Release Notes

2.1 is a free upgrade for all Cornerstone 2 license holders.

New Features

1. Working copies can now be switched

   While many users find it convenient to check out a separate working copy for each branch they work on, switching a single working copy between branches is an important part of the workflow for many Subversion users.

   For this reason, 2.1 brings full support for switching working copies to Cornerstone.

   The new Switch… function on the Working Copy menu enables the switching of entire working copies as well individual files and folders.

   Switched items in a working copy are easily identified by a new status icon in both the working copy browser and inspector panel, and the new Switched filter enables the user to quickly find switched items if necessary. (#520)

2. Revisions can be browsed in the repository browser

   A new revision field in the repository browser’s filter bar allows the user to specify the revision to be browsed.

   All functions available in the repository browser (tag, branch, export, etc.) were modified to behave appropriately with non-HEAD revisions. (#427)

3. Improved copy and move interface in browser views

   Cornerstone has provided drag and drop support for copying and moving items in browser views since version 1.0. Cornerstone 2.1 extends this copy and move support by adding new Duplicate… and Move… functions to the File menu.

   These functions present the user with a simple browser interface for the selection of the destination folder.

   In addition, the user can specify/select a destination folder in another repository or working copy, thus enabling:

   • Copying between working copies.
   • Copying between working copies and repositories.

   Copying between working copies and repositories requires that the source and destination relate to the same repository. It is not possible, for example, to copy from one repository to another. (#157)

4. Undelete function was added to the Log View

   The Log View’s toolbar now contains an Undelete item. This button is enabled when a deletion is selected from a revision’s change list.

   Clicking Undelete results in an options window being displayed allowing the user to specify the name and location of the undeleted file/folder. (#925)

5. Working copies can now be relocated

   Cornerstone 2.1 adds a Relocate To function to the Working Copy menu.

   This enables a working copy to be updated to use a different URL to access the same repository without having to check out a new working copy or resort to using svn switch --relocate on the command line.

   This is useful when:

   • A repository is moved to a server with a different name

   • Changing the protocol used to access the repository (e.g. changing from HTTP to HTTPS)

   • The path to the repository is changed. For example a server which previously hosted a single repository is reconfigured to host multiple ones, therefore necessitating the introduction of a repository name into the path

   • The port used to serve the repository is changed

6. File types to be compared as text are now user-configurable

   A number of users have informed us in the past that they were unable to compare text files in Cornerstone. Further investigation always indicated the same cause: conflicting or incorrect registration of the file’s Uniform Type Identifier (UTI).

   This situation was, in most cases, difficult or impossible for the user to resolve. Deinstallation of the application responsible for the incorrect UTI solved the problem in many instances, but this is obviously not an option in all cases.

   We have therefore improved Cornerstone to allow the user to override the default UTI-based method for file type detection by specifying which files should always be treated as text in the compare view.

   The majority of Cornerstone users will never need to override the default type detection behavior. But for the few that do there is a new field in the Advanced preference pane which allows them to specify the names (or patterns) of files which should always be treated as text. (#483)

Performance Improvements

1. Scrolling performance of file browser views was improved

   2.0 unfortunately included a regression which negatively affected the scrolling performance of the file browser views. This issue was resolved for 2.1 resulting in significantly improved responsiveness when scrolling.

Usability Improvements

1. Working copies are relocated when the settings are changed for the related repository

   Each working copy maintains a back-reference to the URL of the repository it was originally checked out from.

   This URL is now updated when the communication settings (e.g. server name, protocol, port, user name etc.) are modified for the working copy’s originating repository. (#774)

2. Sleep handling improved resulting in fewer lengthy network timeouts

   Cornerstone now listens for sleep and wake notifications, canceling any running background network operations before the Mac goes to sleep.

   This prevents Subversion from experiencing lengthy network timeouts due to dropped connections. As a result Cornerstone will prompt to quit much less often during shutdown. (#1017)

3. Kind column added to file browser views

   The working copy and repository file browser views have a new Kind column which displays descriptive text for the item’s type similar to that displayed in the Finder column of the same name.

   Beyond the informational value of the column, it also provides the added benefit of enabling the user to sort items by type. (#1027)

4. Source revision can be specified when copying items within a working copy

   In previous versions of Cornerstone, copying items within a working copy always resulted in the working revision being copied (i.e. the copied item included any uncomitted changes).

   The copy options window was improved in 2.1 to allow the user to select the revision being copied. Possible revisions include the working revision (which is the default and behaves as in prior versions) as well as the BASE revision. This allows the user to copy a modified file without including uncommitted changes.

   The copy options window also allows an arbitrary revision to be specified as a date or number.

   Please note that copying an item’s BASE revision requires that the working copy is in Subversion 1.5 format (or newer).

5. Depth can be specified when reverting

   The advanced revert function (Working Copy > Revert…) was extended to allow the user to specify the depth to revert to in the selected folders (this parameter has no effect if a file is selected).

   This is particularly useful for reverting changes to folder properties (e.g. externals) without reverting changes to files contained within the folder.

6. The Compare View’s find bar supports standard find pasteboard

   Text selected for (or entered into) the Compare View’s find bar is published to other applications using the standard find pasteboard. Likewise, the contents of the find pasteboard are adopted by the find bar when Cornerstone is activated. (#1065)

7. Improved Commit View

   A couple of minor improvements were made to the Commit View:

   • Include with Contents and Exclude with Contents were added to the change list’s right-click menu

     These function include/exclude the selected folder along with all contained items.

     Tree-based inclusion/exclusion of items in the change list has long been possible by Option-clicking items’ check boxes. Exposing these functions in the right-click menu will hopefully improve their discoverability.

   • Unchanged folders are now displayed differently in the change list

     The change list includes intermediary parent folders for modified items even when the folders themselves are unmodified. These unmodified folders are now displayed dimmed in order to differentiate them from folders with property modifications. (#903)

   • Tooltips are now displayed for columns in the change list

     Tooltips are now displayed for the action and property action columns, as well as for the inclusion/exclusion check box.

8. Improved Timeline View

   A couple of minor improvements were made to the Timeline View:

   • Icons are displayed for items in the timeline

     File-type icons are now displayed for items listed in the timeline view.

   • Differences can be saved as a patch file

     The File > Save Differences as Patch… function (previously only available in the Compare and Browser Views) can now also be used in the Timeline View to save the differences in the compared files as a patch file. (#1089)

   • Directory selection message was improved

     The timeline’s compare view does not currently support the comparison of folders. The message displayed when a folder’s revision is selected was improved to make this clearer.

9. Deselect All function was added to the Edit menu

   The Deselect All function can be used to clear the selection in the Browser Views as well as the Compare View and the Timeline View.

   The Deselect All function does not have a key equivalent. The two standard key equivalents found in Mac applications are Cmd+Option+A and Escape. We decided not to co-opt Cmd+Option+A as it is already in use for Select All Matches in the Browser View and Select All on Right Side in the Compare View. We did not implement the Escape key equivalent as the Escape key is reserved in Cornerstone for exiting the current navigation context. (#1057)

10. Toggled view options menu items no longer display check marks for improved compliance with Apple’s HIG

    Prior to version 2.1, the menu items for Cornerstone’s view options (e.g. View > Show Ignored Items) displayed a check mark indicating whether the option was in effect.

    The combination of an imperative command (i.e. Show…) with a check mark to indicate the state of the option results in ambiguity: what effect does the function have when invoked when enabled. Does this Show the ignored items? Or does it uncheck the menu item, thus disabling the option? Apple therefore recommends against the use of menu items in this way.

    Cornerstone 2.1 improves compliance with the Apple HIG by replacing the check marks with dynamically-modified menu item text that unambiguously indicates the effect of the function. For example, View > Show Ignored Items is displayed as View > Hide Ignored Items when enabled.

    This change was implemented consistently for the following menu items:

    • View > Show Ignored Items
    • View > Show Repository Status
    • View > Show Contents of Externals
    • Compare > Show Differences in Whitespace
    • Compare > Show Differences in Line Endings
    • Compare > Show Line Differences
    • Compare > Show Annotations
    • Compare > Show Line Numbers
    • Compare > Show Invisibles
    • Compare > Show Image Information

    (#1079)

11. Preferences added for Compare View options

    Four new preferences were added to the General preference pane enabling the user to specify default values for the following Compare View options:

    • Compare > Show Differences in Whitespace
    • Compare > Show Differences in Line Endings
    • Compare > Show Line Differences
    • Compare > Show Invisibles

    (#1062)

12. Compare View now supports horizontal drag-scrolling

    The Compare View always supported vertical drag-scrolling. Auto-scrolling was improved for version 2.1 to support horizontal drag-scrolling when the mouse is dragged beyond the horizontal extents of the selected document. (#832)

13. Compare Using External Tool function moved from File to Compare menu

    The Compare Using External Tool menu item (with sub-menu) was moved from the File menu to the Compare menu.

14. Add to Working Copy with Contents item is always visible in Working Copy menu

    The Add to Working Copy with Contents menu item was previously only available in the Working Copy menu as an alternate (i.e. the item was only visible when the Shift key modifier was pressed).

    This behavior was changed for 2.1 — the menu item is now always visible — with the intention of improving the discoverability of the function.

15. Update… menu item in working copy right-click menu is no longer visible by default

    The addition of the new Switch… function in the working copy right-click menu necessitated the pruning of redundant or seldom-used items.

    Previously, the right-click menu contained both the Update… and Update to Latest Revision items, so we decided that the Update… menu item should no longer be displayed by default.

    The Update… menu item is still available, but is now only displayed when the Shift key is pressed. Likewise, Revert… replaces Revert to Last Update… when the Shift key is pressed.

16. Edit > Copy URLs menu alternate added for items in the Working Copy Browser View

    The new menu item (key equivalent Opt+Cmd+C) is displayed when the Option key is pressed. It copies the URLs for the selected items to the clipboard.

    The command is also available in an item’s right-click menu. The command is not visible by default but can be revealed by pressing the Option key.

17. Improved display of repository location in inspector

    In previous versions of Cornerstone, the working copy item inspector displayed the URL of the selected item in a single, multiline field.

    The inspector was improved for version 2.1 to display the item’s location in two fields:

    1. Repository URL
    2. Location

    This results in better use of available horizontal space: the name of the selected item is not included in the URL, and the location (labeled Where) is displayed as a path relative to the repository.

    The full location URL is available in the field’s tooltip.

18. Browser View search field now supports revision numbers

    The search field in the Browser Views (working copy and repository) now accepts revision numbers, allowing the user to search for all files committed in a particular revision.

19. Most Recent filter added to Repository Browser View

    The new Most Recent (key equivalent Ctrl+R) filter shows only items which were changed in the displayed revision (normally HEAD). The filter’s title changes to This Revision when a revision other than HEAD is displayed.

20. Refresh Automatically option was removed from the View menu

    The utility of the Refresh Automatically option decreased with improvements introduced with version 1.5 and in Cornerstone 2 only controlled whether a repository browser was refreshed after commits from a related working copy.

    The command was removed from the View menu to simplify the user interface and repository browsers now always refresh following commits from related working copies (as had previously been the default).

Compatibility

1. Compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and 10.6 Snow Leopard

   Cornerstone is compatible both with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and the more recent Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

   Both Intel and PowerPC processors are supported on Leopard. Only Intel processors are supported on Snow Leopard.

Compatibility

Backwards Compatibility

Cornerstone 2.1 is fully backwards-compatible with 1.5 and 2.0. All configuration and settings are transparently migrated to version 2 when the new version is run for the first time.

Forwards Compatibility

The Cornerstone 2 configuration databases are forward-compatible with 1.5, i.e. you can run versions 1.5, 2.0 and 2.1 against the same configuration databases in your Application Support/Cornerstone folder.

Issues Resolved in Cornerstone 2.1