Terminology

Learn about the terminology used in P4 One.

Workspace

In P4 One, each project has its own folder where you store files and subfolders related to the project. This folder is a workspace, which known in other version control tools as a working directory. For example, a workspace may contain a 3D scene with hundreds of textures and scene files, or a 2D project with one file.

To learn more, see Manage your workspaces

Stream

In P4, streams are the preferred way to handle branching and merging. Streams provide a framework to manage concurrent development and track relationships visually across branches. For example, if you are developing a game, you might have artists working in an art stream while developers are working in a development stream. Artists will not be distracted by in-progress development work because the two streams use separate versions of the files. When development work is stable and ready for the artists to use, you can copy and merge the files from the development stream into the art stream.

In P4 One, you can connect a workspace to P4 Server stream.

To learn more about streams, see What is Perforce Streams on the Perforce website.

Local depot

In P4, a local depot, also known as classic depot, is repository of files that is not based on streams. Local depots store files directly in a folder structure, while stream depots organize files into a more complex hierarchy designed for branching and merging.

In P4 One, you can connect a workspace to P4 Server local depot.

Version

A version is a snapshot or iteration of a workspace folder and its contents on your computer at the time when you created the version. As you as you iterate on your project locally, you can create versions that are saved in an internal database. A version is not shared with anyone else unless you sync it to a P4 Server, which is optional. When using P4 Server, a version is committed using a changelist, which is often referred to as a commit in other version control tools.

As you create versions, you can review all of your versions and history in the timeline.

To learn more, see Work with local versions.

Track

In P4 One, a track is a branch created when versioning locally. In other version control tools, you create branches manually. In P4 One, tracks are automatically created based on creating versions. Tracks help you explore design ideas without cluttering your workspace folder. In the timeline, the colorful lines you see between versions are tracks.

For example, you are creating a logo for a customer and they want to see the version you presented them last week in a different color. In the timeline, you can restore the version of the logo you presented and then change the color in the file in your workspace folder. When you do this, P4 One automatically creates a new track that branches off of the current version.

To learn more, see Tracks.

Changelist

A changelist is a list of files , their changes, and metadata that is submitted to a P4 Server. A changelist is the unit of versioned work that is submitted in an atomic operation.

To learn more, see Work with pending changes to submit to the P4 Server and View changes submitted to a P4 Server.

Local version database

When you create a project, your file backups will be stored in your workspace folder in a hidden folder named. This hidden folder is the local version database.

Check out

A check out from P4 Server makes a file writable in your workspace and indicates to other users that you are editing the file.

Lock

If you are working with files on a P4 Server, you can lock a file to prevent other users from submitting it to the server. You can unlock a file to keep a file checked out but let other users submit it to the server.

Free (revert)

When you free a file, you revert the check out, unlock the file, and make the file read only in your workspace.