TortoiseSVN

TortoiseSVN instructions

SourceForge.net provides direct support for several Subversion clients, including TortoiseSVN.

TortoiseSVN is an SVN client that runs on the Microsoft Windows platform. Rather than acting as a stand-alone application, TortoiseSVN is integrated with Windows Explorer, the file manager in Windows, not the web browser with a similar name. Since most Windows users are comfortable with the Windows Explorer interface, it is often easy for new SVN users to escape the learning curve by using TortoiseSVN.

TortoiseSVN was designed for simplicity and ease of use, providing direct access to the most common SVN and also to more powerful ones when needed. TortoiseSVN was made for interactive use, not for scripting SVN operations.

Installing TortoiseSVN

To install TortoiseSVN, read these instructions fully, then do the following:

• Download the latest stable release of TortoiseSVN.
• Run the TortoiseSVN installer program.
  
• Select “Next” on the TortoiseSVN installer welcome screen.
• Read through the TortoiseSVN End-User License Agreement, and select “I accept the terms in the License Agreement”.
  
• Click on the “Next” button.
• On the Custom Setup window, click on the “Next” option. The defaults should work for most users without modification.

If you also want to use SVN with the command line interface, make sure to activate the option that is disabled by default.

* Select the “Install” button to install TortoiseSVN.

* Click the “Finish” button to close the TortoiseSVN installer.
* The TortoiseSVN changelog may then appear, it is recommended that you read through it for any possible issues that could apply to your situation.

* Select “Yes” to restart the computer before configuring TortoiseSVN for use. Do not try to configure TortoiseSVN without first rebooting the computer.

Configuring TortoiseSVN

TortoiseSVN generally requires no configuration. To access a repository, a checkout operation should be performed. Right-click in the directory to perform the checkout, and select 'SVN Checkout' from the menu. Then, access the repository via URL, similar to how a web browser operates. This URL will look like this:

https://svn.code.sf.net/p/PROJECTNAME/REPOSITORY/

Though, typically you would want to specify the trunk to be checked out. Like this:

https://svn.code.sf.net/p/PROJECTNAME/REPOSITORY/trunk

PROJECTNAME is the project UNIX name, as specified on the summary page for the project in question, and the REPOSITORY is the name of the repository itself. The project, 'uberproject', for example, has a repo with REPOSITORY "svn", so would use the following URL to checkout the trunk of their SVN repository:

https://svn.code.sf.net/p/uberproject/svn/trunk

Upon first connection to the SourceForge.net SVN server, you may be prompted to accept the 'server certificate' for svn.sourceforge.net, you should 'Accept Permanently' the certificate.

After initial checkout, if you change a file and want to commit the change back to the repository, you will be prompted for your username and password. This will be the username and password for the SourceForge.net website.

[Using SSH Keys with SVN on Windows]

Configuring an HTTPS Proxy

Some users may find that their network environment places them behind a proxy server. In these cases, additional configuration may be necessary. To configure a proxy for use:

• Get the proxy settings from your Network Administrator or ISP
• Right-click on the desktop or in any folder to get the context menu, select the 'settings' option under the TortoiseSVN menu item
• Select the 'Network' section in the left pane of the window
• Check the 'Enable Proxy Server' checkbox
• Enter in the proxy server settings, as provided by your Network Administrator or ISP, in step 1
• Should these settings not work for you, try disabling the proxy server settings and retry the operation. If that still fails, contact your Network Administrator or ISP for additional assistance. General networking issues are outside the scope of support that TortoiseSVN developers or SourceForge.net staff can assist with.

Using TortoiseSVN

SVN is a complex tool, designed mainly for developers. Though graphical clients like TortoiseSVN ease the learning curve significantly, it is still important to understand the basics of how SVN works before deciding to use it for your project. Basic information about SVN may be found in the following places:

SourceForge.net Guide to SVN
The SVN Book
TortoiseSVN FAQ
Instructions for using TortoiseSVN may be found in the TortoiseSVN User's Guide.

TortoiseSVN uses the context menu in Windows Explorer for operations and special icons to denote the status of files and directories. In general, you will right-click inside of a directory and select the operation from the context menu that pops up. The most common options will be on the main menu; some of the less common options will be present under the expanding "SVN" entry on the context menu.

Common read operations (available to everyone)

• Checkout
• Update
  

Common write operations (available to authenticated developers):

• Commit
• Import
• Add
• Delete, rename and move

Learning to use SVN with a local repository requires some practice. If you are new to SVN, you may wish to create a local SVN repository on your workstation to experiment with TortoiseSVN before making changes to your project SVN repository. The TortoiseSVN project provides instructions on setting up a local repository.

Troubleshooting Authentication Problems

SourceForge.net provides SVN access both to project members (developers) and to the community (non-developers). Developers are listed as members of the project. Developers access the project SVN repository via HTTPS authentication, allowing them to perform write operations. Users who attempt a developer operation will be prompted for their username and password. If incorrect, or permissions are not set to allow the user access, the operation will be denied.

Project developers should use the same password as used for authentication to the SourceForge.net website when prompted for one.

It is within the discretion of the project administrator to grant SVN write access to project developers. These permissions are shown on the summary page of the Project Admin pages (which may be accessed by all project members).

Getting Help

TortoiseSVN is a fully-supported method of accessing SourceForge.net project SVN repositories. Issues related to the TortoiseSVN software should be directed to the TortoiseSVN project team. Issues related directly to using TortoiseSVN with SourceForge.net should be directed to SourceForge.net staff.

Support for TortoiseSVN software bugs may be obtained from the TortoiseSVN project on SourceForge.net as described on the TortoiseSVN Support Page. Before reporting issues to the TortoiseSVN team, you are encouraged to review the following:

• TortoiseSVN User's Guide
• Technical FAQ
• Mailing List archives
• Existing issue reports in the TortoiseSVN Task Tracker

SourceForge.net staff provides support for usage issues pertaining to the TortoiseSVN client. Please collect the following information specific to this client and then follow the instructions provided for SVN support:

Generate a verbose client progress log and attach it to the Support Request. Change the 'Progress Messages' setting in the TortoiseSVN 'Preferences' to 'Loud' and save the changes. Then, attempt the command that is failing. The output in the Progress dialog that is displayed should be either included directly in the body of the Support Request or attached as a text file.