TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: tortoiseCVS and FM files From:"Rédactrice Technique" <redaqtechnique -at- gmail -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:26:43 +0100
Hi again,
Just to specify,
I was planning to commit doc changes to CVS only once a project was
finished. So, for example, if a new version of XYZProduct was developed by
our engineers, I would check out XYZProduct Reference Manual v138, make all
the changes required and then check the manual back in as XYZProduct
Reference Manual v139. I'm planning to use my allocated server space for
backups between CVS checkins (mostly because it seems a lot less complicated
to just copy the folder and dump it on the server, rather than doing fiddly
things with CVS). So I wouldn't require inter-versioning tags.
Thanks,
RT
2008/1/31, Rédactrice Technique <redaqtechnique -at- gmail -dot- com>:
>
> Hi folks,
>
> Well, contrary to my personal preferences and wishes, the team here
> decided that using CVS to store my docs would be a good idea. They're
> already using CVS for code, and didn't want to migrate to SVN or spend the
> money on a new versioning system.
>
> So anyway, I'm using TortoiseCVS and have just committed the first lot of
> my FrameMaker 8 books. I have set up a five-layer directory structure for my
> books, so, for example, I have: Tech Documentation (Module)
> .ProductType
> ..ProductName
> ...BookType
> ....FM book and various book files.
>
> I then tagged the folder for each book with the version number, so for
> example the folder Product Name Reference Manual is tagged v381.
>
> After a half-hour's test, I've already run in the following problems:
>
> It seems I can only check out my entire documentation directory every
> time, and not just a particular book's folder.
> I've tried to get round this by selecting Revision - Choose branch or tag,
> but none of my carefully applied tags appear in the list, even after doing
> an Update list.
> Which begs the question, even if that worked, should I be tagging each
> file with the product name as well as the version number, as I'm obviously
> going to have multiple books with the version number v100?
> If I drill down into the checked out folders, I can do a check-out using
> the tagged version, but it check out the whole structure again, so that I
> end up with:
> Tech Documentation
> .ProductType
> ..ProductName
> ...BookType
> ....Tech Documentation
> .....ProductType
> ......ProductName
> .......BookType
> ........FM book and various book files.
>
> Is there any way around this?
>
> In addition, my Framemaker books are all labelled with the version number,
> i.e., ProductName Reference Manual v3.8.1. So each book file and
> associated generated files (TOC, LOT, LOF) are then treated as new files by
> CVS. I don't want to get rid of the version number from the book, as I find
> it useful if I have two version open at the same time, but CVS is treating
> these differently-versioned files as new files every time. Is there anything
> I can do to make this better?
>
> I apologise for the specificity and length of this mail, but frankly, I'm
> on the verge of bursting into my boss's office and screaming, "I TOLD you
> this was a ********* stoopid idea!" ;-)
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> RT
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-