SourceOffSite 5.0.2

Released March 31, 2010

SourceOffSite (SOS) is a remote access product for users of Microsoft Visual SourceSafe (VSS). SOS makes it easy to use Visual SourceSafe over the Internet. With SOS, you can perform most SourceSafe operations from any remote location using Internet access.

Please note, a problem has been identified when upgrading a previous version of SourceOffSite 5.0 Server. For the SourceOffSite Server Upgrade installation you should:

Make a backup of the sossvr.prp file in your SourceOffSite 5 Server installation directory.

Install the server.

Overwrite the sossvr.prp file created by the server installation with the BACKUP file.

On some installations, failure to make a backup may leave your SourceOffSite in state where you need to re-input license keys and recreate SourceOffSite users.

Changes since Version 5.0.1

GUI Client

Status bar's text is now displayed when the window's width is reduced, but there is still room to display the text.
Added an option to the client configuration which directs it to NOT use extended characters for cache name generation. Used on systems where an extended character would trigger the use of a multi-byte character.
Addressed problem where files retrieved by the SOS client change to "Unknown" upon client restart.
Fixed issue where Status Search incorrectly reported files from different folders and skewed the results.
Working folder deletes and are correctly updated in the "Working Folder Assignments" dashboard tab.
A GET/CHECKOUT using Check-In or Modification time now correctly places the correct date/time on the retrieved files.
Fixed the "Modified File" dialog to retain GET options during a Folder operation.
Client will correctly save the status for retrieved files even when the user cancels the GET or CHECKOUT operation.
Addressed problem where deleting folders with checked out files did not update the "Pending Check Outs" dashboard tab.
Fixed option where Status search could not identify files checked out to multiple users.
A GET on a folder LABEL containing files that do not exist in the current folder no longer causes the client to crash.
Fixed a problem where a Check-In on a Folder containing shared files within that Folder's structure was causing the client to calculate incorrect file results.
Added new capability to run a CRC check (if configured within the client options) to determine if an unknown file should be retrieved during a CHECKOUT or GET.
Added new options within Folder History to filter dates using a FLOOR, CEILING or BOTH.
Folder History now correctly lists the dates and labels within the a Folder History query description.

IDE Client

IDE client now detects a network disconnect even when configured to Send Keep-Alives or Update the File List.
Addressed issue with the IDE client during an IP address reassignment.
IDE client will decrease assignments of working folders when the IDE's detected folder matches the SourceOffSite working folder assignment. This addresses data cache reloads when running the SourceOffSite GUI client concurrently with an IDE client.
IDE client was fixed to handle a GET_PROJECT message reducing "Response for No Message Sent" related errors.

Server

Some of the server connect/disconnect log entries are not set to log during "DEBUG" mode.

New Features in SourceOffSite 5

SourceOffSite 5 includes many new features. Some of the highlights are as follows:

Multi-threaded network redesign improves performance. The SourceOffSite Graphical User Interface (GUI) Client has been refitted with a multi-threaded architecture, which allows more throughput of network traffic and fewer operations that block the application.
Graphical User Interface overhaul. SourceOffSite now uses the Microsoft Office Fluent User Interface within the GUI Client.
File Transfer Performance optimization. SourceOffSite has been optimized to eliminate unnecessary network traffic based on certain combinations of VSS settings.
Wildcard search. SourceOffSite now lets user search for filenames via wildcard and regular expression patterns.
Pending checkout list. SourceOffSite now includes a tab showing all checkouts for the currently logged in user on a particular machine.
Custom External Applications. SourceOffSite now allows users to configure custom applications for viewing, editing, and diffing files based on file extension.
Search by label. History queries can now be performed by specifying label boundaries within the search.
Compatibility with the latest tools. SourceOffSite has been updated to run smoothly on newer operating systems such as Windows Vista and Windows 7, as well as Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio 2010.
SourceGear DiffMerge. SourceOffSite now ships with SourceGear DiffMerge 3.3, which allow more powerful options for diffing files and folders.
Improved server memory utilization. The SourceOffSite 5 Server memory handler releases resources back to the operating system in a more timely fashion, thereby running with a reduced memory footprint.
Character encodings. When coupled with Visual SourceSafe 2005, SourceOffSite lets users set their own preferences for character encodings of text files.

Caveats about SourceOffSite Version 5.0

SourceOffSite 5 Server requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5: Prior to 4.0, the SourceOffSite Server was a Java application and relied on the Microsoft JVM. The SOS 5 Server is a Microsoft .NET application, written in C# for the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.
No Support for Visual SourceSafe 5.0: To use SourceOffSite, you must have Visual SourceSafe 6.0 or Visual SourceSafe 2005 installed on your SourceOffSite server machine.
Cryptography: Two editions of SourceOffSite 5 are available, one that includes 128-bit cryptography and has been approved for export by the US Commerce Department, and one that includes no cryptography.

Caveats about upgrading from version 4.X

Client/Server Upgrade

SOS 5 clients can only communicate with SourceOffSite 5 servers. SOS 4.x and 5.x clients can communicate with 5.0 servers. However, some new features of SourceOffSite 5.0 may not be available when used in conjunction with older versions of the software.

Support for Side By Side Installation

Both SourceOffSite 5 Client and SourceOffSite 5 Server can be installed along side previous versions of SourceOffSite. Users can choose to run legacy versions of the client and server to suit their development needs.

No Update for the SourceOffSite Command Line Client and non-Windows Platforms

The SourceOffSite 5 Client currently contains a Graphical User Interface (GUI) client as well as an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) client used within the Microsoft family of development tools. SOS 5 does not currently contain an updated command line client. However, a client is in development and will be released in a future update to SOS 5.

While waiting for a release, users requiring a CLC or non-Windows client can still use SOS Client 4.2 to access the SourceOffSite 5 Server.

Serial Numbers

Serial numbers from previous versions will not work with SOS 5.0. If you have older version serial numbers, you must upgrade your serial numbers before using SOS 5.0. Please visit csp.sourcegear.com for more information.

Encryption Keys

Encryption keys created in previous version of SourceOffSite may or may not be compatible with SOS 5.0. Encryption keys now recognize fully qualified domain names (FQDN). If the client connection must enter a FQDN to connect, a new key must be generated matching this connection string. If the client connection is a machine name only, no new key need be generated.

SourceOffSite Server Log settings

Since SourceOffSite 5 Logging went to a new file based model, any current log file settings used within SourceOffSite 4.2 will not converted to SourceOffSite 5, and must be manually configured within the SosService.exe.config file.

License and Contact Information

Technical Support: Technical support, including answers to frequently asked questions, is available from our support site at support.sourcegear.com.
License Issues: SourceOffSite is licensed per user. If you have three people who use SourceOffSite, you need to purchase three licenses: one license for each of those three people. Each user may install the SourceOffSite Client on multiple machines as needed. The SourceOffSite Server will limit the number of users to the number of licenses purchased. Please see the SourceOffSite license agreement for specific details.
Legal Notice: To use SourceOffSite, you must also be a licensed user of Visual SourceSafe. Please refer to your Microsoft SourceSafe license agreement for specific details. SourceOffSite facilitates access to a SourceSafe database from a machine where SourceSafe itself has not been installed. However, it is important to remember that SourceOffSite is a technological substitute for SourceSafe, but it is not a legal substitute. To access a SourceSafe database, you must be a licensed user of Visual SourceSafe, regardless of the means you use to obtain that access.

The SourceOffSite Server includes file logging software by the Apache Software Foundation.

The SourceOffSite Client uses The 2007 Office Fluent User Interface software from Microsoft. The 2007 Microsoft Office Fluent User Interface is subject to protection under U.S. and international intellectual property laws and is used by SourceGear under license from Microsoft.

SourceOffSite is a trademark of SourceGear LLC. Windows and SourceSafe are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Visual SourceSafe is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.