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Creating and managing workspaces

A workspace specification defines the portion of the depot that can be accessed from that workspace and specifies where local copies of files in the depot are stored. This location is called the workspaceDirectories on your machine where you work on file revisions that are managed by Helix Server. By default, this name is set to the name of the machine on which your client workspace is located, but it can be overridden. Client workspaces, labels, and branch specifications cannot share the same name. (or client, in the P4 command line interface). A computer can contain multiple workspaces. A workspace is required when connecting to a Perforce service if you intend to work with files. You can connect using only host name and port, but you cannot exchange files unless you specify a workspace.

The mapping of depot files to local files is called the workspace viewA set of mappings that specifies the correspondence between file locations in the depot and the client workspace.. If you are working with streams, the workspace view is generated by Perforce, based on the structure of the stream. If the structure of the stream changes, the workspace view is updated automatically. (In fact, you cannot manually edit the view of a stream workspace.) If you use classic depots, you must define and maintain the workspace view manually.

For more information about streams, see the "Streams" chapter in the Helix Core Server User Guide .

Create a workspace

To create a new workspace:

1. Do one of the following:

   • Go to Connection > New Workspace​.
   • Right-click a stream in the Streams tab and select New Workspace​.
   • Right-click in the Workspaces tab and select New Workspace.

2. If the Workspace Name dialog opens, enter a name and click OK.

   Note

   This dialog only appears if P4V is configured to prompt for a new workspace name. This is not the default behavior.

3. In the Workspace dialog, on the Basic tab, accept or change the default workspace name and root.

4. Map the workspace to the depot:

   Classic depots: You can configure the workspace view (mappings) in the Workspace Mappings field by doing one of the following:

   • Select the View workspace mapping as text icon and enter your view specification using Helix Server client view syntax.

   • Select the View workspace mapping as tree icon and browse to the files and folders you want.

     Build your workspace mapping by selecting a depot, folder, or file and using the Include, Exclude, and Clear icons; or right-click and select include, exclude, and clear options in the context menu.

     For more information about mapping workspaces, see Defining a Workspace View.

   Stream depots:

   • Stream: enter or browse for the stream that will be associated with this workspace.

     If you enter a stream, the workspace view is populated automatically under Workspace Mappings; you cannot edit it.

     Note

     To dissociate a workspace from a stream, delete the entry in the Stream field.

   • Stream at change:if you want to work using a stream definition as of a specific changelist, enter the changelist number here.

     When a change is made to a stream definition, the stream is versioned using the current value of the change counter. Use stream at change when you want your stream workspace to use a view generated from the stream definition as of a prior changelist.

     Using a stream-at-change view is useful if you need to work with a set of directories and files that are not identical to the set in the current stream. For example, your stream may no longer include certain libraries that had been included in an early version of the stream, but now you need those libraries to test a build. Enter the number of the last changelist to include those libraries. When you work in this workspace, P4V syncs to that changelist, allowing you to perform the test builds. Stream-at-change workspaces are read-only; you cannot check files into a previous changelist.

     For more information about streams, see the "Streams" chapter in the Helix Core Server User Guide.

5. Advanced options: You can specify the following settings on the Advanced tab.

   Owner	The user who created the specification.
   Locked	If enabled, only the owner of the workspace can use, change, or delete the workspace specification.
   Description	Your own explanation of the purpose of the workspace, or any related information you need to specify. The Description field accepts HTML tags for marking up and hyperlinking text. For details, see Formatting text in Description fields.
   Host	(Optional) The computer where the workspace resides. To enable the workspace to be used from any machine, leave this field blank.
   AltRoots	For workspace specifications used from hosts on different platforms, a list of workspace roots in host-platform-specific syntax.
   File Options	Allwrite: All files in the workspace are writable (can be modified). Clobber: Syncing files overwrites writable files on the workspace. Compress: Compresses data sent between the workspace and the Helix Server. Modtime: Modification time for files edited in the client workspace is set to the time when the file is submitted to the depot. With this option, P4V also minimizes costly digest computations on the client by checking file modification times before checking digests to determine if files have been modified outside of P4V. Rmdir: Deletes a workspace folder if all the files contained in the folder are removed.
   Line ending characters for text files	The line-end convention used for storing text files on the workspace computer: Local: Uses the workspace platform default Unix: LF Mac: CR Win: CRLF 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)
   On submit	Configures what happens when users submit files. The following options are available: Submit all selected files: Default. All open files are submitted. Don't submit unchanged files: Files that have content, type, or resolved changes are submitted, Unchanged files are moved to the default changelist. Revert unchanged files: Files that have content, type, or resolved changes are submitted. Unchanged files are reverted.
   Check out submitted files after submit	Select to cause submitted files to be reopened in the default changelist.
   Client type	Specifies the type of client: writeable (the default), readonly, or partitioned. Use readonly for short lived clients used in build automation scripts. Such clients cannot edit or submit files, but this should not be an issue in build scripts. Use partitioned to achieve the same thing as the readonly setting but with the additional ability to edit and submit files using that client. Note Using writeable clients in build automation scripts can lead to db.have table fragmentation, which is used to track what files a client has synced. If you are experiencing such issues, use a read-only or partitioned client instead. A client of type readonly or partitioned is assigned its own personal db.have database table. The location of this table must first be specified with the client.readonly.dir configurable by an administrator.
   Backup	Not currently in use. Applies only to clients bound to cluster workspace servers. If a backup startup process is launched on a cluster workspace-server, by default all writable clients (see Type field) bound to that workspace-server are periodically backed up. To disable backup for a particular client, its owner must set the value of the Backup field to disable. Note: If the backup startup process is configured with auto-unload unused clients on, neither readonly clients nor those with backup disabled, will be considered for auto unload. For complete information, see version 15.1 of Helix Core Server Administrator Guide: Cluster Management.

6. Click Save to save your entries and create the workspace specification.

Change your workspace

Classic depots:

You can switch your workspace using the Select Workspace dialog. Open the Select Workspace dialog by doing any of the following:

• In the drop-down menu at the top of the Tree pane, click the drop-down arrow and select Switch to Workspace.
• Go to Connections > Switch to Workspace.
• Open the Open Connection dialog and click Browse next to the Workspace field.

You can also switch your workspace by right-clicking a workspace in the Workspaces tab and selecting Switch to Workspace <workspace name>.

Stream depots:

You can switch stream workspaces using the same methods as you use for classic workspaces. In addition, you can switch stream workpaces by doing the following:

• Right-click a stream and select Work in this Stream.
• Merge or copy to a stream: you are prompted to switch to the target stream’s workspace.

In both cases, a warning dialog pops us and asks you to switch workspaces or create a new one. Click the Switch Workspaces button to switch your workspace. If more than one workspace is associated with the stream, the Select Workspace dialog opens, where you can search for and select the workspace you want.

However, if you have set your stream operations preference in the Preferences dialog to use the same workspace when you switch between streams, then P4V does not prompt you to switch workspaces. Instead the workspace view changes to include the stream you are switching to. In other words, the Stream field value in the workspace definition changes to the new stream. No matter what your stream operations preference, this is always the behavior in the Streams graph when you drag the Workspace icon from your current stream to the one you want to work in.

View workspaces

To view workspaces for the server to which you are connected, do either of the following:

1. Go to View > Workspaces or select the Workspace icon in the toolbar to open the Workspaces tab.

   Double-click a workspace row to display the details of the client workspace specification.

2. Open the Select Workspace dialog.

   Double-click a workspace row to display the details of the client workspace specification.

Search for workspaces

You can use filters to search for workspaces on the Workspaces tab and the Select Workspace dialog. You can filter workspaces by any combination of the following:

• Owner: select current user or enter a user ID.
• Workspace Name
• Stream name

You can also choose to Show only workspaces available for use on this computer.

For more information on filters, see Searching and filtering.

Delete and unload workspaces

Deleting a workspace removes the Helix Server record of the workspace but does not remove files from the workspace or depot. You cannot delete a workspace that has files checked out (open for edit) in P4V.

To delete a workspace:

1. Submit or revert any pending or shelved changelists associated with the workspace.
2. Go to View > Workspaces or select the Workspace icon in the toolbar to open the Workspaces tab.
3. Right-click the workspace and select Delete Workspace 'workspace_name'.

Unloading transfers infrequently-used metadata from the versioning engine’s database files to a set of flat files in an unload depot. If you unload a workspace, you can reload it if you change your mind and want to use it again.

To unload a workspace:

1. Submit or revert any pending or shelved changelists associated with the workspace.
2. Go to View > Workspaces or select the Workspace icon in the toolbar to open the Workspaces tab.
3. Right-click the workspace and select Unload Workspace 'workspace_name''.

To reload an unloaded workspace:

1. Go to View > Workspaces or select the Workspace icon in the toolbar to open the Workspaces tab.
2. Select the Unloaded​ icon in the filter pane to open the Unloaded Workspaces dialog, where you can filter for and select unloaded workspaces to reload.
3. Right-click the workspace and select Reload Workspace 'workspace_name'.

For more information about unloading, see the P4 Command Reference.

Defining a Workspace View

The workspace view determines which portions of the depot are visible in your Workspace Tree and where local copies of depot files are stored in your workspace. If you use streams, the workspace view is generated and updated automatically. If you use classic depots, you must maintain the view manually, as described in this topic.

To define or change your workspace view:

1. Go to View > Workspaces or click the Workspaces icon in th e toolbar.
2. In the Workspaces tab, right-click the workspace and select Edit Workspace.

3. In the Workspace form, edit the Workspace Mappings field.

   You can define the view syntactically and graphically, as described below.

4. When you have finished editing, save your changes.

Syntactic view specification

Click the View workspace mapping as text icon and type your view specification using Helix Server client view syntax. Views consist of mappings, one per line. The left-hand side of the mapping specifies the depot files and the right-hand side specifies the location in the workspace where the depot files reside when they are retrieved from the depot. Example:

//depot/...         //bruno/depot/...
//user_depot/...    //bruno/user_depot/...
//projects/...      //bruno/myprojects/...

For details about client view syntax, see the Helix Core Server User Guide.

Graphical view specification

Click the View workspace mapping as tree icon . The depot is displayed as a tree of folders and files. Right-click the file or folder you want to map and choose the mapping, as follows:

• Include tree/Exclude tree: Include or exclude all files below the selected folder.
• Include file/Exclude file: Include or exclude a specific file.
• Include Special/Exclude Special: Use depot syntax to specify the workspace view.
• Clear:

Alternately, double-click files or folders and use the resulting Special Edit dialog to define the view. This dialog enables you to specify options by clicking radio buttons or using the Expressions field to enter the left and right-hand components of a client view mapping.

To remove mapped folders or files from the mapping, right-click the respective folder or file and select Clear.