Microsoft KB Archive/141504

= How To Make SourceSafe Keyword Expansion Work in Text Docs =

Article ID: 141504

Article Last Modified on 3/14/2005

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Visual SourceSafe 5.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual SourceSafe 6.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual SourceSafe 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual SourceSafe 4.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q141504



SUMMARY
This article describes how to set up SourceSafe to use keyword expansion. Note that keyword expansion occurs only if a user changes a file and then updates or checks in the file. The following table lists and describes the valid keywords:   Valid Keyword     Description ---  $Archive: $       && Project path and file name in SourceSafe $Author: $       && User who last changed the file $Date: $         && Date and Time of last check in   $Header: $        && Archive Info, Revision, Date, User $Logfile: $      && Same as $Archive: $ $Modtime: $      && Date and time of last modification $Revision: $     && Revision number $Workfile: $     && File name $Log: $          && Same as $History: $ except in RCS format $History: $      && File name, Revision, Date, Time, User $NoKeywords: $   && Disables all keywords after this keyword



Step-by-Step Example
  To make keyword expansion work, use either one of the two following methods:  In the Visual SourceSafe Administrator, point to Tools and click Options and in the "Expand keywords in files of type" option, enter the file types for the keyword expansion. For example, type *.txt.  Add the following line to the Srcsafe.ini file on the server: Keyword_Masks = *.TXT 

NOTE: Use of incorrect keyword syntax, such as leaving off the trailing dollar sign of a keyword, may cause unpredictable results.

NOTE: It must also be placed before the first occurrence of a section header in the Srcsafe.ini file. A section header is a line enclosed in square brackets, that is, [$/MyProj]. This setting will not work if placed in an individual user's ss.ini file.

Optionally, the following line can be added to the Srcsafe.ini file. This setting updates keywords in a user's working directory with the new keyword information when a user updates or checks in a file. Expand_Keywords_Locally = YES NOTE: You can put the Expand_Keywords_Locally setting into a user's Ss.ini file to individualize settings.

NOTE: The file may not have updated keywords if the user chooses to keep the file checked out on the update (that is, Keep_Checkedout=YES).

NOTE: On SourceSafe for the Macintosh versions 3.04 and 3.1, keyword expansion only works with a specific setup. For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

129192 BUG: Keyword Expansion Fails on the Macintosh

NOTE: The "Keyword_Masks =" line can have any extension or combination of extensions. If you use more than one extension, you must separate them with a comma or the keyword expansion won't work. For example: Keyword_Masks = *.C, *.CCP, *.H, *.HPP, *.BAS  For more information about adding keywords to files, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

131092 PRB: Keyword Expansion is Case Sensitive

NOTE: In the User's Guide, the keyword is $NoKeywords: $ is incorrect. It is listed as $Nokeywords: $, with a lower case k. It should be $NoKeywords: $, with an upper case K. This keyword will not work with a lower case k.  Format the keywords correctly. There are two ways to format keywords in files. The most frequently used method is to align the keywords on the left margin: <pre class="fixed_text">  $Archive: $ $Author: $ $Date: $ When expanded, it will look like this: <pre class="fixed_text">  $Archive: /KeywordAlignTest/KeyAlign1.txt $ $Author: Guest $ $Date: 11/23/95 9:31a $ The other way is to format the keywords so that when they are expanded, the values are aligned in a column. Note the use of two colons and the amount of space between the colons and the second dollar sign. <pre class="fixed_text">  $Archive::                                                   $ $Author::                                                  $ $Date::                                                  $ When it is expanded, it looks like the following: <pre class="fixed_text">  $Archive:: /KeywordAlignTest/KeyAlign1.txt                   $ $Author:: Guest                                            $ $Date:: 11/11/95 5:57p                                   $ If you don't leave enough space between the colons and the dollarsign, SourceSafe will truncate the value so it would look like the following: <pre class="fixed_text">  $Archive:: /KeywordAli$ $Author:: Guest     $ $Date:: 11/11/95 5:$ </li>  Place comment characters in front of keywords so the keywords are not compiled. SourceSafe sets the following comment characters by default: <pre class="fixed_text">  *.ASM = "; " *.BAS = "rem " *.BAT = "rem " *.S = "; " ;default comment for all other file types *.* = "* " If you want to use a different comment character in a file that has a specific file extension, add the following lines to the Srcsafe.ini file on the server: <pre class="fixed_text">  [Keyword Comments] *.C = "/*","*/" The comment character is especially important in dealing with $Log: $ and $History: $ keywords. Unlike the other keywords, $Log: $ and $History: $ keywords add more information to the file each time keywords are updated -- instead of just replacing the previous information with the current information. A comment character, as defined by the Srcsafe.ini, is added to the beginning of each line created by $Log: $ and $History: $ keywords. For example, if the following is in a .txt file: <pre class="fixed_text">  *$Log: $ *$History: $ and the default comment characters are in effect, it would look like the following after keyword expansion took place: *$Log: /KeywordAlignTest/KeyAlign1.txt $ *   * 3    11/23/95 10:47a Guest *   * 2    11/23/95 10:45a Guest *   * 1    11/11/95 5:57p Guest *$History: KeyAlign1.txt $ *   * *****************  Version 3  ***************** * User: Guest    Date: 11/23/95   Time: 10:47a * Updated in $/KeywordAlignTest *   * *****************  Version 2  ***************** * User: Guest    Date: 11/23/95   Time: 10:45a * Updated in $/KeywordAlignTest *   * *****************  Version 1  ***************** * User: Guest    Date: 11/11/95   Time: 5:57p * Updated in $/KeywordAlignTest </li></ol>

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