Use the Synchronize wizard with projects

Use the Synchronize wizard to update your work area and/or Dimensions CM project so that they contain the latest file versions.

The Synchronize wizard behaves differently in streams. For details, see Work with streams.

Guidelines and limitations

The following guidelines and limitations apply when working with the Synchronize wizard:

  • To update items in the repository, you need these privileges: Deliver Files into Project/Stream, Update Item Content, or Create Item.

  • The Synchronize wizard uses client metadata to make comparisons between the work area and the repository. To maintain this metadata, the files and folders in the work area that correspond to existing items and directories in the project need to have been created using Dimensions CM item file operations.

  • The Synchronize wizard is not supported with a Dimensions CM project that uses a work area with a folder offset.

  • Windows: The supported file path length for a checked-out or gotten file in the work area is up to 260 characters.

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Update empty work area

You can use the Synchronize wizard to update an empty work area from a project.

To update an empty work area from a project:

  1. To start the Synchronize wizard from Windows Explorer, see Perform operations in Windows Explorer.

  2. In the desktop client, set your default work area to the work area.

  3. In the folders and items view, select the folder whose items you want to update in the work area (to update from the entire project, select the top-level folder) and select Project > Update from Project.

    The Synchronize wizard opens with the Update from Project option selected.

  4. To change any of the options, see information on synchronizing a project with a work area later in this topic.

  5. Click Next. After some processing, a page is displayed showing the files to be copied to the work area.

  6. To change any of the options, see information on synchronizing a project with a work area later in this topic.

  7. Click Next. A summary page displays the updates to take place.

  8. To complete the update, click Update. After some processing, the synchronization is complete.

  9. Click Close.

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Synchronize project with work area

You can use the Synchronize wizard to synchronize a project with your work area.

To synchronize a project with your work area:

  1. To start the Synchronize wizard from Windows Explorer, see Perform operations in Windows Explorer.

    In the desktop client, in the folders and items view, select the folder which items you want to synchronize, and select Synchronize.

  2. If the project in the Synchronize with field is not set to the appropriate project, use the browse button to select it.

  3. To exclude certain types of change in the work area from being synchronized, clear the appropriate checkboxes under Include the following types of local changes:

    • Additions

    • Deletions

    • Modifications

    • Moves/Renames

  4. To exclude certain types of change in the project in the repository from being synchronized, clear the corresponding options under Include the following types of repository changes.

  5. To restrict the synchronization to filter particular files or folders, enter expressions in the required fields for inclusions and exclusions. During the synchronization, the inclusions are evaluated before the exclusions. For examples of filters, see Include and exclude expressions.

    Note: Use wildcards for folders when specifying types of files. For example, use **/*.exe to match all .exe files.

    Option Description
    Include local folders Enter an expression to restrict which folders are delivered from the work area.
    Exclude local files Enter an expression to identify the files to be excluded from the deliver to the repository.
    Include repository folders Enter an expression to restrict which folders from the repository are updated in the work area.
    Exclude repository files Enter any expression required to identify files in the repository that you want to be excluded from the update to the work area.

  6. To automatically merge the content of conflicting files, provided there is no conflicting content, select Auto-merge non-conflicting file content.

  7. (Optional) To view the other available options on this page, click the Show additional options button.

    1. If required, change the Synchronization Options:

      Skip summary before synchronization Select this option if you do not want the Synchronize wizard to display the summary page before synchronization.
      Close wizard of completion Select this option if you want the Synchronize wizard to exit on completion of the synchronization.

    2. To create an output log for the results of the synchronization, select Enable in folder. To change the default folder where the logs are written, use the browse button and select another folder.

  8. Click Next.

    The window displays Checking for work area differences while the processing takes place. When Dimensions CM has finished comparing the differences, the next page of the wizard is displayed, containing a folder structure indicating the differences between the work area and the repository.

  9. If required, use the Defaults tab to change the default options used when files are delivered or updated. (You can override them when you select an individual file or subfolder by using the Options tab.)

    Option Description
    Comment for check in If the synchronization requires updates to the repository, enter the default comment for any new item revisions that are created.
    Relate to request(s)

    Select one or more default requests to be related in response to any new item revisions that are created. To create new item revisions, your process model may require a request. For details, see Select requests to relate to changes.

    Note: You cannot check out an item in response to a request if the request is above the initial stage in the Global Stage Lifecycle.
    Permissions after Update Choose between Make read only and Make writable for the permissions to be set on the file after updating from the repository.
    Design part for new files The part specification for the owning design part for new items created in this work area (unless overridden by any values set for a folder beneath the root folder in this work area). For details, see Select an owning design part.
    Permissions after Deliver

    Choose between Make read only and Keep unchanged for the permissions to be set on the file after delivering to the repository.

    Note: You do not need to set file permissions to read-only just to distinguish files that have been updated. The Change Type column maintained by Dimensions CM provides a more accurate account of whether files need updating. It is now possible to always work with writable files. Setting the Permissions after update and Permissions after deliver to Make writable saves you having to first set permissions each time you want to update a file.
    Apply date/time of

    • Choose Repository item if you want the date/time of the files updated in the work area to have the same value as the item in the repository.

    • Choose Current system if you want updated files in the work area to have the current date and time.
    Expand substitution variables

    Select this option if you want item header substitution variables to be expanded when item files are updated in the work area.

    Note: This option works only if Enable item header substitution is set for the item type in the Administration Console.

    The default for this is set in the desktop client's Tools > Preferences or in the Windows Explorer's Dimensions > Preferences.

  10. To change which files or folders to display, use the toolbar buttons:

    • Unhide item files that are unchanged.

    • Unhide item files whose Resolution is set to Ignored.

    • Display only item files in the repository.

    • Display only item files in the work area.

    • (Default) Display item files in both the repository and the work area.

  11. To set defaults or overrides for a specific file or folder, expand the folder tree, select the file or folder, and select the Options tab.

    On the Options tab, there are values that apply at the file or folder level similar to those at the root level. If you have selected a folder, these values are used as defaults when delivering and updating items in this folder and its subfolders. But you can override the defaults when you select an individual subfolder or file.

  12. To view the differences, you can expand the folder tree. But it is much easier to use the navigation buttons to move between each difference or unresolved conflict, especially if there are only a few differences in a large number of files.

  13. To view details of the selected file, select the Properties tab.

    For each file for which there is a change or conflict, review and if necessary, change the resolution that has been determined by the Synchronize wizard and any options to be applied specifically to that item revision. Select the Properties tab to see more details of the type of change or conflict. For details, see Review changes and resolve conflicts.

  14. When you are satisfied with the resolutions for the changes, click Next.

    The next page of the wizard displays a series of entries informing you of the updates to occur during the synchronization. At this stage no updates to the database have yet taken place. Some operations and commands that could be destructive, or not what you intend, may be ordered first in the summary log and prefixed with a 'Caution:' heading and description.

  15. To return to the previous page to review the changes, click Back. If you are satisfied to continue, click Synchronize.

  16. If there is an error during the processing of an item, fix the error by entering the required fields in the Error dialog box and click the Retry button. Or click the Ignore button to ignore that item. Alternatively, click the Abort or Ignore All buttons.

    The synchronization takes some time to complete.

  17. To view details of the updates that have taken place, click Show Details.

  18. To close the wizard, click Close.

    To return to the start of the Synchronize wizard to perform another synchronization, or to check the results of the synchronization, click Restart.

    If you want the wizard to close automatically when processing is complete, select Always close wizard on completion.

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Review changes and resolve conflicts

When reviewing changes in the Synchronize wizard, you can change the resolution for each case. If a conflict between two file versions exists, you can decide which version to use and how to merge the contents.

To review changes in the Synchronize wizard:

  1. Select a file or folder for which there is a change or conflict. This has an entry under the Change Type column, and its icon is something other than  for a file, or for a folder.

    Note: A folder rename is interpreted as an addition and a deletion.

    Click the file name or file icon to select a file. Use the following options to handle differences:

    Option Description
    Next Difference Move to the next file where there is a difference.
    Previous Difference Move to the previous file where there is a difference.
    Next Unresolved Move to the next file where there is an unresolved conflict.
    Previous Unresolved Move to the previous file where there is an unresolved conflict.

    To view the item history for a file, right-click the file and select History. The History dialog box is displayed.

      2. Click the Details tab below to view a description of the change. The current resolution is displayed in the Resolutions column in the tree against the file or folder.

  2. The Resolutions column displays the resolution selected by the Synchronize wizard. Use the toolbar buttons to select another resolution. The available buttons depend on the change type.

    Option Description
    Ignore Ignore the file or folder, for example, exclude it from the synchronization.
    Use Local Use the version of the file or folder from the work area.
    Use Repository

    Use the version of the file or folder from the repository.

    Caution: Selecting the Use Local or Use Repository options could cause you to discard a change that you have made when you did not intend to.

    Your selection is displayed in the Resolution column in the tree.

    To compare the content of a file with the item in the repository, click Compare . By default, this launches the default merge tool to compare the contents. For details, see Use merge tools.

    If the change type is Conflict, and you want to merge the content of the two files that are in conflict, click Merge . If a conflict exists in the file content, the file merge tool opens in the merge mode.

    Note: For certain conflicts related to a move and modification, you may have an Accept option with the options Rename and modification and Just the modification. For details about the types of conflicts, see Conflict types.

  3. Under Options, the fields are displayed according to the change type and whether the action results in the file deliver or update. Accept the defaults or change the following values:

    Comment If the synchronization requires updates to the repository, you may need to enter a comment for any new item revisions that are created if your process model requires this.
    Requests

    If your process model requires you to enter a request when creating new item revisions, enter one or more requests.

    Note: You cannot check out an item related in response to a request if the request is above the initial stage in the Global Stage Lifecycle.
    Item specification The item specification for a new item.
    Item type The item type for a new item. If you want to choose a different item type, click the field and select one from the drop-down list.
    Format Enter a file format for a new item.
    Design part for new files The part specification for the owning design part to be used for a new item.
    New Revision To change the default branch and revision for a new item revision, enter it in this field.
    Permissions after update If the file is being updated in the work area, select the permissions to give to the file.
    Permissions after deliver If the file is being delivered to the repository, select the permissions to give to the file after delivery.

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Conflict types

These are the main types of conflict:

  • A typical conflict is when file content is in conflict requiring an invocation of the file merge tool.

  • A less common conflict is when actions conflict but not file content. For example, when the file was modified locally but deleted in the repository, or the file was renamed from "a" to "b" locally, but from "a" to "c" in the repository. In such cases, merge may not be possible, and you need to decide which change to accept, use local or use repository.

The Synchronize wizard recognizes certain situations that are identified as pseudo-conflicts. For example, two users may have independently deleted the same file or created the same folder. You may want to investigate such situations, but if you accept them in the Synchronize wizard, the metadata is updated so that they do not subsequently appear again.

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See also: