The readme contains information, not included in the manuals or online help, on installing and using the current release of Version Manager. Additional information is available in the Knowledgebase.
The Version Manager readme consists of the following files:
Installation Information (installation_info.html)
Information on system requirements and important tips on correctly installing Version Manager. Read this before installing Version Manager.
Usage Cautions (usage_cautions.html)
Performance tips and workarounds to help you proactively avoid undesirable outcomes. Read this before using Version Manager or attempting to recover from a critical error.
Known Issues (this file)
Information on cosmetic defects, non-critical errors, and issues for which there are no preventative measures. Look here when you experience an error or other unexpected behavior not listed in the Usage Cautions file.
Release Notes (release_notesvm.html)
A list of the defects fixed, enhancements made, and behaviors changed in each release of Version Manager. Look here to see what has changed since you last upgraded.
This readme file is organized into distinct parts. Please read the parts that correspond to the Version Manager components you are using.
Part 1: General
Part 2: Version Manager CLI, Desktop Client, and PCLI
Part 3: Version Manager IDE Client
Part 4: Version Manager Web Client
Part 5: Version Manager WebDAV Server
Part 6: Copyright/Disclaimers/Support
Part 1: General |
The default installation directory for the 64-bit release of Version Manager is C:\Program Files (x86). Manually changing that path to C:\Program Files from the installer causes Version Manager to break, as some parts will be installed in C:\Program Files and others in C:\Program Files (x86).
You can install the 64-bit release of Version Manager to a different directory, just not C:\Program Files.
As of VM 8.6.3.3, a File Server client can no longer communicate with the File Server via IIS. Attempts to do so fail with error pvcs.exception.FsAuthenticationException: Use nonce "NONCE".
This is a side-effect of the enhanced File Server security, which will be solved by a client-side change in future release. Until then, work around the issue by creating the file VM_Install_Dir\vm\common\tomcat\conf\PVCS\localhost\serenafs.xml on the File Server with the following contents:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <Context> <CookieProcessor className="org.apache.tomcat.util.http.LegacyCookieProcessor" sameSiteCookies="lax"/> </Context>
Regular File Server access via Tomcat (ports 8080/8090/8443) is not affect by this issue.
Version Manager SSO CAC (SmartCard) authentication to a pre-VM 8.7.0.0 SSO server, or to an SBM SSO server, will fail if the SSO CAC connector accepts the TLSv1.3 protocol. Users get an error of type:
pvcs.exception.PvcsSSOException: SSO/CAC Login Error: Connection exception using SSLCLIENTAUTHURL "https://Server:8444/idp/services/Trust": No supported CertificateVerify signature algorithm for RSA key
(The SSO CAC connector typically listens on port 8444 for the VM SSO Server and port 8343 for the SBM SSO Server. PVCS VM 8.7 ships with the change below in place, so its SSO server is not affected.)
To work around this issue, restrict traffic on the SSO CAC port to TLSv1.2. For the VM SSO server this can be done by editing the file VM_Install_Dir\vm\common\tomcat\conf\server.xml as follows:
Before:
<Connector port="8444" protocol="org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11NioProtocol" minSpareThreads="5" enableLookups="true" disableUploadTimeout="true" maxPostSize="31457280" acceptCount="100" maxThreads="200" scheme="https" secure="true" SSLEnabled="true" keystoreFile="${catalina.home}/conf/serena.keystore" keystorePass="serena" clientAuth="true" sslProtocol="TLS" URIEncoding="UTF-8" trustManagerClassName="pvcs.util.AnyCertX509TrustManager" />
After:
<Connector port="8444" protocol="org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11NioProtocol" minSpareThreads="5" enableLookups="true" disableUploadTimeout="true" maxPostSize="31457280" acceptCount="100" maxThreads="200" scheme="https" secure="true" SSLEnabled="true" sslEnabledProtocols="TLSv1.2" keystoreFile="${catalina.home}/conf/serena.keystore" keystorePass="serena" clientAuth="true" sslProtocol="TLS" URIEncoding="UTF-8" trustManagerClassName="pvcs.util.AnyCertX509TrustManager" />
The utility should be named vpadmin, but it was inadvertently named vpadmin.sh
To ensure vpadmin also works, execute the following command, replacing VM_Install_Dir with the directory where VM was installed:
ln -s vpadmin.sh VM_Install_Dir/vm/common/vpadmin/vpadmin
If vmprofile or vmcshrc was sourced in the shell, the following command can be used instead without need for modification:
ln -s vpadmin.sh $PVCS_HOME/common/vpadmin/vpadmin
If you receive the following error:
"Failed to connect to LDAP server."
"You cannot access this project because your login account, UserName, is invalid ..."
See LDAP Connection/Authentication Fails in the Usage_Cautions.html readme file.
Paths specified in event triggers or custom tool definitions that access a script or executable must be accessible by the client operating system. If you migrate an existing Project Database for use with a file server, you may need to change the definitions so that paths remain accessible to the OS.
For security reasons, only Version Manager executables can access paths served by the Version Manager File Server. If the directories mapped by the file server contain files other than archives and Project Database files, and if third-party applications need to access these files (or if the files are third-party applications), you need to provide another form of access for these files (such as a shared directory or a mapped drive).
NOTE: Any Version Manager executable used in your event trigger will work fine without a shared directory or mapped drive, as long as the executable itself--and any script containing it--can be found using regular (OS) file access.
Part 2: Version Manager CLI, Desktop Client, and PCLI |
The output from the -h option for CLI commands always shows options as all-uppercase; however, some options do not work if you use uppercase letters. To be safe, always use lowercase letters for CLI options.
If a default version label is defined for the Project Database, the Show History report does not work when you perform a Check tips against version/revision operation.
Problem:
Deploy a promotion model at the root level of a Project Database (PDB).
Create a sub-project with a configuration file.
In the sub-project's configuration file, declare an additional promotion group below the main promotion model's bottom level.
Add a workfile to the sub-project.
Place the desktop client in recursive mode (View | Filter | Recursive).
Select the PDB level. The sub-project and versioned file appear in the right pane.
Select the versioned file directly in the right pane.
Right-click and select Check Out.
Open the drop-down list.
It shows the original bottom-level promotion group as defined by the top-level configuration.
Workaround:
After placing the desktop client in recursive mode (step 5 above), select the PDB level. The sub-project and versioned file appear in the right pane.
This time, select the sub-project.
Select the versioned file in the right pane.
Right-click and select Check Out.
Open the drop-down list.
This time, it displays the new bottom-level promotion group as defined by the sub-project configuration.
An error like this indicates that the SSO Trust Keys of the STS component on the SSO server do not match those of the client. See KB doc S138730 or the Importing a Modified STS Trust Certificate from the SSO Server section of the PVCS Version Manager Installation Guide.
If you open a project database (PDB) from a File Server and specify a configuration file with a name that doesn't have a ".cfg" extension, Version Manager does not recognize the configuration file.
When used in a version label, the characters would be displayed as "???" or cause an error to be thrown. The characters are: č, ě, ř (c, e, and r with a caron). In Windows CP1250 Latin, these are the High ASCII characters 200, 227, and 236.
Windows CP1252 Latin (Western European Languages) does not contain these characters. To use these characters, you must change the region and language settings of your system to one that uses Code Page 1250, such as Romanian.
For supported languages, Version Manager commands use internationalized strings that match your locale settings. These strings are stored in the message catalog file (pvcsvm.cat). By default, the catalog file is located in the bin directory of your Version Manager installation location (for example, C:\Program Files\Serena\vm\common\bin\win32). If command prompts and messages are displayed in English (rather than matching the language of your locale settings), your language is not supported, or the NLSPATH is incorrect.
To set the NLSPATH variable:
From the Windows Start menu, select Control Panel | System. The System Properties dialog box appears.
Select the Advanced tab.
Click the Environment Variables button. The Environment Variables dialog box appears.
Click the New button. The New Variable dialog box appears.
Enter NLSPATH in the Variable name field.
Enter the location of the pvcsvm.cat file in the Variable value field.
Click the OK button on each dialog box.
In the PVCS Version Manager desktop client, to save the Admin | Make Secure configuration settings, you must use the PVCS Version Manager Run as administrator option.
Attempting to change the case of a file name on a case-insensitive File Server fails to rename the archive. To work around this issue, first run vtransfer -r to give the archive a different name, then run it again to rename that file to your desired name.
In some situations, the Helper application may not start correctly unless you enter a full path.
Under the View | Options Application tab, you should enter full paths for the following applications:
The editor that Version Manager will use to display and edit your workfiles and to display reports
Adobe Acrobat Reader, used for viewing online manuals
An HTML browser, used for displaying reports and online help
If you use Exceed, you must configure it NOT to use font substitution. If font substitution is enabled, many dialog controls will not display correctly. Some may be unusable.
When you install Exceed, it enables font substitution by default. This may also apply to other X server software.
To disable font substitution in Exceed:
Launch Xconfig.
Select Font Management.
Select the Advanced Settings tab.
Deselect the Automatic Font Substitution checkbox.
NOTE The following two steps are optional, but recommended.
Select the Local Fonts First checkbox.
Select the Optimize for Java VM checkbox.
NOTE The procedure above is for Exceed 10. For other versions or for other X server software, consult the product's documentation.
When you try to select a file server or local location from the Open Server Configuration File dialog box, the drop-down list may draw incorrectly and appear to be empty. You can prevent future occurrences of this behavior by changing your locale settings from UTF8 to ISO-8859-1.
To do so, run the following commands:
export LANG=en_US
export LC_ALL=en_US
When referencing a variable's elements in PCLI, do not use leading or trailing spaces. For example:
$FOO[ 3 ] should be changed to $FOO[3]
You cannot use wildcard characters at the top level of workspace paths. For example, if you enter the following, the PCLI does not list the names of any public or private workspaces:
pcli list /@/*
However, this command lists all private workspaces of AdamJ, provided you are logged in to the project database as AdamJ:
pcli list /@/AdamJ/*
The following command lists all the public workspaces:
pcli list /@/Public/*
When you are being prompted to enter a description by the AddFiles or Put command, you cannot use the EndOfFile (EOF) character of the operating system you are running on (UNIX: CTRL+D, Windows: CTRL+Z). When prompted, enter a single period (.) on a line by itself to end the description. Windows users can also press CTRL+D.
Note that this is different from the old-style command-line interface (CLI) that allows you to enter the EOF character to end the description.
The Version Manager Conversion Utility for SourceSafe can convert your existing SourceSafe databases into Version Manager project databases.
Please refer to the PVCS Version Manager Administrator's Guide for information about how to use this utility.
Part 3: Version Manager IDE Client |
VS2022 will not recognize SCC/SourceBridge plugin unless "VS Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NativeDesktop" component is installed
If you install Source Bridge while TrackerLink is still set as the SCC provider, Source Bridge will try to use TrackerLink as the SCC provider. Source control will not work.
To correct this, set the SCC provider in the System Settings tab of the Source Bridge dialog box. For details, see the "About Setting Up Source Bridge" section of the PVCS Version Manager Administrator's Guide.
Pulse may display messages containing the text "pvcs.vm.param.LogInfo". Disregard these messages.
In some situations, javaw.exe, eclipse.exe, pclioutproc.exe processes may not end automatically when closing the application. This occurs when Power Builder or RAD is run using the Version Manager interface. You must manually stop the processes.
Visual Basic may prompt you to confirm the check-in location even though you are checking a file in from the same location to which you checked it out. This occurs when the case in the filename is changed during the check-in process. When prompted to check in anyway, select Yes. The file will be properly checked in to the correct location.
Some IDEs allow you to get an entire project from source control, which copies all files in the Version Manager project to the location of your choice. You can specify any workfile location except a root drive (such as C:\).
Due to changes in the source control metadata stored in the Eclipse workspace, projects need to be reimported after the upgrade to rebuild that metadata. Until then, source control actions on the project will be disabled.
On systems that are not set to the en_US locale, "Resource Key" errors occur in the serena_java.log file in your installation directory. These errors do not mean that features are not working correctly; however, to ensure that the log remains readable, you can edit the log to remove these error messages.
In the compare dialog box, the Copy All Non-Conflicting Changes from Right to Left toolbar button does not work in Three-Way Compare mode.
Workaround: Toggle the Three-Way/Two-Way Compare toolbar button.
You should specify a larger heap size if you have extremely large projects. See KnowledgeBase article S105310 or the item in the Usage Cautions readme ("Out of Memory Error" or General Failure Operating on Large Projects).
You cannot import a source controlled Java project from Version Manager into Eclipse C++. Doing so will result in errors, such as: "Building workspace has encountered a problem."
Due to changes in the source control metadata stored in the Visual Studio workspace, solutions need to be rebound after the upgrade to rebuild that metadata. Until then, source control actions on the solution will be disabled.
For steps, see KB doc How to rebind a Visual Studio solution
The Visual Studio project type 'LightSwitch' is not supported by Version Manager's RIDE integration.
Part 4: Version Manager Web Client |
From an individual web client system, do not open more than one connection to a given Version Manager web server at a time. If you have multiple web servers, you can open a single connection to each server in its own browser tab or browser instance.
When viewing a file in the revision pane, you can refresh the contents of its parent project by pressing CTRL and clicking the project in the project pane. You can also click the Return to Contents of Project link in the revision pane.
When you click the browse button in the Add Workfiles dialog box, the resulting directory selection dialog box sometimes does not function properly on UNIX.
The workaround is to restart the browser.
One way in which the Web client will report communication difficulties with the Web server is by displaying IO error messages (such as "java.io.IOException" or "pvcs.io.CommException").
If an Access Control Database does not exist for a project database, you cannot change your Version Manager Web client password to log in to that project database. To fix this problem, create a new ACDB for the project database using the Version Manager desktop. Uncheck the "Enable access control database security" box. You can now change your password in the Version Manager Web client.
NOTE: Creating the new ACDB does not affect the users' existing permissions, since the ACDB is disabled.
If as a user without a password you access a project database that is configured for HOSTID, any licensing errors will result in a request for a password.
A message similar to the following may indicate that the locale setting of your system is not compatible with that of the server.
c:\work\pileon\pileon_rgering\chars\File€Euro.txt, You have encountered an internal processing error: 27749. Please restart Version Manager and try the operation again. If you continue to have problems, contact your administrator for further assistance.
In the above case, a UNIX-based file server was running in the en_US locale, which does not include support for the Euro character.
To avoid this issue, ensure that the characters in your file names are compatible with the locale that the file server and/or Web server are running on.
The Restart Firefox option in the Add-ons dialog box might crash Firefox after installation of the PVCS Version Manager Web client on UNIX platforms.
Workaround: Close Firefox and then open a fresh Firefox session to connect to the PVCS Version Manager Web server after installing the PVCS Version Manager Web client on a UNIX platform.
Uninstalling the PVCS Version Manager Web client without closing Web client connections to the PVCS Version Manager Web server might crash Firefox on Unix platforms.
Workaround: Uninstall the PVCS Version Manager Web client from Firefox after closing all the PVCS Version Manager clients connected to the PVCS Version Manager Web server.
Validation of WS-Federation token failed with code 40:Token issuer not allowed. An error like this indicates that the SSO Trust Keys of the STS component on the SSO server do not match those of the client. See KB doc S138730 or the Importing a Modified STS Trust Certificate from the SSO Server section of the PVCS Version Manager Installation Guide.
Part 5: Version Manager WebDAV Server |
There is important information about using WebDAV in the Usage Cautions readme file.
It no longer exists as a separate document. The server configuration information is in the PVCS Version Manager Administrator's Guide. The client setup and use information is in the PVCS Version Manager User's Guide.
Part 6: Copyright/Disclaimers/Support |
To obtain product support, log into portal.microfocus.com.
The license information for Third Party components used by and distributed with PVCS Version Manager can be found in the PVCS installation directory.
End Readme
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