SVN externals property is missing in Tortoise SVN

1
votes

Why is it when I right-click on a folder in Tortoise SVN, click on Properties and then Click 'New...' in the property name dropdown, the svn:externals is missing?

I'm new to subversion/tortoise. However I want to evaluate the software. I wanted to try out the externals feature but I'm stumped at the first hurdle.

If I enter svn:external manually and then set the folder to point to the 'trunk' folder, I get the following error: Error parsing svn:externals property on 'file:///...' etc.

Where am I going wrong?

4
svntortoisesvn
The feature works just fine for me, and many others I think. svn:externals would be missing if you were trying to set the properties of a file. Can you post either a screenshot or an exact replica of the string you are using to specify the external link ? – High Performance Mark

4 Answers

3
votes

I recommend you re-install TortoiseSVN. The svn:externals option should be the third one listed in the dropdown (with the current version 1.6.7), when you go to add a new property.

Note: This option is visible when adding the property to your working folder, not when using repo-browser. I am not sure why TortoiseSVN makes this distinction, since the externals references do get committed to the repo.

I am guessing the reason your file:/// reference is failing is that when doing it through repo-browser, the SVN server (which is what you are actually making the change on at this point) is not able to see your local file system.

In general, I recommend that you makes changes in your working folder rather than directly on the repo via repo-browser. This way you can make sure you get things right before you commit.

You can read up more on externals here.

2
votes

I believe your problem is at specifying the Property value.
Probably you're missing the name of the external folder.
When you open window for adding the properties, as a 'Property Name' enter svn:externals and as a 'Property Value' enter the name you want to give to the external folder followed by the path to your repository.
Example: MyExternalFolderName file:///...

Then after you update your Working dir, SVN will create new directory with name MyExternalFolderName and will copy files from 'file:///...'

0
votes

You should enter "svn:externals" (notice the plural). There are some versions of Tortoise that don't display this property. Please post your properties content so we can better understand what may be happening.

0
votes

Right click-> tortoise svn -> properties, new and select svn:externals

Is you wanna add it to the context, simply do:

Right click-> tortoise svn -> settings

In the general tab, select context menu and mark properties