Visual Studio IDE plugin

This topic describes how to use the Git Client IDE plugin with Microsoft Visual Studio.

Clone streams

You can clone a Dimensions CM stream in Visual Studio.

To clone a stream:

  1. In Visual Studio, select View > Team Explorer.

  2. Expand Local Git Repositories and select Clone.

  3. Enter the URL of the Dimensions CM stream to clone. For details about the URL format, see Git Client command-line format.

  4. Enter the location where to clone the stream.

  5. Click Clone.

  6. If prompted, enter a user ID and password to the Dimensions CM repository.

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Relate requests and commit changes

You can view requests in your inbox for the current Dimensions CM stream. You can also open requests, relate requests to changes, and commit changes to a repository.

Git Client IDE plugin 1.5 and later: You can work with requests from different providers in the same Dimensions CM instance. The supported providers are ALM Octane, Atlassian Jira, and SBM. For details, see Configure request providers.

To relate a request and commit changes:

  1. In Visual Studio, select View > Team Explorer.

  2. Open the Dimensions CM repository that contains the changes.

  3. Click Changes or Git Changes and expand Dimensions Requests.

    The Dimensions Requests section displays the requests in your inbox. You can sort, filter, and search for requests.  

    Visual Studio 2022: You can have multiple repositories open at the same time. If you have opened more than one repository, select the relevant repository from the list of open repositories.

  4. If you are starting work on a request that is not in your inbox, you can display all the requests in the current stream. To view all requests, click More requests.

  5. To open a request, right-click the request and select Open.

    Dimensions CM requests open in the Dimensions CM web client. External requests open in their relevant provider instance such as ALM Octane, Jira, or SBM.

  6. To relate a request to the change, double-click the request. The request ID is added to the commit box.

  7. (Optional) Add a commit message.

  8. To push changes to the repository, select an option from the Commit list. For example, Commit All and Push.

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Open reviews and pull requests

You can display reviews and pull requests for the current Dimensions CM stream, and open them in PulseUno.

To open a review or pull request:

  1. In Visual Studio, select View > Team Explorer.
  2. Open the Dimensions CM repository that contains the changes.

  3. From the main menu, select View > Other Windows > Dimensions Reviews.

    The Reviews window opens, where you can sort, filter, and search for reviews and pull requests.

  4. Visual Studio 2022: If you have multiple repositories open at the same time, specify the repository for which to display reviews. On the toolbar of the Reviews window, select the relevant repository from the list.

  5. To open a review or pull request in PulseUno, select the review, and click the Pulse icon on the toolbar of the Reviews window.

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Create topic and normal branches

You can create topic and normal branches in Visual Studio.

Topic branches use pull requests for reviewing and merging changes. When you push changes to Dimensions CM, topic or normal streams are created.

To create topic and normal branches:

  1. In Visual Studio, select View > Team Explorer.
  2. Connect to a Dimensions CM repository.
  3. On the Home view, click Branches. The Branches view opens.
  4. Expand New Branch and select Topic Branch or Normal Branch.

  5. Topic branch: Select the request in your inbox on which to base the topic branch.

    To remove the request, right-click and select Remove. To display the request in an embedded browser window, right-click and select Open.

  6. Change the name of the topic branch if required. By default, the topic branch has the same name as the request.
  7. Select the main branch or any other branch on which to base the new branch. A topic branch cannot be pushed to a Dimensions CM stream if it was created from another topic branch.
  8. (Optional) Check out the new branch after it is created.
  9. Click Create Branch.

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Open PulseUno

You can open PulseUno in Visual Studio and view requests, reviews, and pull requests.

To open PulseUno:

  1. In Visual Studio, select View > Team Explorer.
  2. In Team Explorer, open the Dimensions CM repository that contains your changes.

  3. On the Home view, expand Project and click Pulse.

    PulseUno opens in a new window in Visual Studio.

For details about PulseUno, see PulseUno.

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See also: