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Top Questions about Visual SourceSafe

This section provides some of the most commonly asked questions concerning Visual SourceSafe. If you need more assistance, notify Microsoft Product Support Services. See Contacting Microsoft Product Support Services.

Questions and Answers

Is Visual SourceSafe compatible with old database versions?

This version of Visual SourceSafe is fully compatible with database versions 6.0 and earlier.

Does Visual SourceSafe support the built-in security of Windows NT?

No. The user's NT logon name is used by default when starting Visual SourceSafe. However, after this the user must be given sharing permissions and project rights by the database administrator. For more information, see Securing a Database.

What if I don't know my current login user name?

In Visual SourceSafe Explorer, your user name is always displayed in the status bar, at the very bottom of the window. From the Visual SourceSafe command line, you can determine the current user with the command Whoami.

Is it possible to copy a user list from one database to another?

The VSSEMS utility has been developed to perform this operation. For more information, contact Microsoft Product Support Services.

What is Analyze?

This is a database maintenance utility furnished by Visual SourceSafe. See ANALYZE Utility.

What can I do to ensure stable and secure source data?

Make sure that your database administrator runs ANALYZE on the Visual SourceSafe database with the regular tape backup schedule. See How to: Find and Repair Data Corruption.

How can I keep check-ins and checkouts from occurring out of sequence?

If you run in a mixed client environment, for example, some clients are running Visual SourceSafe version 8.0 and some are running previous versions, you will need to synchronize the older client system clocks with the database server system clock. Synchronization will prevent out-of-sequence operations and affect any labels that are applied. See How to: Set the Time Zone for Your Database.

Is there a list of known Visual SourceSafe bugs?

You can find known bugs by accessing Microsoft Support online at https://support.microsoft.com. Set the product to Visual SourceSafe. You can then set the search option to Keywords, and enter the KB bug for the question.

Is there a way to put revision history information in a source file when I check it in?

Use keyword expansion. For more information, see Keyword Expansion Support, and related topics.

How can I archive old projects and/or backup the database?

You should ask your database administrator to do this. Related procedures are How to: Archive a Database and How to: Restore a Database from an Archive.

Is there a way to retrieve a deleted file?

For a procedure, see How to: Recover a Deleted Item in this Help system.

Can I rename a label?

See How to: Label an Item in this Help system.

See Also

Other Resources

Maintaining and Optimizing Visual SourceSafe
Performing Basic Visual SourceSafe Tasks