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Q157720: INFO: VSS 5.0 Readme: Sec. 1, Software Installation Information

Article: Q157720
Product(s): Microsoft SourceSafe
Version(s): Win3.x:5.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbsetup kbSSafe400 kbSSafe500
Last Modified: 01-MAY-2001

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual SourceSafe for Windows, version 5.0 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY
=======

The Visual SourceSafe Readme.wri file should be located in the SourceSafe root
directory. It contains important information, some of which is not available in
the printed documentation or the Help files. This article covers Section 1,
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION INFORMATION, of the readme.wri file. Please see REFERENCES
below for more information on the other sections.

MORE INFORMATION
================

The Readme.wri includes:

1.0 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION INFORMATION

  1.1 (Administrator) Creating a Visual SourceSafe Installation on a Server
  1.2 (Each User) Using NETSETUP to Create a Personal Installation
  1.3 Using the Custom Setup Option
  1.4 Upgrading a Previous SourceSafe Installation
  1.5 Using the Installation Maintenance Program
  1.6 Uninstalling Visual SourceSafe
  1.7 WININET and MFC DLLs
  1.8 SourceSafe on RISC

2.0 GENERAL NOTES AND TIPS

  2.1 Back Up Your Visual SourceSafe Database, and run ANALYZE
  2.2 Installing Two or More Visual SourceSafe Databases on One Computer
  2.3. Loss of Network Connection Produces Numerical Error Message
  2.4 Canceling a Client Setup
  2.5 System Date/Time

3.0 NEW FEATURES IN VISUAL SOURCESAFE 5.0

  3.1 Archive Utility
  3.2 Visual Merge
  3.3 Project Diff
  3.4 "Edit" Command
  3.5 Open Databases
  3.6 Web Features
  3.7 Exclusive Check Out

4.0 NOTES FOR USERS OF VISUAL SOURCESAFE 4.0

  4.1 No 16-bit Support
  4.2 Get --> Get Latest Version
  4.3 Results Display
  4.4 Multiple Project Support in Visual Basic/Visual C++ Integration

5.0 VISUAL SOURCESAFE HOME PAGE

1.0  SOFTWARE INSTALLATION INFORMATION
--------------------------------------

The first step in installing Visual SourceSafe is the Server Setup: the Visual
SourceSafe administrator creates the SourceSafe database on a network server
that all users have access to, and adds all users to the Visual SourceSafe user
list. At this point, all users can begin running Visual SourceSafe directly from
the server: no further installation is required.

However, each user may wish to take a second step and do a personal Network
Setup. This step improves performance and reduces network traffic, by copying
the Visual SourceSafe executables to the user's hard drive. More important, this
step registers Visual SourceSafe for direct integration into host environments
such as Microsoft Visual Basic (Enterprise and Professional Editions, versions
4.0 and above), Microsoft Visual C++ (versions 4.0 and above), Microsoft Access
(requires the Office Developer Edition), Microsoft FrontPage (FrontPage '97 and
above), Microsoft Visual J++ (all versions), Microsoft Internet Studio (all
versions), and Microsoft Visual FoxPro (versions 5.0 and above). The Visual
SourceSafe integration into these environments will not work until the user has
done a network or client setup.

The Visual SourceSafe Setup program can also be used to upgrade an existing
Visual SourceSafe installation, or to perform maintenance (adding and removing
components) on an existing installation.

1.1 (Administrator) Creating a Visual SourceSafe Installation on a Server
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first step in creating a new Visual SourceSafe installation, or upgrading an
existing installation, is taken by the Visual SourceSafe administrator. Run
SETUP.EXE program on the Visual SourceSafe disk. SETUP asks for the directory in
which to install Visual SourceSafe. Choose a directory on your network, such as
R:\VSS, that is accessible to everyone who will be using Visual SourceSafe. From
the Setup options, choose the Server Setup option.

If you are creating a new Visual SourceSafe installation, an empty Visual
SourceSafe database is created for you. Your next duty is to run the Visual
SourceSafe Administrator's program and add all your users to the Visual
SourceSafe user list. (The number of users that you can legally add to this list
is based on the number of Visual SourceSafe licenses you have purchased.)

If you are upgrading an existing Visual SourceSafe installation, see section 1.4
below.

After the successful completion of the Server Setup, your users are ready to
begin running Visual SourceSafe, or to use NETSETUP to create their personal
installations.

1.2 (Each User) Using NETSETUP to Create a Personal Installation
----------------------------------------------------------------

After an administrator has created a Visual SourceSafe installation on the
server, users can perform a network setup. This step copies the Visual
SourceSafe executables to your hard disk, pointing back to the central database
on the server. It also creates shortcuts in your Start Menu, making it easier to
run Visual SourceSafe. Most importantly, the network setup registers Visual
SourceSafe on your computer, enabling direct integration of Visual SourceSafe
menus into Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) such as Microsoft Visual
Basic (Enterprise and Professional Editions, versions 4.0 and above), Microsoft
Visual C++ (versions 4.0 and above), Microsoft Access (requires the Office
Developer Edition), Microsoft FrontPage (FrontPage '97 and above), Microsoft
Visual J++ (all versions), Microsoft Internet Studio (all versions), and
Microsoft Visual FoxPro (versions 5.0 and above).

To perform a network setup, you do not need the Visual SourceSafe disk. Instead,
go to the network location where the Visual SourceSafe server was installed by
your administrator and run NETSETUP.EXE. Specify a new directory on your
computer's hard disk, such as C:\VSS, as the location of the Visual SourceSafe
client.

After the successful completion of the Network Setup, you are ready to begin
running Visual SourceSafe.

An alternative to the network setup is the client setup. Run SETUP.EXE from the
Visual SourceSafe disk, and choose "Client Setup" option. At the end of the
Client setup, you will be prompted to enter the network location of Visual
SourceSafe server installation created by your administrator. The end result of
a Client Setup is exactly the same as the end result of a Network Setup,
including registration for integration: however, the process is much slower,
since it requires decompressing files from the disk. For this reason, NETSETUP
is generally preferable.

You might see a "File not found" error message during the NETSETUP procedure if
the Visual SourceSafe server setup was installed by using the Custom setup
option. For example, the administrator installing Visual SourceSafe might have
chosen not to install certain non-essential files, such as the help system or
the online version of the user's guide. In these cases, you can ignore the
message and continue with the NETSETUP. If any of the essential files, such as
the Visual SourceSafe executable program or the database, are missing, contact
your administrator.

1.3 Using the Custom Setup Option
---------------------------------

When installing Visual SourceSafe to a server, you can choose the Custom setup
option. While not necessary for most users, this option is useful in
circumstances such as the following:

- You have limited disk space and want to save space by not installing certain
  options, such as the online books or the conversion utilities.

- You want to have the "Server" and "Network" portions of Visual SourceSafe
  together in one installation. Custom Setup enables you to create the Visual
  SourceSafe database (as Server Setup does), register for IDE host integration
  (as network setup does), and copy the Visual SourceSafe executables (as both
  setups do), all in one step.

1.4 Upgrading a Previous SourceSafe Installation
------------------------------------------------

If you have an older version of SourceSafe on your server, use the Visual
SourceSafe Server Setup to install Visual SourceSafe 5.0 directly on top of the
existing SourceSafe installation. Visual SourceSafe creates its new directory
structure, converts your database to the new format if necessary, and installs
the new executables so that you can run Visual SourceSafe 5.0 with all your
existing users, projects, and files intact.

Notes about upgrading:

1. Back up your SourceSafe database before upgrading. The installation process
  converts your existing database into a new format: if there are problems
  during this process, there is no way to return to your previous database
  without a backup.

2. Make sure all users exit SourceSafe before installing a new version.

3. If users have copies of the SourceSafe executables on their computer's hard
  disks, they need to use the Network Setup to copy the new SourceSafe over the
  old, after the server setup is completed.

1.5 The Installation Maintenance Program
----------------------------------------

When SETUP detects that you already have an installation of the most recent
version of Visual SourceSafe, it goes into "maintenance mode." This mode is
designed to allow you to add or remove components, or to uninstall Visual
SourceSafe.

The maintenance program provides following choices when you run SETUP in a server
environment:

- Add/Remove. Click this choice to add or remove options from a list such as a
  Visual SourceSafe database, executable files, IDE registration, Help files
  and the online version of the User's Guide, conversion utilities, and the
  network client setup.

- Reinstall. Click this choice to repeat the last installation of Visual
  SourceSafe and restore missing files and settings.

- Remove All. Click this choice to remove all previously installed components.

When you run SETUP in a Visual SourceSafe client environment, your options are
Reinstall and Remove All.

1.6 Uninstalling Visual SourceSafe
----------------------------------

To uninstall Visual SourceSafe (remove existing components or the Visual
SourceSafe program and database itself), run the SETUP program from the SETUP
directory, which is under the directory in which you installed the Visual
SourceSafe server. This action displays the installation maintenance program. To
remove the entire Visual SourceSafe program, click Remove All. Then follow the
directions on the screen.

For the uninstall procedure to complete successfully, run the SETUP program on
the same platform you used to install Visual SourceSafe. For example, run the
SETUP program on Windows 95 to uninstall Visual SourceSafe if you installed
Visual SourceSafe on a Windows 95 system; run the SETUP program on Windows NT if
you installed Visual SourceSafe on a Windows NT system.

When you run the uninstall procedure, certain critical files are maintained to
protect against accidental deletion. The \DATA directory is preserved, and if
users have been added to the installation, the \USERS directories for users and
files created by the SSADMIN program are also preserved. In addition, the SETUP
directory, the SRCSAFE.INI file, the USERS.TXT file, and MSCREATE.DIR are
preserved. All other files are deleted. If you run the uninstall procedure and
find that you need to reinstall Visual SourceSafe, reinstall back to the same
location. Only customizations to the SS.INI files for the guest and admin users
are lost.

When you want to completely uninstall Visual SourceSafe, run the uninstall
procedure. Then, from the command shell, use the DELTREE command to delete the
directory in which you installed Visual SourceSafe and all the folders remaining
under it.

1.7 WININET and MFC DLLs
------------------------

Visual SourceSafe installs certain shared DLLs, such as MFC and WININET. When you
install Visual SourceSafe, it may detect that you already have these files, and
offer to overwrite them.

In most cases, the correct answer is no. Visual SourceSafe may be attempting to
install files that are older than the ones you have. Or, Visual SourceSafe may
be installing the U.S. English version of the files, when you have the version
that is properly localized for your country. If you overwrite your existing
files with the Visual SourceSafe files, your existing applications may not work
properly, or may start displaying in U.S. English.

The only circumstance under which you should overwrite is if your copies of these
files is out of date. Visual SourceSafe 5.0 ships with a copy of WININET.DLL
that shipped with Internet Explorer 3.0, and with MFC DLLs from Visual C++
version 4. If your files are older than these versions, you must allow Visual
SourceSafe to install updated copies.

1.8  SourceSafe on RISC
-----------------------

The Visual SourceSafe CD ships with versions for four different Windows NT
platforms: Intel, Alpha, MIPS, and Power PC. SETUP does not install all four,
however: SourceSafe is only installed for the machine that you are running SETUP
on.

Suppose, as an example, that you have some users on Intel and some on the Power
PC platform. What you must do, as an administrator, is run SETUP from an Intel
machine, and then run it again from a Power PC, choosing "Server Setup" both
times. (SourceSafe will note the second time that you are installing over an
existing version: do not worry, you will not lose any data!) Only after both
installations will your users be able to run SourceSafe, NETSETUP, to their
client machines on both platforms.

REFERENCES
==========

For more information about other sections of the SourceSafe 5.0 Readme.wri file,
please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q157717 INFO: VSS 5.0 Readme: Sec. 2, General Notes and Tips

  Q157718 INFO: VSS 5.0 Readme: Sec. 3, New Features in Visual SourceSafe 5.0

  Q157719 INFO: VSS 5.0 Readme: Sec. 4 & 5, Users of VSS 4.0/VSS Home Page

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbsetup kbSSafe400 kbSSafe500 
Technology        : kbSSafeSearch kbAudDeveloper kbSSafe500
Version           : Win3.x:5.0
Issue type        : kbinfo

=============================================================================

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