Using Local Mode with Optimistic Locking

When you are working with Dimensions projects, you can edit files without checking them out from source control by working on them in local mode. Local mode can be enabled for individual files, unlike offline mode which affects the entire workspace.

NOTE  
You can choose to enable local mode at the project level, which will place all files contained by the project into local mode. The project itself cannot be in local mode.

 

You can use local mode with a pessimistic locking environment to work on files without checking them out, and directly check in the updated files. Local mode does not apply to Dimensions streams.

If you place files in local mode and fetch newer revisions of the files from the repository, the newer revisions are not placed into local mode automatically.

Putting Files into Local Mode

To put files into local mode:

  1. Do one of the following:

    2. The default choice is Make Local. To avoid this dialog in the future and always make the file local, you can select Don't ask me again.

    NOTE  
    You can change your default setting in the Preferences tab: Window | Preferences | Team | Serena Dimensions | Version Management | File Modification

    The local mode icon (local_icon.png) appears on the icons of the selected files.

  2. If your business processes support an optimistic locking approach, check in the files after making the edits in local mode by selecting Team | Checkin.

The new revision of the file is placed at the tip (latest revision) of the default working branch.

Reverting Local Mode Files to Controlled Mode

NOTE  
If your business processes support an optimistic locking approach, you can choose to directly check in the files after making the edits in local mode, instead of using the revert to control command.

To revert files to controlled mode:

  1. In the Package Explorer or Navigator, select the local mode projects or files you want to revert to controlled mode and right-click. A pop-up menu appears.

  2. Select Team | Revert Controlled.

    3. The file is marked as read-only.

  3. Use the Team | Synchronize with Repository command to commit your changes into the repository.

    4. Enabling File Content Encodings

    Eclipse supports a number of file encodings. By default these are not passed on to Dimensions CM. If content encoding support when adding files to the repository is required, edit the file plugin.properties in the following directory:

     

    <Dimensions_Install>\Integrations\RichEclipse3.x\eclipse\plugins\com.serena.eclipse.dimensions.team.core_3.0.9.120100-0X

    By adding the following line to the file:

     

    use_content_encoding=true

    With this set, the Eclipse Content Encoding set on the Eclipse resource will be passed onto Dimensions CM. If Eclipse content encoding is changed between revisions or on fetching files to a clean workspace, it must be changed in the Eclipse File, Folder or Workspace properties to allow Eclipse to recognize and display files correctly.