Post-Upgrade Cleanup for a Repository Containing Branches

The new implementation of repository branches provides many improvements over branches in v16.0 and earlier, but if your existing repository contained branches, you may want to perform some post-upgrade cleanup of your updated branch structure or create a new repository and migrate all your active documents to it.

From version 16.1, branches in the repository have been completely re-architected to allow:
  • The simultaneous display of all branches in the repository browser.
  • Branching on a folder-by-folder basis.
  • Simplified version numbering.
  • Greater flexibility and control over branch contents.
  • Simplified integration of changes from one branch to another.
During the repository upgrade, PowerDesigner will transform any existing branches in your repository to the new format, and your new repository will display all of your old branches as siblings directly under the root. As a result, you may experience the following issues:
  • Too many branches at root making the repository difficult to view and navigate. To simplify your repository, you should consider:
    • Hiding branches when they are not needed for certain users.
    • Deleting old branches that are no longer needed for any users.
    Note: For information about working with the new repository branches, see Core Features Guide > Storing, Sharing and Reporting on Models > The Repository > Branching Version Trees.
  • The presence of branches at the root prevents you from being able to branch sub-folders (because you cannot create a branch under another branch).

To simplify a repository and enable the creation of branches on a folder-by-folder basis, you should create a new repository and transfer all your appropriate models and other documents to it.

  1. Review your existing repository and identify the models and other documents that are still current and that you want to transfer to your new repository.
  2. Create a new repository and create all the necessary users and groups in preparation for allowing your users to connect to it.
  3. Set up an appropriate folder structure to allow you to organize your documents by project, and in preparation for future branching.
  4. Connect to your old repository and check out all the documents you want to transfer.
    Note: To ensure that no changes are lost, you may want to perform the remaining steps outside of normal working hours or instruct your users to terminate their connections with the old repository and await permission to begin connecting to the new repository.
  5. Connect to your new repository and check the documents to transfer into it.
    Note: When you check documents into the new repository, their revision histories will not be transferred with them. For this reason, you may want to retain, at least for a time, your old repository to give you continuing access to this information.
  6. Continue transferring documents until everything that you need for ongoing development is in the new repository and organized in an appropriate folder structure.
  7. Communicate the new repository connection information to your users and instruct them from now on to only check documents in and out of the new repository.