SSEXP Utility

Runs Visual SourceSafe Explorer from the command line for a specified database.

Syntax

ssexp [-A][-D][-P][-S][-Y]
ssexp /edit [-ini|-userini <inifile>] <filename>
ssexp /view [-ini|-userini <inifile>] <filename>
ssexp /diff [-ini|-userini <inifile>] [-ignore_whitespaces|-iw|
-ignore_case|-ic|-ignore_eol|-ie] <file1> <file2>
ssexp /merge [-ini|-userini <inifile>] [-ignore_whitespaces|-iw|
-ignore_case|-ic|-ignore_eol|-ie|-always|-a] <file1> <file2> <basefile> <resultfile> [<original_file1> <original_file2>]

Utility Options

The following table describes options available with SSEXP. None of these options is dependent on the others.

  • -A
    Always shows the merge window reflecting all merge operations.
  • -D<variable>
    Identifies a Data_Path initialization variable used in the Srcsafe.ini file. Use this option to create an alias for a database so that you do not have to remember or type out the path to Srcsafe.ini each time you run SSEXP.
  • -P<project name>
    Identifies the project for which to launch Visual SourceSafe Explorer. This option can be used with e-mail software that supports icons to send a pointer to your Visual SourceSafe project. Alternatively, it can be used to create a Windows icon that always opens Visual SourceSafe in a particular project.
  • -S<\\server\share\path>
    Identifies a path to a specific Srcsafe.ini file, overriding Visual SourceSafe's normal search method for Srcsafe.ini files.
  • -Y<user,pwd>
    Specifies user name and password, avoiding the Visual SourceSafe Login dialog box.
  • /edit
    Specifies an edit operation that is basically equivalent to the operation of the Edit File command in Visual SourceSafe Explorer.
  • /view
    Specifies an edit operation that is basically equivalent to the operation of the View File command in Visual SourceSafe Explorer.
  • /diff
    Specifies an edit operation that is basically equivalent to the operation of the Show Differences command in Visual SourceSafe Explorer.
  • /merge
    Specifies an edit operation that is basically equivalent to the operation of the Merge command in Visual SourceSafe Explorer.

Option Parameters

The following table describes the parameters available with SSEXP options.

  • /ini
    Specifies the Srcsafe.ini file location for retrieving fonts, colors, file encodings, etc.
  • /userini <inifile>
    Specifies the Ss.ini file location for retrieving fonts, colors, file encodings, etc.
  • -ic
    Specifies that the utility should ignore differences in character case when performing the indicated operation.
  • -ignore_eol
    Specifies that the utility should ignore end-of-line characters when performing the indicated operation.
  • -ie
    Same as -ignore_eol.
  • -ignore_whitespaces
    Specifies that the utility should ignore whitespace characters (for example, tabs and spaces) when performing the indicated operation.
  • -iw
    Same as -ignore_whitespaces.
  • -always
    Specifies that the utility should display the merge window for all changes, even if the files contain only changes that can be automatically resolved during a merge.
  • -a
    Same as -always.
  • filename
    Specifies a file to be viewed or edited.
  • file1
    Specifies a file to compare in a difference or merge operation.
  • file2
    Specifies the file to compare with file1 in a difference or merge operation.
  • basefile
    Specifies a base file to use in the operation.
  • resultfile
    Specifies an output file.
  • original_file1, original_file2
    Specify the original names of the file1 and file2 files used in a difference or merge operation. These names are necessary if the files specified by file1 and file2 are temporary files.

Examples

Launches Visual SourceSafe in the Code project:

ssexp -P$/Word/Code

Uses one icon to access a Visual SourceSafe database at \\DEV1\SourceSafe:

ssexp -S\\DEV1\SourceSafe

Launches the Visual SourceSafe internal editor to edit the file c:\temp\File.txt:

ssexp /edit c:\temp\File.txt

Displays the merge window for the files c:\temp\File1.txt and c|\temp\File2.txt, using default fonts and color scheme:

ssexp /diff c:\temp\File1.txt c|\temp\File2.txt

Performs a merge between the local file c:\MyProject\Class1.vb and the tip version filetip.tmp, using the base filebase.tmp and creating the output file result.mrg; assumes that you have downloaded the base version of $/MyProject/Class1.vb into c:\temp\filebase.tmp, and the last version into c:\temp\filetip.tmp:

ssexp /merge –ini C:\VSS\srcsafe.ini /userini C:\VSS\users\Admin\ss.ini C:\MyProject\Class1.vb c:\temp\filetip.tmp c:\temp\filebase.tmp C:\temp\result.mrg C:\MyProject\Class1.vb $/MyProject/Class1.vb

The last two parameters specify the original file names, as they will be displayed in the merge window)

See Also

Tasks

How to: Start Visual SourceSafe Explorer from the Command Line

Reference

Visual SourceSafe Login Dialog Box (Explorer and Plug-in)