INFO: SourceSafe May Modify Some Files

 Last reviewed: February 28, 1997
Article ID: Q132892
3.04 3.10 4.00 5.00 | 3.04 3.10 4.00 5.00 | 3.04 3.10 4.00 | 3.04 3.10 
WINDOWS             | WINDOWS NT          | MS-DOS         | MACINTOSH
kbusage

The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, versions 4.0, 5.0
  • Microsoft SourceSafe for Windows, versions 3.04 and 3.1
  • Microsoft SourceSafe for Windows NT, versions 3.04 and 3.1
  • Microsoft SourceSafe for MS-DOS, versions 3.04 and 3.1
  • Microsoft SourceSafe for Macintosh, versions 3.04 and 3.1

SUMMARY

SourceSafe may modify a file you checked out or put in your local working directory. This is because SourceSafe is a multi-platform product. For text files, the end-of-line character will vary depending on the platform that you are using. One of the features of SourceSafe is that it converts these characters for you as necessary.

However, if you need the file to remain as is, this feature can produce unexpected results, errors, or problems.

The errors that may occur depend on the format of the file and the application that is accessing the file. For example, an application may produce a General Protection error in Windows, or not recognize the file format as valid.

MORE INFORMATION

SourceSafe detects binary files by looking for the ASCII value '0' (Null). This null value is only present in a binary file. Some files may not have this character, but need to be treated as binary regardless. For instance, Rich Text Format (RTF) files perform better if treated as binary rather than text files.

If a file format you are using seems to be corrupted by SourceSafe after getting it to your working directory, check the file type. You can do this in the interface by selecting Properties from the Info menu option. If the File type is Text change it to Binary.

From the command line, execute: 

     ss filetype $/project/filename
This will return the current file type. To change to binary, use the command: 

     ss filetype $/project/filename -b
An easy way to make sure all files with a certain extension are treated as binary is to use the Binary_Masks setting in the SRCSAFE.INI or SS.INI. For example: 

     Binary_Masks = *.rtf
Make sure this setting is placed before any headers (enclosed in '[' ']' characters). This will ensure that it applies to all projects.

KBCategory: kbusage
KBSubcategory: SourceSafe vss vbwin ss
Additional reference words: 4.00 3.10 5.00
Keywords : SourceSafe ss vbwin vss kbusage
Version : 3.04 3.10 4.00 5.00 | 3.04 3.10
Platform : MACINTOSH MS-DOS NT WINDOWS

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Last reviewed: February 28, 1997
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