How to Switch, or Update, a file that exists only in a branch ?

I have a couple of files that exist only in a branch which I’d like to have within my Working Copy. If the files exist in the Head I can use “switch” to change the WC instance from the Head one to the branch one. But if the file is not in the Head I can’t do that as Switch only appears to work when a file is already in the WC as a checked-out file, and not if it is absent, or present but not Controlled.

Or should I use Update to get this ? In which case what syntax ? It seems to want to update the whole folder to the Branch’s version.

Please can answers be phrased along the lines of either:

    Do it like this …..
Or

    It can’t be done, because …..

And not:

    You don’t want to do that.
Or

    Have you considered doing something completely different (without an explanation).



The situation I have is as follows:
The project I work on comprises a lot of folders with source code and documentation, and quite a lot of configuration files.

When I am working in one area I am not bothered about others. That’s to say I want to pick up changes there when they are done (using Update) and not need manually to merge them in at a later time. That is why I don’t want to Branch the whole lot.



Use Case 1.
When I am working I replace some of the configuration files with my own altered versions specifically for my own development/testing requirements.
I have a Branch which just has the files I want to use for testing. When the file has a corresponding file in the Trunk I can just Switch to use my variant.
When the file does not have a corresponding one in the Trunk but does exist on the Branch I want to pull in the Branch one. This is what I’m having trouble with.

Use Case 2.
I'm working on the documentation. In most cases the files are already there and I can just Switch them and edit the Branch ones in place.
However I also need to add a few new docs. I could add them to the trunk but then others would get them and I don't really want that yet - I'd rather they not appear for everyone else until I merge my bug/development branch back in.
I can add them to the bug branch checked out in a separate WC. But I want to have them in my main WC as there are index files that need to be changed to point at the new files. So again I need to be able to get branch files into a WC mostly checked out from the trunk.




Previously I’ve used CVS for many years (actually CVSNT), and have used it in this manner. Update Special (I think it is update –r) is equivalent to Switch and enables me to use the file from the Branch where it already existed on the Trunk/Head. For the files that don’t exist on the Trunk/Head I can Check-Out specifying the files and the Branch and they turn up in the right place. And subsequent Updates respect the changed sources of the files.

Given that Subversion I usually presented as better than CVS in all ways I’m assuming it can do this but I have yet to work out how to tell it to do so.




I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that SVN can handle a file being present on branch but not the Trunk, so I expected to be able to do what I’ve described.


I hope someone can advise how I can do this.

Regards,
Richard.

PS. Using TortoiseSvn so also happy to receive answers indicating what to do within Tortoise.

PPS. I know I’ve already asked this a while ago but at the time I seem to have been spontaneously unsubscribed to this list so I didn’t see any responses until much later at a time when I wasn’t really able to respond.







Richard Kerry
BNCS Engineer, SI SOL Telco & Media Vertical Practice

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