Release Notes

Important

Cornerstone 2 does not support Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.

Do not upgrade to version 2 if you are running Cornerstone on Tiger.

New Features

1. Merge functions added

   Cornerstone 2 adds a new merge view for merging between branches. The merge view supports four different types of merges which can be selected using the buttons at the top of the view:

   • Synchronize Branch

   The synchronize branch merge type merges all changes made on the source branch (usually trunk) into the target branch (usually a feature branch). This is generally appropriate when synchronizing a feature branch with the changes made by other team members against the project’s trunk.

   • Reintegrate Branch

   The reintegrate branch merge type merges all changes made on the source branch (using a temporary feature branch) into the target branch (usually trunk). This is generally useful when reintegrating the changes for a feature when the feature was developed in parallel to the rest of the project on a separate branch.

   • Cherrypick Changes

   The cherrypicking merge type allows a set of revisions to be merged from one branch to another. This is particularly useful when back-merging bug fixes and minor changes from trunk to a maintenance branch for a previous release.

   The cherrypicking options GUI includes a new revision range set control which allows sets of revisions to be easily specified. It also conveniently displays which revisions have already been merged from the source branch.

   • Advanced Merge

   The advanced merge type allows the differences between any two revisions of any two branches to be compared and applied to a third branch.

2. Text diff view now supports blame annotations

   Blame support was added to the text diff view. Enabling annotations for a text file (or multiple files when comparing) results in annotation bars being displayed which describe the author and relative age of each revision which contributed to the file’s current state, with the width of the section’s bar indicating the relative age of those lines and the color identifying the revision’s author.

   Pointing the mouse at an annotation bar causes a callout to be displayed which shows log information for the associated lines. This information includes the author’s name, the commit date and the revision number. Clicking to select a bar expands the callout to display the revision’s log message.

   Clicking a revision’s annotation bar highlights all lines changed in that revision for the entire file, with markers displayed in the diff view’s vertical scroller allowing the user to gain a quick overview of the changes made in any one revision.

   In addition, statistics for the file are displayed in a new HUD-style panel, which provides additional blame-related information. This includes:

   • Legend

     A legend displaying the color used for each of the file’s authors along with the percentage of the file’s contents which the authors have each contributed and icons indicating who contributed to the file recently (i.e. within one month of the file’s last committed modification).

     This makes it extremely easy to determine who is primarily responsible for a file (based on percentage contributed) as well as who has been working on the file recently.

   • Revision Timeline

     The legend also includes a timeline which plots the file’s revisions (i.e. the revisions of the contributions from which the file’s current contents are composed) against the file’s set of current authors. The result is a two-dimensional chart which provides a visual overview of who has contributed the file’s current contents over time.

     The points on the timeline can be clicked to select all lines contributed with a particular revision.

   • Summary Information

     Information about the file’s earliest and latest revisions, including the revision number and date.

   (#292)

3. Text diff view supports editing of differences

   Differences shown in the compare view can be copied from left-to-right or right-to-left if either of the files displayed is WORKING. This is useful for example when reverting individual edits to their BASE equivalents, or when reverting sections of a file back to a previous (i.e. BASE) state.

   Once reverted to the original version, edits can be undone either by clicking the edit button again or by undoing the action using the standard Edit > Undo and Edit > Redo functions.

   The ability to revert individual edits in a modified file compliments the existing file revert function found in pre-2.0 versions of Cornerstone. (#443)

4. Tagging and branching functions added

   Version 1.5 and earlier provided full support for tagging and branching by option-dragging files or folders in the repository browser to copy them.

   This functionality is still available in Cornerstone 2, but was augmented by two new functions which add a simple user interface for creating tags and branches.

   Selecting Tag… or Branch… from the File menu displays an option window which allows the user to specify the name of the tag/branch and the folder it will be created in. The source revision can also be specified.

   In both cases Cornerstone will try to locate the closest related tags or branches folder and suggest that as the default location. (#134, #709)

5. Text diff view now highlights intraline differences

   The text diff view was extended to highlight the intraline differences between the left and right versions being compared.

   Intraline differences are displayed by default but can be turned off using the new Show Line Differences option in the Compare menu. (#446)

6. New option enables invisible characters to be displayed in text diff view

   The new Compare > Show Invisibles function allows the user to toggle the display of space, tab, left tab, newline and page break characters in the text diff view.

   Combined with the text diff view’s new ability to highlight intraline differences, this makes comparing whitespace changes signitificantly easier than in previous versions of Cornerstone.

   Enabling Show Invisibles does have a minor impact on text diff rendering performance. For this reason the option is not enabled by default. (#931, #932)

7. Find function added to text diff view

   The text in the diff view can now be searched using the new find bar which is displayed using the standard Edit > Find… menu item (key equivalent Cmd+F).

   The find bar allows the user to specify whether the left and/or right files should be searched, as well as how the text specified by the user should be matched (i.e. whole string, substring match at start or end of word, etc.). (#145)

8. Pending repository update summary is shown as badge in working copy source list

   The number of pending repository updates (i.e. the number of changes committed to the repository but not yet updated in the working copy) is now shown as part of the summary badge in the working copy source list.

   Cornerstone monitors changes in repository status and updates the badge on a low priority background thread to minimize additional load.

   Repository monitoring can be disabled if necessary with the new Show repository change summary in source list setting in the Working Copy preference pane. (#652)

9. Working copy changes are displayed in a badge in the Dock

   Cornerstone can now display the working copy change summary in a badge on the application icon in the Dock.

   A new setting in the General preferences allows the user to select from the following behaviors:

   1. Show the total changes for all working copies
   2. Show the changes for the selected working copy
   3. Do not show a badge in the Dock

   A badge is not shown when no changes are found.

   By default Cornerstone shows the total number of changes for all working copies. (#13)

10. Add Repository window provides improved support for connecting to hosted repositories

    The Add Repository window now contains a new Cloud Service repository type which simplifies connecting to select cloud hosting providers.

    Zennaware has partnered with Codesion (formerly CVSDude) to provide Cornerstone’s first cloud service integration. The Codesion cloud service page greatly simplifies connecting to a Codesion-hosted repository by requiring only organization, project and account information from the user.

    The Codesion window also provides Sign Up for a Repository button which allows a user to quickly and easily sign up for a free or trial hosting plan with Codesion.

11. Log View was improved

    The log view now provides more context information when viewing the log for working copy items. Specifically, the item’s working version is highlighted in the log, as are newer revisions committed since the item was last updated. (#969)

    A filter (Newer) was added to the log view to make it easy to focus in on those revisions which are newer than the working version.

    In addition, revisions since the last update (i.e. newer revisions) now have an Update button. Pressing this button updates the selected item (i.e. the file or folder which was selected before entering the Log View) to the specified revision. (#972)

12. Support added for Perforce’s P4Merge and Sofa’s Kaleidoscope

    Cornerstone now includes integrated support for using Perforce’s P4Merge and Sofa’s Kaleidoscope as external compare tools. (#927, #939)

13. 64-bit support added

    Cornerstone 1.5 shipped as a 2-way universal binary, with support for 32-bit Intel and PowerPC processors. Cornerstone 2 adds support for 64-bit Intel processors and will run in 64-bit mode on 64-bit enabled Macs (i.e. Core 2 and newer) when running on Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

    Cornerstone will run in 32-bit mode on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (Intel and PowerPC) and on Snow Leopard with 32-bit Intel processors. (#732)

14. SASL support added

    Cornerstone 2 can connect to repositories via svn:// which utilize SASL for authentication. (#598)

Performance Improvements

1. Externals window performance was improved

   The performance of the externals window was improved such that changing filters and switching between list and text views is now much faster for folders with large numbers of externals.

Usability Improvements

1. Lock function was improved

   In Cornerstone 1.5 and earlier, the lock function could only reliably determine if a selected file was already locked if the View > Show Repository Status option was enabled. If this option was disabled and a file was already locked then an attempt to steal the lock from another user would silently fail.

   Cornerstone’s lock function was significantly improved for version 2 to:

   • Read the lock information for the selected files in the background in order to display reliable lock information in the Stolen Locks section.
   • The Stolen Locks section is no longer collapsible in order that this important information is always visible and less easily overlooked.

   Stealing a lock is a potentially destructive operation that can result in conflicts and loss of work. Cornerstone therefore now always prompts the user for confirmation before stealing locks.

2. Subversion configuration changes are automatically adopted by the Subversion configuration preference pane

   The Subversion configuration preference pane now automatically picks up Subversion configuration changes made by other applications and refreshes the pane’s contents accordingly. (#859)

3. The global ignores editor in the Subversion preference pane was improved

   Adding a value to the global ignores value in the Subversion preference pane resulted in the default global ignore values being replaced. As a result, files which are ignored by default (e.g. .DS_Store). This was a consequence of Cornerstone setting a value in Subversion’s configuration which resulted in Subversion adopting this value instead of the default.

   The global ignores editor was improved in version 2 to allow the user to adopt the default value as the basis for the user’s global ignore list. (#912)

4. The log view’s compare view now supports navigation

   The log view’s compare view was extended to include a popup menu and navigation (i.e. left/right) buttons allowing the user to navigate through a revision’s changes without leaving the compare view. (#863)

5. The Save Differences as Patch… function now supports the generation of patch files which use relative paths

   1.5 always created patch files which used absolute paths. For Cornerstone 2 a popup button was added to the patch save panel allowing the selection of the following path types:

   • Absolute (same behavior as 1.5)
   • Relative to working copy
   • Relative to selected folder

   When a file is selected the third option is Relative to parent folder. (#893)

6. Option added to control whether externals are included in updates

   In 1.5 and earlier, updating a working copy without updating its externals required the use of the Working Copy > Update… function, which required several interactions for each update operation.

   Version 2 adds a new Include Externals in Updates option to the Working Copy menu which controls whether the Update to Latest Revision function updates externals.

   The addition of this option should simplify using Cornerstone with working copies which contain large numbers of externals or externals that change infrequently. (#639)

7. Support added for tree conflicts

   Items with tree conflicts are now displayed as conflicted in the working copy browser. The Inspector was also extended to display a description of the cause of the tree conflict.

8. Commit view comparisons refreshed following file system changes

   The commit view’s compare view now listens for file system changes and automatically refreshes when the file being displayed changes. (#850)

9. The log view’s compare view now supports arbitrary revisions

   It’s now possible to enter HEAD as well as arbitrary number/date revisions into the compare view when opened from a log change. (#923, #924)

10. Copied files are compared against the copy source’s BASE revision

    The compare view was improved to compare copied, moved and renamed files against the BASE revision of the copy source. This applies both when comparing from the working copy browser and the commit view. (#928)

11. Diff view option buttons were improved

    The small buttons located next to the horizontal scroller at the bottom of the text diff view (controlling whitespace comparison, line difference comparison etc.) were improved. The new icons are larger, more descriptive and make these functions more discoverable.

12. svn:needs-lock added to auto-properties in preferences window

    The auto-properties section of the Subversion preferences (Cornerstone > Preferences…) was improved to add support for the svn:needs-lock property. (#946)

13. Overwrite handling in the file browser was re-written

    The prompt displayed before overwriting a file during a move or copy operation was improved to:

    • More closely reproduce the interface and terminology of the equivalent prompt in Finder
    • Support replacing all files being moved or copied
    • Support key equivalents for the alert’s buttons
    • Only provide options for multi-file operations when multiple files are actually being copied or moved

    (#309)

14. Check out depth is now displayed in the working copy file browser

    A new column was added to the working copy file browser which displays the check out depth for folders. An icon is not displayed for folders which have the default check out depth of Infinity (i.e. all folders and sub-folders).

    The file browser can be sorted by check out depth and a tooltip is displayed when the mouse is hovered over the icon.

    The file inspector was also extended to display the depth icon for the selected folders(s). (#638)

15. Shutdown handling was improved

    Network issues can cause very long timeouts with Subversion, so Cornerstone 2 now displays a progress window during shutdown.

    This window also also allows the user to quit the application immediately if desired (i.e. without waiting for background activities to complete). (#973)

16. Tooltips added for file browser columns

    Tooltips are now displayed for the status, repository status, property, lock and depth columns. (#436)

17. Status overlay window is shown by the compare view when loading files

    The compare view now displays a Loading… overlay window while exporting files from the repository for comparison. (#930)

18. Quad-clicking text in the compare view selects a section’s text

    Quad-clicking (i.e. clicking 4 times) in Cornerstone’s compare view now selects all text in the section under the mouse.

19. Key equivalent added for Show Differences in Whitespace

    The View > Show Differences in Whitespace function now has the key equivalent Cmd+'. (#889)

Compatibility

1. Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger is no Longer Supported

   Cornerstone 2 does not support Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.

2. 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.

3. Subversion Updated to 1.6.12

   The 1.6-level version of Subversion included with Cornerstone was updated to 1.6.12.

Compatibility

Backwards Compatibility

Cornerstone 2 is fully backwards-compatible with 1.5. 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 and 2 against the same configuration databases in your Application Support/Cornerstone folder.

Issues Resolved in Cornerstone 2 Beta 1

Issues Resolved in Cornerstone 2 Beta 2

Issues Resolved in Cornerstone 2 Release Candidate 1

Issues Resolved in Cornerstone 2 Release Candidate 2

Issues Resolved in Cornerstone 2 Final Release

Resolved Issues

Resolved Issues

Resolved Issues

Resolved Issues

Resolved Issues

Important

Support for creating and accessing Berkeley DB repositories using the file:// protocol was removed in 1.5. See Caveats and Limitations for more information.

New Features

1. User Interface was Improved

   The need to add the transcript and log views resulted in a re-thinking of user interface navigation in the application. All the application’s views are now embedded in the main window, replacing the browser view as required by the context.

   A new navigation bar at the top of each view (or screen) provides a consistent location for navigation elements, including a back button to return to the previous view. Each screen also houses a toolbar located at the bottom of the window which contains functions specific to the screen. This user interface concept is similar to iPhoto on the Mac as well as the majority of iPhone applications.

   The primary advantages of this new design are:

   • Consistency

     All screens (including the timeline view from previous versions) are handled consistently. The source lists on the left of the main window are always visible.

   • Improved Discoverability

     Each screen contains a toolbar at the bottom of the window which provides a location for context-specific functions, thus making them more discoverable.

   • More Intuitive Navigation

     The consistent use of visual elements such as the navigation bar and toolbar make navigation more intuitive.

   • Better Use of Available Screen Space

     The compare view (which was previously located either at the bottom or on the right of the browser view) is now displayed as a separate screen. This provides more space for the display and comparison of file contents.

   The following views are now housed in screens:

   • Browser View
   • Compare View
   • Timeline View
   • Log View
   • Transcript View
   • Commit view

   The timeline view from previous versions is now always displayed as a screen in the main window and can no longer be displayed in a separate window. However, the option is still available to display the Inspector in a separate floating panel.

2. Log View Added

   The new log view provides a simple user interface for browsing the log messages for the repository’s most recent commits. The view displays log messages in a fashion similar to the svn log command, with the latest revision displayed at the top of the screen.

   The main features of the new log view are:

   • Changes Listed for Each Revision

     The set of changed files are displayed for each revision. Changes are grouped by type (e.g. additions, removals, modifications etc.) and are visualized using the same icon as the working copy status in the browser.

   • Changed Files can be Compared Against Previous

     Change set files can be selected and compared with the previous version without leaving the log view.

   • Revisions can be Filtered

     Log entries can be filtered by author, filename, location and message text either by using the pre-defined filters or the provided search field.

   • Issue Tracking Numbers Displayed as Hyperlinks

     Issue tracking ticket numbers in log messages are displayed as hyperlinks in a manner consistent with the timeline view’s inspector.

   • Revisions can be Copied to the Pasteboard

     Log entries can be copied as text to the pasteboard in the same format as the output from svn log.

   The log view doesn’t replace the existing timeline view from previous versions. Instead, it augments it, providing an alternative representation of the same information.

   The existing timeline remains and continues to be useful for the comparison of historical information for multiple items (not possible in the log view). It also better supports the comparison of arbitrary revisions and provides more powerful filtering options than the log view. (#402, #455, #502)

3. Commit View was Re-Worked

   The new commit view supports a more efficient commit workflow. Highlights include:

   • Commit View is Non-Modal

     The non-modal commit view allows access to other working copies and repositories, only blocking the working copy being committed.

     Displaying the commit view in the application’s main window makes more space available for the entry of long log messages as well as the display of large change sets and the viewing/comparing of file contents.

   • Changes are Displayed as an Outline

   • Files Can be Excluded from the Changes Set

     The changes table now includes an additional column of checkboxes which can be used to exclude files from the change set without having to abort the commit to change the initial selection.

     And with the changes displayed hierarchically, sub-trees of files can be included/excluded by option-clicking a folder’s checkbox.

   • Files Can be Compared in the Commit View

     The contents of files in the change set can be compared against BASE without leaving the commit view. This makes it much easier to review changes for the purpose of writing the commit’s log message.

     The compare view also allows for navigation through the change set with the log message entry field remaining visible at all times. (#637, #729)

   • Log Message History Panel Replaced With Revision Picker

     The modeless log message history panel (previously available in the log message sheet) was replaced with a popup revision picker. The advantages of this are five-fold: (#659, #723)

     1. Display of revisions from the repository’s log enables log messages to be picked for re-use which were entered into another Subversion client such as the svn command-line tool or Xcode.

     2. The use of a momentarily-modal popup window for the revision picker makes for a tidier user-interface without an unnecessary second window which is visible on screen which the user is tempted to have to close.

     3. The revision picker provides additional information about log entries (user, date etc.) which can help simplify the location of the revision in question. The filter field can also be used to filter by username.

     4. The revision picker displays the log messages in their entirety. The previous log message panel clipped the log messages after a fixed number of lines.

     5. The log message panel was previously limited to 100 entries. The new revision picker enables the user to browse back through the entire repository log.

   • Files can be Left Locked After the Commit

     A new commit option allows files to left locked after the commit has completed.

   • Log Message Field’s Completion Candidates Include Working Copy Item Names

     The log message field’s completion popup (invoked using F5) includes the names of all working copy items.

4. Transcript View was Added

   Selecting Transcript from the View menu displays the new transcript view (key equivalent Cmd+4).

   The transcript view displays the Subversion output for the currently selected working copy or repository. This has several uses, for example:

   1. After a commit, the resultant revision is displayed at the end of the commit transcript.
   2. During an update, the transcript lists which of the working copy files have been updated.
   3. During long operations (commits, updates, checkouts, imports and exports), the transcript view provides the user with information on the operation’s progress which was previously missing from the progress indicator in the application’s toolbar.
   4. The success and failure of operations is indicated by status icons.
   5. The user may return to failed operations and re-display any error information available.
   6. Transcript output can be copied to the pasteboard to be pasted into another application.

   The transcript also allows the user to annotate the transcript with their own notes. This may be useful for noting the motivation for performing an update or adding a marker after switching from trunk to a branch, etc.

   By default, transcript entries are retained for 24 hours before being discarded. This behavior can be changed to discard entries either after 1 month, 1 week, 1 hour, after 15 minutes or as soon as the next entry is received. Change the discard behavior by selecting an option from the Transcript > Discard Entries menu.

   The transcript discard behavior setting can be set individually for each working copy and repository.

   Note that transcripts are stored on disk and are available even after the application has been restarted. As a result, selecting longer expiry durations such as 1 week and 1 month can result not only in increased memory consumption, but also in slower start-up and shutdown performance as transcripts are read from- and written to disk.

   It can quickly become difficult to find information in long transcripts, so the transcript view includes a filter bar allowing the user to filter for notes, errors, commits, updates, checkouts, imports and exports.

   User notes are not automatically discarded after a period time. Instead they must be explicitly deleted from the transcript by the user. (#438, #470)

5. Editor Added for svn:externals Property

   The contents of a folder’s svn:externals property is display with the other pre-defined properties in the inspector’s Properties tab. External definitions are displayed as a table. The entries may be sorted by check out folder, source URL and revision.

   Due to lack of available space in the UI, the svn:externals property can’t be edited in the Inspector. Instead, the user clicks on the Open Externals button which opens an externals editor in a dedicated window for the currently selected folder.

   Alternatively, the File > Open Externals menu item or Open Externals toolbar button may be used.

   The externals editor provides two views:

   1. Definition List
   2. Property Text

   The definition list provides a convenient list-based UI for editing the external definitions. The original property text can be accessed by clicking the Property Text button in the toolbar. The contents of the two views are kept in sync as the user switches between them.

   The list view also supports filtering, either using the provided search field to filter by source or target name, or using the predefined filters in the filter bar to filter by revision.

   When saving changes to svn:externals Cornerstone offers to remove the working copy folders of external definitions which have been removed. (#203, #429)

6. Arbitrary Revisions can be Selected in Compare Views

   The comparison view was improved to support the comparison of arbitrary revisions. Pre-defined relative revisions such as HEAD and BASE can be selected as before, but the new view also allows revisions to be specified by date or number.

   Convenient toolbar buttons also allow for one-click comparison of BASE vs. WORKING and WORKING vs. HEAD.

   The compare tool also now supports comparison against PREVIOUS, and a toolbar button is available for one-click comparison of PREVIOUS against BASE.

   Finally, explicit revisions (as opposed to relative revisions) can be selected from the selected file’s log history using the popup revision picker. (#385, #428, #645)

7. Create and Apply Patch Functions Added

   The File menu now contains two new functions: Save Differences as Patch… and Apply Patch….

   These functions can be used to create a diff patch file which can then be applied to another file or folder.

   Both functions are selection-sensitive and can be used to create patches from- and apply patches to both individual files and entire folders.

   The Save Differences as Patch… options allow the original and modified revisions to be specified (defaulting to BASE and the working version.) It also provides control over the ignoring of whitespace differences and whether or not folder contents are compared recursively to include changes in sub-folders.

   When invoked from the compare view, the Save Differences as Patch… function creates a patch file for the differences between the revisions displayed in the compare view. (#518, #736)

8. Whitespace Options Added to Text Diff View

   Two options were added to the text diff view which control how whitespace is compared:

   1. Show Differences in Whitespace

      This option controls whether changes which only affect whitespace are displayed by the diff view. This setting is equivalent (albeit in inverted form) to the svn diff function’s --ignore-all-space option.

   2. Show Differences in Line Endings

      This option can be used to hide differences resulting from a change in newline character style (e.g. from Windows-style CRLF to Unix-style LF).

      This setting is equivalant (albeit in inverted form) to the svn diff function’s --ignore-eol-style option.

   These options can be toggled using the Show Differences in Whitespace and Show Differences in Line Endings items in the new Compare menu. They can also be enabled/disabled using the buttons embedded in the lower border of the text compare view.

   Both options are enabled by default. (#472)

9. Line Numbers can be Enabled/Disabled in the Compare View

   Line numbers can now be toggled on/off in the text compare view. They are enabled by default.

10. Image Information Overlay Added to Image Compare View

    An image information overlay was added to the image compare view which displays the dimensions and bit depth of the images being compared/displayed.

    If a file contains multiple images (e.g. ICNS files) then information is displayed for the first image.

    This information can be toggled on/off using the Show Image Information function in the Compare menu or using the toggle button embedded in the lower border of the image view. (#221)

11. Background Color of Image Compare View can be Changed

    A new popup menu embedded in the lower border of the image compare view allows the selection of the view’s background color. The following colors can be selected:

    • Transparent (i.e. checkedboard pattern as used in previous versions)
    • White
    • 50% Gray
    • Black

    The popup menu displays these colors as icons on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. The menu items are displayed as text on 10.4 Tiger.

    The default background color is Transparent. (#264)

12. Preferences Extended to Include Common Subversion Options

    Cornerstone’s preference window contains a new Subversion page which contains 3 sections:

    1. General

       The General section includes fields for editing the global-ignores property as well as controlling whether:

       1. check out, update and revert operations apply repository timestamps to working copy files, and

       2. files are unlocked following a commit.

    2. Auto Properties

       The Auto Properties page allows the user to add rules describing which properties are automatically added to files when they are placed under version control.

    3. Communications

       The Communications page enables the user to specify HTTP communication settings including proxy information and network timeouts. Proxy settings can be imported from Mac OS X’s proxy settings.

    These Subversion preferences are read from and written to Subversion’s configuration and are therefore shared by all Subversion client applications. (#143, #615)

13. External Editor can be Configured

    Using a configuration user interface similar to Finder, the Inspector now contains fields which allow the external editor to be specified for the selected file.

    The editor association can be changed on both a per-file and per file-type basis. (#449, #599)

14. Syntax Coloring Grammars Added

    The following grammars were added:

    • C#

      C# source files (.cs) are now displayed using syntax coloring. (#459)

    • HTML

      HTML files (.html and .xhtml) are now displayed using syntax coloring.

      Embedded Javascript/ECMAScript and CSS is displayed using the respective syntax coloring grammar. (#9)

    • Java Server Pages

      JSP pages (.jsp) and documents (.jspx) are now displayed using syntax coloring. (#680)

    • LaTeX

      LaTeX files (.tex) are now displayed using syntax coloring. (#643)

    • REALbasic

      REALbasic text files (.rbbas, .rbfrm and .rbmnu) are now displayed using syntax coloring. Binary REALbasic files (.rb) are not supported. (#677)

15. Support Added for Deltopia’s DeltaWalker

    Cornerstone now includes integrated support for using Deltopia’s DeltaWalker as an external compare tool. (#679)

16. Working Copy Folders can be Excluded

    Cornerstone’s sparse working copy support was extended to allow folders to be excluded. (#747)

17. Revert Function Extended to Support Reverting to Arbitrary Revisions

    Versions v1.1 and earlier only supported the standard Subversion revert functionality of reverting modified files to a pristine copy of their BASE revisions.

    The revert function was enhanced in v1.5 to support reverting files to an arbitrary revision. (#531)

Performance Improvements

1. Browser scrolling performance was improved

   Optimizations in rendering in the browser view resulted in a significant improvement in scrolling performance. Filtered scrolling speed was also improved. (#578)

2. Text diff view rendering performance was improved

   The rendering performance improvements make scrolling significantly more fluid.

3. FSEvents Used to Monitor File System Changes on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard

   In v1.1, Cornerstone monitored the file system for changes by taking a snapshot of each working copy when the application was deactivated and then comparing that against the current state when the application was reactivated. This technique was used in order to maintain compatibility with Mac OS 10.4 Tiger.

   Although implemented using efficient algorithms and executed on background threads, this technique didn’t scale well with large numbers of working copies or with working copies which included very large numbers of files, resulting in high CPU usage when switching to or from Cornerstone and placing an unnecessary load on the file-system cache.

   This file system monitoring code was re-implemented for v1.5 to take advantage of the FSEvents infrastructure provided by Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard which allows an application to passively monitor a directory for changes, receiving events as changes are made to the directory’s files.

   The benefits of this change are numerous:

   • Switching to or from Cornerstone to another application no longer results in a short spike of CPU activity.
   • Decreased CPU load has a beneficial impact on battery life for notebook users.
   • Cornerstone’s RAM footprint no longer increases when the application is deactivated.
   • The technique scales to a far large number of working copies.
   • The CPU and memory overhead associated with large working copies is removed.

   Cornerstone v1.5 exhibits the same file monitoring behavior as v1.1 when running on Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. (#154)

4. Cornerstone Only Re-Scans Changed Working Copies at Startup

   The FSEvents infrastructure utilized when running under Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard allows an application to determine which files were changed when the application was not running.

   Cornerstone takes advantage of this facility to cache the change summary value displayed in the working copy source list and then only re-scan those working copies which have actually changed when the application is restarted.

   This should result in dramatically improved startup performance for users with large numbers of working copies (or working copies containing large numbers of files) which change infrequently.

   Cornerstone v1.5 exhibits the same behavior as v1.1 when running under Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, i.e. all working copies are scanned at startup.

Usability Improvements

1. Working Copy Folder Status Displayed in Source List

   The property status for a working copy’s top-level folder is displayed in the working copy source list next to the change summary badge. (#614)

2. Filter Matches in Browser are no Longer Always Displayed in Bold

   In v1.0 and v1.1, items in the browser which match the current filter were always displayed in bold. This behavior was changed in v1.5, where only non-normal working copy items (i.e. modified, added, deleted, unversioned etc.) are displayed in bold. This allows the user to more readily recognize non-normal items when the browser is filtered.

3. Key Operations Can Now be Canceled

   The following operations support cancellation:

   • Check Out
   • Commit
   • Export
   • Import
   • Update
   • History Log Cache Import
   • Create Patch

   Operations are canceled by clicking the Stop button in the activity area under the source list. (#347)

4. Compare View Font Can Be Changed

   A new preference (in the General preference pane) allows the user to select which fixed-width font should be used in the text compare view. Font anti-aliasing can also be switched on and off using a second preference (Font smoothing).

   The default font remains 10pt Monaco with font smoothing disabled in the interest of both performance and backwards compatibility. (#469)

5. Alternate Copy Function Added to Copy URL Without Username Component

   A new alternate menu function (Edit > Copy URL without User, Cmd+Option+C) was added to enable the user to copy the URLs of selected items without including the username component. (#662)

   In addition, a new preference (Include user name when copying URLs) on the General preferences page allows the default copy behavior to be inverted. Switching Include user name when copying URLs off causes the alternate menu function to be named Edit > Copy URL with User.

   The default behavior remains as for v1.0 and v1.1, namely that URLs copied to the pasteboard continue to include the username component.

6. Cmd-Double-Clicking a Folder in Working Copy Browser Opens Folder in Finder

   Holding down the Command key while double-clicking a folder in a working copy browser will result in the folder being opened in Finder. Likewise, Command-double-clicking a file will reveal the file in Finder. (#666)

7. Inspector Icon can be Dragged

   The icon in the top left-hand corner of the inspector can be dragged. Repository items may only be dragged to the repository browser. Working copy files and folders may also be dragged to other applications. (#521)

8. History Log Import Performed on Background Thread

   History caching is performed in the three phases:

   1. Downloading log items from the repository
   2. Indexing the change paths for the downloaded log items
   3. Importing the revisions and change set information into the application’s log cache

   In previous versions, while the log download was performed in a background thread (and could be canceled) phases 2. and 3. were not. As a result, the import of large amounts of log data on the application’s main thread could leave the user with the impression that the application had hung.

   v1.5 improves on this behavior by:

   • Performing path indexing and revision import on a background thread
   • Providing accurate UI feedback on the progress of these operations
   • Allowing the user to cancel these operations

   These improvements combine to make the application’s handling of log downloads for large repositories more robust for the user. (#507, #673)

9. Dock Bounce On Task Completion Can be Disabled

   Cornerstone bounces once in the Dock when in the background when a user-initiated operation (e.g. check out, update etc.) is completed.

   A new preference in the General preference pane (Bounce in Dock when an operation completes) allows this behavior to be disabled. (#685)

10. Compare Navigation Functions Moved to New Compare Menu

    Compare view navigation (e.g. First Change, Last Change, Previous Change, Last Change etc.) were moved to the new Compare top-level menu, thus reducing clutter in the View menu.

11. Compare Functions Renamed to be Consistent with Other Diff Tools

    The compare functions (e.g. Previous Change, Next Change) were renamed (to Previous Difference, Next Difference etc.) in order to use terminology consistent with other diff tools such as Apple’s FileMerge and Skorpiostech’s Changes

12. Navigation Functions Added to New Go Menu

    The following functions with key equivalents were added to the new Go menu:

    • Back (Cmd+[)
    • Forward (Cmd+])
    • Enclosing Folder (Cmd+Shift+Up)
    • Top Folder (Cmd+Shift+Option+Up)

    The existence of these functions should improve keyboard-based browser navigation. (#694)

13. Filter Sub-Menu Added to View Menu

    A new Filter sub-menu was added to the View menu. This sub-menu contains items for the pre-defined filters available in filter bars in the application’s various views (e.g. Changed, Newer in Repository etc.).

    Each of these filters has been assigned a key equivalent to improve keyboard-only usage. (#698)

14. Working Copy Browser Double-Click Action can be Configured

    The action performed when a working copy file is double-clicked can be configured using the Double-clicking working copy file preference in the General pane of the application’s preferences. (#700)

    Possible values are:

    • Opens file in external editor

      Opens file using editor configured as the default with Finder/Launch Services. This is the same behavior as 1.1 and is the default.

    • Compares file

      Opens the file in the built-in compare view. The current/previously selected revisions are initially displayed.

    • Compares file using external editor

      Compares the file against BASE using the currently configured external compare tool.

15. Edit > Select All Matches Menu Alternate Added

    Selects all items in the current browser which match the filter criteria. Intermediary non-matching folders are excluded from the selection. (#718)

16. Missing Filter Added to Working Copy Browser

    A new filter was added to the working copy browser for missing files, i.e. files which are under version control but which are not present in the file system. (#725)

17. Scroller Added to Working Copy inspector

    Scroller will appear in working copy inspector’s Properties tab if insufficient vertical space is available for the display of all properties.

18. Path Control in Browser Improved to Better Handle Deep Folder Hierarchies

    Path control now dynamically compacts the text of the displayed path components rather than extending beyond the control’s visible bounds. (#739)

19. Swap Revisions Button Added to Compare View

    A new Swap Revisions button in the compare view allows the left and right revisions to be swapped.

20. Working Copy Browser View can be Sorted by Status

    The working copy browser view now supports sorting on the working copy status and repository status columns. (#487)

21. Changes in Global Subversion Configuration are Automatically Adopted

    Cornerstone now monitors the Subversion configuration files in ~/.subversion/config and updates its internal state accordingly. (#627)

22. Folder Creation is Performed on a Background Thread

    Folder creation was a blocking operation in v1.1. This behavior was improved for v1.5 and is now performed on a background thread. (#743)

23. Multiple Folders can be Dragged onto Source List

    v1.1 only allowed a single working copy or repository folder to be dragged to the source list at a time. This limitation was removed for v1.5. (#733)

24. Preference Added to Control Left-to-Right Ordering of Versions in Compare View

    Normally, when comparing two versions, the conceptually newer version is displayed on the right. For example, when comparing BASE against the working version, the working version is displayed on the right.

    This also applies when comparing HEAD against working: HEAD is assumed to be the newer version, post-dating the working version’s BASE revision and therefore providing motivation for the comparison.

    This behavior can now be controlled by selecting the Show working version on right value for the new When comparing versions option in the General preference pane, which will cause the working version to be placed on the right when comparing against HEAD. (#766)

25. UI for Adding Existing Working Copies was Streamlined

    The UI displayed by the File > Add Working Copy… function no longer displays a custom modal sheet, instead displaying a standard open panel which also contains a field allowing the user to optionally specify a nickname for the working copy.

    The open panel also allows multiple working copy folders to be selected. (#786)

26. Toolbar Improvements

    Many toolbar icons were redesigned to be clearer, more attractive and follow a more consistent visual style. The icons used to represent working copies and repositories in the source lists were redesigned accordingly.

    In addition:

    • A new Add Working Copy item was added (#820).
    • A new Refresh item was added (#464).
    • Check Out is now part of the default toolbar (#466).
27. Activity View Moved from Toolbar to Underneath Source List

    In earlier versions, an iTunes-esque LCD-style view located in the toolbar provided feedback on pending operations. This view was removed from the toolbar in v1.5. The activity display is now located underneath the source list at the bottom of the main window in a new area labeled ACTIVITY.

    The primary motivation for this change was to afford the user more control and flexibility over the customization of their application toolbar. Moving the view to the lower left corner of the main window also results in the display being less distracting than when previously located in the center of the toolbar.

Compatibility

1. Compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

   Cornerstone is compatible with the current Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard ADC Developer Preview at the time of writing (10A411).

2. Compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger

   Cornerstone is still compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, albeit with some minor restrictions:

   • Dates can’t be entered into revision fields. Revision numbers should be used instead in combination with the popup revision picker.

   • Image compare view background color popup uses text instead of icons.

   Please note that v1.5 will be the last release compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. Tiger compatibility will be dropped for future versions.

3. Subversion 1.6 Support Added

   Cornerstone v1.5 includes Subversion 1.6.5 and is therefore compatible with both 1.6-based working copies and repositories.

   Cornerstone also continues to include both Subversion versions 1.4.6 and 1.5.6.

4. Subversion 1.5 updated to 1.5.7

   The 1.5-level version of Subversion which is included with Cornerstone was updated to 1.5.7.

Compatibility

Backwards Compatibility

1.5 is fully backwards compatible with 1.1. All configuration and settings (including license information) are transparently migrated to 1.5 when 1.5 is run for the first time.

Forwards Compatibility

The 1.5 configuration databases are forward-compatible with 1.1, i.e. you can run 1.1 and 1.5 against the same configuration databases in your Application Support/Cornerstone folder.

Caveats and Limitations

1.5 is not compatible with Berkeley DB format repositories. This means that BDB repositories cannot be created or accessed using the file:// protocol.

We don’t expect this to be an issue for the majority of Cornerstone users as the File System format has been the recommended, preferred and default repository format for a number of years, It also is not supported by the svn client tools provided by Apple with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

Cornerstone can of course use BDB repositories served using the http://, https://, svn:// and svn+ssh:// protocols.

You have the following options if you need to use Cornerstone to access a BDB repository:

1. Continue to use Cornerstone 1.1 to access your BDB repository. 1.1 can co-exist with 1.5 on the same computer.
2. Use svnserve or Apache to serve your BDB repository using the svn:// or http:// protocols.
3. Convert your BDB repository to FSFS format using the svnadmin tool’s dump and load commands.

Issues Resolved in 1.5 Beta 1

Issues Resolved in 1.5 Beta 2

Issues Resolved in 1.5 Release Candidate 1

Issues Resolved in 1.5 Release Candidate 2

Issues Resolved in 1.5 Final

Resolved Issues

Resolved Issues

Resolved Issues