Managing branch attributes
Over time, the number of branches on the Surround SCM Server will increase. It can be difficult for users to find what they need when there are a large number of branches, especially if many branches are old or rarely used. You can perform branch maintenance to view all branches in the database, freeze/unfreeze, inactivate/activate, hide/unhide, rename, and destroy branches, modify branch templates, and change the branch type and caching mode.
1. Choose Tools > Administration > Branch Maintenance.
The Branch Maintenance dialog box opens. Icons indicate the branch type and status. See Branch status icons.
2. On the General tab, select a Display Mode.
- Tree view displays branches in a tree structure as they are displayed in the Branches tree.
- List view displays branches in a list. Click a column header to sort branches in the list view.
3. Select additional display options.
- Show hidden branches displays branches that are currently hidden.
- Show inactive branches displays branches that are currently inactive.
- Show removed branches displays removed branches.
- Show all private branches displays all workspace branches.
- Ignore branch security overrides branch security so you can view and set attributes for all branches.
4. Select a branch and click the button for the action to perform.
| Button | Use to: | More information |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle Frozen | Freeze or unfreeze the branch. Users can see frozen branches but cannot perform any activities that change files, such as checking files out or in. | Freezing and unfreezing branches |
| Toggle Active | Make the branch active or inactive. Users cannot see or perform any actions on inactive branches. | Inactivating and activating branches |
| Toggle Caching | Change the branch caching mode. By default, all file and repository information for a branch is cached when the server starts. If you have a large number of branches, it can take a while for the server to cache all information at startup. You can use on demand caching to cache information only when a user selects a branch. | Changing branch caching |
| Toggle Hidden | Hide or unhide the branch. Users cannot see hidden branches, but they can still perform actions on them if they choose to view hidden files. | Hiding and unhiding branches |
| Change Type | Change the branch type or owner. | Changing branch type |
| Edit Template | Modify the template used to specify the repositories included in the branch. You can also remove the template from the branch. | Modifying templates for existing branches |
| Remove | Remove the branch. Removed branches are not deleted from the hard drive and can be restored if needed. | Removing branches |
| Destroy | Permanently delete a removed branch. Destroyed branches are deleted from the hard drive and cannot be restored. | Deleting branches permanently |
| Restore | Restore a removed branch. | Restoring removed branches |
5. Click Save As to save the list or click Print to print it.
6. Click the Indexing tab to enable indexing to optimize searching for text in files. See Indexing branches for optimized searches.
7. Click Close when you finish.