspaces.

Working in the Versions Pane

You can perform several operations on a selected version in the Versions pane, using its context menu or the versions pane toolbar.

Open (equivalent to double-click)

Windows: run the appropriate command on the file, according to its file type. [note The Windows file-typing system ("file associations") does not provide for assigning a file type if the filename has no suffix.] UNIX: open a text editor on the file.

Open Issues

Displays the change package(s) -- that is, the issue record(s) -- to which the version belongs. [note A version is "in" a change package if it -- or any of its descendants In the version graph of an element, version A is an ancestor of version B is there is a direct line of descent (possibly including merges) from A to B. See predecessor (or direct ancestor). "A is an ancestor of B" is equivalent to "B is a descendant of A". -- is the head version The version of an element that, along with a basis version, specifies that element’s entry in a change package. Equivalently, the head-version/basis-version pair specifies a patch to that element. of an entry in that change package.] For a version that belongs to a single change package, an edit form opens on that one issue record. For a version that belongs to multiple change packages, an Issues tab opens, listing all the issue records.

View

Open a text editor on a temporary copy of the currently selected file (text files only).

Save As

Copy the currently selected file to another filename.

Merge From

(only when displaying the history of an individual file) Merge the selected version into the version in the workspace from which the History Browser was invoked.

Patch From

(only when displaying the history of an individual file) Patch the selected version into the version in the workspace from which the History Browser was invoked.

Diff Against Previous Transaction

Compare the selected version with the version that was in its workspace or stream just before the version was created.

Promote

(only available in Active Transactions tab, not in other History Browser contexts)

Browse Versions

Open a Version Browser on the element whose version you selected.

Send to Change Palette

(dynamic stream only): Load the selected versions into the Change Palette, so that they can be promoted to other streams.

Send to Workspace

(only when displaying the history of an individual file) Activate An element is said to be active in a workspace or stream if a new version of the element has been created there, and that version has not been either (1) promoted to the parent stream or (2) purged from the workspace or stream. See default group, backed, passive. the selected element in the workspace from which the History Browser was invoked.

Send to Issue

Create a new entry (or modify an existing entry) in the change package A set of entries, each in the form of a basis-version/head-version pair, recorded on the Changes tab of an issue record. The change package records the changes to one or more elements, made to implement the feature or bugfix described in that issue record. Each entry in the change package describes changes to one element: the changes between the basis version and the head version. See patch. section (Changes tab) of one or more issue records A data record, consisting of values of data fields, stored in a Dispatch issue database.. The version you specify becomes the head version The version of an element that, along with a basis version, specifies that element's entry in a change package. Equivalently, the head-version/basis-version pair specifies a patch to that element. of the change package entry; AccuRev determines the corresponding basis version A particular ancestor of the version specified in a Patch, Revert, Diff, or Send to Issue command. The series of versions between the basis version and the specified version constitute the 'recent changes' to be patched into (or removed from) the target. Similarly, a change package entry consists of all the versions between a specified basis version and a specified head version. automatically.

The default query of the current depot's issue database is executed, and the results are displayed in a dialog. You are prompted to choose one or more of the issue records selected by the query. You can also create a new issue record, whose number will be entered in the dialog.

Properties

Displays information about the selected element. The data items displayed vary with the type of element.