Configuring client workspaces

Displaying client specifications

• Click .

• Press F10.

• Choose View>ClientSpecs.

• Choose ClientSpec>View ClientSpecs.

To display information about a highlighted file or user in a client specification, right-click the highlighted text and choose from the context menu as follows:

• Users: to display user information, choose Describe User...

• Email addresses: to email the addressee, choose Email.

• Files: to display file information, choose Properties. To locate the file in the depot, choose Find in Depot.

Creating client workspaces

To create a client specification:

1. Choose ClientSpec>New. The Create New Client dialog is displayed.

2. Enter the name you want to assign to the client workspace and click OK. The Perforce Client Specification form is displayed. For details about the form fields, click FormInfo.

3. In the Root field, enter the client root directory (where Perforce store client-side copies of depot directories and files). (You cannot use UNC notation, for example \\myserver\myroot, to specify a client root directory.)

4. In the View field, specify the mapping of depot locations to their client workspace. (For details about specifying the mapping, see "Defining a client view" on page 23.)

5. Specify desired client options as described in the following table.

   Option1	allwrite	All files in the client workspace are writable (can be modified).	noallwrite	Only files that are opened for edit on the client workspace are writable (can be modified).
   Option2	clobber	Syncing files overwrites writable files on the client workspace.	noclobber	Protects writable files on the client workspace during file sync
   Option3	compress	Compresses data sent between the client workspace and the Perforce server.	nocompress	Does not compress data sent between the client computer and the server computer.
   Option4	locked	Allows only the owner to use, change, or delete the client specification.	unlocked	Allows anyone to use, change, or delete the client specification.
   Option5	modtime	Modification time for files edited in the client workspace is set to the time when the file is submitted to the depot.	nomodtime	Modification time for files edited on the client workspace is set to the time when the file is synced or reverted.
   Option6	rmdir	Deletes a client workspace subdirectory if all the files contained in the subdirectory are removed.	normdir	Leaves an empty subdirectory in the client workspace, even after all the files in the subdirectory are removed.
   LineEnd	Specifies which line-ending convention is used when a file is synced to the client workspace. local: Uses the client platform default unix: LF mac: CR win: CR/LF share: Line endings are LF. Any CR prior to a line ending is removed for storage or syncing (for disks shared between UNIX and Windows)

6. Click Update to save your entries and create the client specification.

Defining a client view

To specify a client view, enter the client view definition (in the View field of the Perforce Client Specification dialog box), with one mapping per line. To map depot files to client workspace files, use the following syntax:

//depot_side //client_side

To add files to a client view:

1. Choose View>Entire Depot. All files in the depot are displayed.

2. In the depot pane, select the files you want to add to the current client view.

3. Choose File>Add Files to Client View.

-//depot_side //client_side

1. With client specifications displayed in the right pane, click the client specification you want to change.

2. Choose ClientSpec>Edit user... The Client Specification form is displayed.

3. Change the entries in the View field.

Any wildcard used on the depot side of a mapping must be matched with an identical wildcard in the mapping's client side. Any string matched by the wildcard will be identical on both sides.

Switching the client workspace or server

To switch client specification, server, or port:

1. Choose Settings>Switch Port Client User. The Switch Port Client User dialog is displayed.

2. Choose the desired setting from the Recent list or enter the desired combination and click OK.

1. Choose View>ClientSpecs.

2. Right-click the desired client specification.

3. From the context menu, choose Switch To client.

Connecting to the Perforce server

To connect to a server:

1. Choose Settings>Options.... The Perforce Options dialog is displayed.

2. Click the Connections tab.

3. Enter the desired server and port in the P4 Port field, using the syntax server:port#.

4. Click OK.

Configuring the temporary files directory

To specify the temporary file directory:

1. Choose Settings>Options... The Perforce Options dialog is displayed.

2. Click the Miscellaneous tab. Specify the directory where you want P4Win to create its temporary files.

3. Click OK to save your changes.

1. Choose Settings>Options and click the Edit/View tab.

2. At the bottom of the dialog, click the radio button corresponding to the desired option.

• To view unopened depot files using temporary files, choose "Always use a temp file when viewing an unopened depot file."

• To view unopened depot files from the location as mapped in your client view, choose "Never use a temp file when viewing an unopened depot file."

• To ensure that, when P4Win displays unopened HTML files, any links referring to local files and images work, choose "Don't use temp for these extensions" and specify a comma-separated list of HTML file extensions (omit periods and do not separate entries with spaces).

Configuring users

Displaying users

• Click .

• Press F11.

• Choose View>Users.

• Choose User>View Users.

Managing users

To create a user:

1. Choose User>New. The Create New User dialog is displayed.

2. Enter the name of the user you want to create and click OK. The Perforce User Specification form is displayed.

3. Enter the information for the new user. For details about the form fields, click FormInfo.

4. Click Update to save your changes.

To add files to a user's review list, select the files in the depot pane and choose Files>Add Files to User Reviews... (For details about Perforce review lists, refer to the Perforce User's Guide.)

To display information about a user, choose User>Describe.

To set or change the user password, choose User>Set Password for user.

To switch to another user:

1. In the right pane, click the user to which you want to switch.

2. Choose User>Switch to user.

Configuring related utilities

Configuring editors for files and file types

To specify the application to be used to edit file types:

1. Choose Settings>Options.

2. Click the Edit/View tab.

3. Click Add. The Add File-Application Association dialog is displayed.

4. Specify the extensions and corresponding editing applications for the desired the file types.

5. Click OK.

1. Choose Settings>Options.

2. Click the Edit/View tab.

3. In the Default Text Editor field, enter or browse to the application to be launched when you double-click text files that have no application mapped in Windows. (Note that Perforce considers all ASCII files, for example, .cpp files, to be text files.)

4. To specify that you want the default text editor to be launched instead of any application mapped in Windows, check the Ignore Windows-associated apps for ALL other text files box. The specified application is launched for all files that have a Perforce file type of text.

5. To launch the specified application in its own DOS window, check the Console Application box.

Configuring file comparison utilities

To configure file comparison utilities:

1. Choose Settings>Options. The Perforce Options dialog is displayed.

2. Click the Diff/Merge tab.

3. Click the radio button for your selection: choose the default Perforce diff and merge applications or browse to the application you want to use.

4. Click OK.

1. Choose Settings>Options. The Perforce Options dialog is displayed.

2. Click the Diff/Merge tab and click the Advanced...button. The Assign Diff programs based on file extension dialog is displayed.

3. Click the Add button. The Add File-Application Association dialog is displayed.

4. Enter the file type extension in the top field, including the leading period(.). To associate a diff application with multiple file types, enter the extensions as a list with entries separated by semicolons (for example: .h;.c;.cpp).

5. Enter the full path to the application executable in the bottom field or click the Browse button and browse to the application.

6. Click OK to dismiss the Add File-Application Association dialog, then click OK to dismiss the Assign Diff programs based on file extension dialog.

Adding commands to the Tools menu

To add commands to the Tools menu:

1. Choose Tools>Customize... The Customize Tools Menu dialog is displayed.

2. Click Add. The Add Tools Menu Item dialog is displayed.

3. Enter the menu item you want to appear on the Tools menu.

4. Click OK to dismiss the dialog.

5. In the Add Tools Menu Item dialog, specify the command you want the menu item to execute as follows:

   Field	Description
   Command	Enter the command as you invoke it at the DOS prompt.
   Arguments	For each argument for the command, enter one of the following specifiers. Uppercase specifiers send values to the command as a group, whereas lowercase specifiers run the command once for each value. For example: mycommand %F runs mycommand arg1 arg2 arg3 and mycommand %f runs mycommand arg1; mycommand arg2; mycommand arg3.
   %A, %a	Selected labels.
   %B, %b	Selected branches.
   %C, %c	Selected changelists.
   %D, %d	Selected filenames in depot syntax.
   %F, %f	Selected filenames in local operating system syntax.
   %I, %i	Selected client specifications.
   %J, %j	Selected jobs (from jobs list or changelists)
   %L, %l	Files selected in the depot, if the left pane is active.
   %O, %o	Selected files that are open (if the left pane is active) or all open files (if the right pane is active).
   %P, %p	Selected pending changelist.
   %S, %s	Selected submitted changelist.
   %R, %r	All files selected in a changelist, if the right pane is active.
   %U, %u	Selected users.
   $C	Current client specification
   $P	Current port
   $R	Current client root
   $U	Current user
   Initial directory	Enter the directory where you want the command to execute. Valid options are as follows: Specify the directory using operating system syntax; for example: C:\tmp. Specify %f, which evaluates to the directory of the selected file. The resulting behavior depends on whether you specify other replaceable parameters in the Argument field, as follows: No replaceable parameters in the Argument field: the directory is set to the directory containing the first selected file. %f or %l or %r or %o:  the command is run once for each selected file, with the initial directory set to the directory containing the file. %F or %L or %R or %O: the command is run once regardless of how many files are selected, and the initial directory is set to the directory containing the first selected file. If you specify %f in the Initial Directory field, do not specify any other values in the field. For example, %f\temp is invalid.
   Console application	Check if you want the command to execute in its own console.
   Prompt for arguments	Check if you want users to enter arguments at runtime, after they select the menu item.

6. Click OK to save your entries.

1. Choose Tools>Customize... The Customize Tools Menu dialog is displayed.

2. Click Add. The Add Tools Menu Item dialog is displayed.

3. Enter the menu item you want to appear on the Tools menu.

4. Click the Submenu radio button.

5. Click OK to dismiss the dialog. All commands you enter beneath a submenu appear on the submenu.

• Diff2: compares two files.

• Doit: opens or executes a selected client file.

• DoAll: opens or executes multiple files.

• Fixes: displays jobs associated with changelists that affect a selected file.

To import tool definitions, choose Tools>Import..., browse to the location of the export file, and click OK. The tools are added in a submenu indicating the user that created the import file.

Configuring P4Win performance

Maximizing P4Win performance

• Avoid DNS lookup: Specify an IP address instead of a node name in the Port field of the Switch Port Client User dialog. For details about these settings, refer to "Switching the client workspace or server" on page 24.

• Minimize data transfers: In networked environments, you can minimize the amount of data that P4Win requests from the Perforce server as follows:
  • Choose Client View of Depot to limit the files displayed.

  • Limit the number of changelists retrieved from the server.  

  • Turn on data compression. For details, see "Enabling data compression for file transfers" on page 34.

• Do not open the node. (When this node is opened, P4Win retrieves the names of every open file from the server).

• Disable the Automatically reload pane when it is uncovered option on the Settings dialog Connections tab. (You must refresh panes manually after disabling this option.)

• Limit the number of files to be sorted by extension: choose Settings, click the Options tab, and set the Max number of depot files to sort by extension field.

• Disable the menu option for Changelist>Filter Submitted Changelists for Selected Files, including integrations by unchecking Enable including integrations when filtering submitted changes on the Settings dialog Display tab.

• Hide the Show Branching History check box on the Revision History dialog by unchecking Enable displaying branching history in the Revision History dialog on the Settings dialog Display tab.

If the system limits are set so low that practical work becomes difficult or impossible, ask the Perforce superuser to reset the MAXRESULTS value.

Large sites: if your site has a large number of files in its depot, numerous P4Win users, and numerous client specifications with wide views (meaning views that map a large portion of the depot, or the entire depot), use the following P4Win settings to obtain best performance and minimize impact on the Perforce server.

Enabling data compression for file transfers

To enable file compression:

1. Choose View>ClientSpecs. Client specifications are displayed in the right pane.

2. Right-click your client workspace specification and choose Edit from the context menu. The Perforce Client Specification form is displayed.

3. In the Options field, if the NOCOMPRESS option is specified, change this option to COMPRESS.

4. Click Update to save your settings.