HOWTO: Set up a Shadow Dir in Visual SourceSafe Administrator (138344)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual SourceSafe for Windows 4.0
  • Microsoft Visual SourceSafe for Windows 5.0
  • Microsoft Visual SourceSafe for Windows 6.0
This article was previously published under Q138344

SUMMARY

Visual SourceSafe gives the administrator the ability to configure the system for shadow directories. A shadow directory is a centralized directory on your network server that contains all the files in a project. The shadow directory contains a copy of the most recently checked-in version of each file in the project. Therefore, it serves as a centralized area to view and compile your source code.

MORE INFORMATION

Setting up shadow directories in Visual SourceSafe is a multiple-step process. This article shows the SourceSafe administrator how to properly configure the system for a shadow directory.

Step-by-Step Procedure

  1. Open the Visual SourceSafe Administrator.

    1. On the Tools menu click Options.
    2. Click the Shadow Directories tab.
    3. Set the project to be shadowed. Use the Browse button if necessary.
    4. Set the directory to which this project will be shadowed.
    5. Set the shadow directory options in the "Files in Shadow Directory" section.
    6. Click OK to save these options.
    NOTE: Close the Visual SourceSafe Administrator and Explorer before proceeding to the next step, so changes will take effect.

  2. Go to the directory that you set in step 1.d. Delete all files from that directory that are in the SourceSafe project that is to be shadowed to that directory.

    NOTE: If you are using Visual SourceSafe version 5.0 or later, you can skip the next step.
  3. Go to the Visual SourceSafe Explorer.

    1. Select the project that was shadowed in the Visual SourceSafe Administrator.
    2. Click the Get toolbar button. On the SourceSafe menu, click Get, or press CTRL+G to bring up the Get dialog box.
    3. Enter the directory to which the project was shadowed, and click OK.
At this point, a copy of all of the files for the project will be placed in the shadow directory. Whenever the file is updated in Visual SourceSafe, the file will be updated in the shadow directory as well.

REFERENCES

Query using "Shadow Directories" in the Visual SourceSafe Help file.

Query "Shadow" in the Visual SourceSafe Books Online.

For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

124529 HOWTO: Access SourceSafe Code From a Central Directory

142763 PRB: Path Problems on Client Installation of SourceSafe

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:3/14/2005
Keywords:kbhowto KB138344
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