Step 1: Download and install essential clients | Helix Core Cloud administrators

When Helix Core Cloud deployment is complete, download the Helix Core Visual Client (P4V) installer and install the following components used to version files and manage users and permissions:

• Helix Core Visual Client (P4V)

• Merge and Diff Tool (P4Merge) - Included in P4V installation.

• Administration Tool (P4Admin) - Included in P4V installation

• Command-Line Client (P4) - Included in the Windows P4V installation, but not for macOS or Linux. You can download and install P4 separately. See Command-line client (P4) download and installation - macOS and Linux only.

Helix Core Visual Client (P4V) installation

To version files and collaborate with your team, you will primarily use the Helix Core Visual Client, also known as P4V. P4V is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

When you install P4V, P4Admin and P4Merge are included. On Windows, the command-line client (P4) is also included in the P4V installer. If you use macOS or Linux, you must install P4 separately. See Command-line client (P4) download and installation - macOS and Linux only.

1. Go to the Helix Core Cloud portal and click P4 Details in the left navigation area.

2. On the P4 Details page, note the Host, Username, and Password. You need these values during P4V installation. You can also click to copy the Host or Username. Click Show password to show the password.

   Important

   You can only click Show password one time after deployment. If you already clicked Show password and do not remember your password, contact Perforce Support.

3. Go to the P4V download page on the Perforce web site.

4. In the Family field, select your operating system.

5. If you are downloading the Windows installer, in the Version field, select the (EXE) version.

6. Click Download.

7. In the download confirmation dialog box, click Download again.

8. After the download completes, use the following steps to install P4V based your operating system.

Windows installation

1. Double-click the downloaded .exe file to start the installer.

2. On the Select Applications screen, make sure all applications are selected. To install P4V in a different folder, click Change and select a folder.

3. Click Next.

4. On the Client Configuration screen:

   • Enter your Helix Core Cloud Server address. This is the Host value you copied from the Helix Core Cloud portal. It starts with ssl: and ends with :1666.

   • Enter your Helix Core User Name. This is the Username value you copied from the portal. This user has super user permissions, which give you access to perform advanced tasks on Helix Core Server.

   • Accept the default Text Editing Application or click Browse to select the default text editor to use.

5. Click Next.

6. On the Ready to install screen, click Install to start installation.

   If you are prompted to allow the installer to make changes to your device, click Yes.

7. When installation is complete, on the Finished installing screen, click Exit.

   P4V opens unless you selected not to open it.

8. In the Open Connection dialog box, enter the following information:

   • Server: This is the Host value you copied from the Helix Core Cloud portal. It starts with ssl: and ends with :1666.

   • User Name: This is the Username value you copied from the portal. This user has super user permissions, which gives you access to perform advanced tasks on Helix Core Server.

9. In the Perforce Password Required dialog box, enter your password and click OK.

   If you have not already viewed the password in the portal, on the P4 Details page, click Show password to display it. You can only view the password one time. If you already viewed the password and do not remember it, contact Perforce Support for help.

10. Click OK.

    P4V opens.

macOS installation

1. Double-click the downloaded .dmg file.

2. Drag p4v, p4admin, and p4merge to the Applications folder.

3. In the Applications folder, double-click p4v. If you are prompted to open P4V, click Open.

4. In the Open Connection dialog box, enter the following information:

   • Server: This is the Host value you copied from the Helix Core Cloud portal. It starts with ssl: and ends with :1666.

   • User Name: This is the Username value you copied from the portal. This user has super user permissions, which gives you access to perform advanced tasks on Helix Core Server.

5. In the Perforce Password Required dialog box, enter your password and click OK.

   If you have not already viewed the password in the portal, on the P4 Details page, click Show password to display it. You can only view the password one time. If you already viewed the password and do not remember it, contact Perforce Support for help.

6. Click OK.

   P4V opens.

Linux installation

For Linux platforms, P4V is packaged in a compressed .tar file.

1. Uncompress the downloaded .tar file with gzip.

2. Extract the runtime files to any directory.

3. Create a symbolic link that points to the P4V executable script. For example, to create the link where the distribution files were untarred, enter the following commands:

   $cd /foo
   $gunzip p4v.tgz
   $tar xvf p4v.tar
   $ln -s foo/p4v-2023.2-123456/bin/p4v /usr/local/bin/p4v

4. Start P4V.

5. In the Open Connection dialog box, enter the following information:

   • Server: This is the Host value you copied from the Helix Core Cloud portal. It starts with ssl: and ends with :1666.

   • User Name: This is the Username value you copied from the portal. This user has super user permissions, which gives you access to perform advanced tasks on Helix Core Server.

6. In the Perforce Password Required dialog box, enter your password and click OK.

   If you have not already viewed the password in the portal, on the P4 Details page, click Show password to display it. You can only view the password one time. If you already viewed the password and do not remember it, contact Perforce Support for help.

7. Click OK.

   P4V opens.

Command-line client (P4) download and installation - macOS and Linux only

P4 is the command-line client for Helix Core. If you are using macOS or Linux, install P4. P4 is automatically installed during P4V Windows installation.

1. Go to the P4 download page on the Perforce web site.

2. In the Family field, select your operating system.

3. In the Platform field, select the platform to install on.

4. Click Download.

5. After the download completes, extract the archive.

   On macOS, double-click the archive (.tgz file) and a folder with the same name is created. Then, copy the file named p4 into the /usr/local/bin folder. To do this, open another Finder window, choose Go > Go To Folder, type /usr/local/bin, and press Enter. Drag the P4 app from where you extracted it to the /usr/local/bin folder. When prompted, enter your admin password or other required authentication.

6. To test that P4 works correctly, at a command prompt, type p4 info. Installation is successful unless a Command not found: p4 error is displayed.

   A client error may be displayed that tells you to check $P4PORT. P4PORT stores the server address you entered during P4V installation and P4USER is the username you entered.

   • To view your default P4 settings, at a command prompt, type p4 set.

   • To change the P4PORT value, type p4 set P4PORT=<correct server address> where <correct server address> is the Host value displayed on the P4 Details page in the Helix Core Cloud portal. Then, enter p4 set again to view new values you set.

Where to go next

Next, set up a typemap, which tells Helix Core Server how to handle different file types.

Go to Step 2: Set up a typemap | Helix Core Cloud administrators.