Ignoring groups of files when adding

Sometimes development processes result in the creation of extraneous content that should not be submitted to the depot. Possible examples:

• compilers produce object files and executables during development
• text editors and word processors produce backup files
• some individuals might have informal notes on work in progress

To ignore files (or groups of files) when adding to the depot:

1. Create a file with a list of file specifications to ignore.
2. Set the P4IGNORE environment variable to point to this file.

When you add files, the full local path and parent directories of any file to be added are searched for P4IGNORE files. If any P4IGNORE files exist, their rules are added to a list, with greater precedence given to P4IGNORE rules closest to the file being added. For details on syntax and an example, see P4IGNORE in the Helix Core Command-Line (P4) Reference.

To override the P4IGNORE file, use the -I option with the p4 add, p4 reconcile, or p4 status commands.

Reporting ignored files

The p4 ignores command reports the ignore mappings in effect. Specifically, it displays the ignore mappings from the rules in the P4IGNORE file. If you add the -i option, it reports whether a particular file (or set of files) will be ignored.