Source Control Explorer

The Source Control Explorer is used to view and manage source control-related files and settings for your project. This window pane collects all source control information in one place so you do not need to open multiple windows or tabs when working with projects that are bound to source control. It does not replace the Source Control ribbon; instead, it gathers all of this information in one place. Here, you can bind, unbind, or disable a provider; see pending changes; import a project from source control; manage branches (when using Git); and access network settings (when using Git or Subversion).

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How to Open This Explorer

Do one of the following, depending on the part of the user interface you are using:

Ribbon Select View > Source Control Explorer.
Status Bar In the lower-right of Lingo, click (a number indicates the number of files with changes that need to be committed). When you click the button, the Source Control Explorer opens. Select the Pending Changes view, which you can use to add a comment and commit the changes.

Note If you do not see this option, make sure View > Status Bar is enabled.

What You Can Do in This Window Pane

Following are the primary tasks that you can perform in the Source Control Explorer.

If Using Git

Bind This means to connect your project to Git. After doing this, you can then take advantage of all the automated source control tasks (such as commit, revert, pull, push, and so on). See Binding a Project to Git.
Unbind Provider If you no longer need your project connected to source control, you can remove the connection by "unbinding" the provider. See Unbinding a Project From Git.
Disable Provider If you do not want to see the source control interface elements in Lingo, you can disable the provider. This does not mean you cannot use source control. As long as the provider is still bound to the project, you can perform source control tasks in a third-party tool outside of Lingo. See Disabling a Git Provider.
Import Project from Source Control If you have a project in Git, you can import it to Lingo so you can edit it. See Importing a Project From Git.
View Pending Changes When you make changes to your project in Lingo, you can see the files you have changed in the Pending Changes pane. You can also include or exclude changes if you do not want to check in all of your files at once. See Viewing Modified Files—Git.
Commit When you are finished editing files, you can commit them to source control. Committing a file adds your changes to the local Git database. It is a good idea to periodically commit files so that they are organized in logical chunks with a comment that accurately summarizes the changes. When you are ready to add your local commits to the remote repository, you can push these files to the remote. Committing and pushing changes frequently can help to avoid conflicting changes from other users, although conflicts are bound to occur from time to time. See Committing Source Control Files—Git.
Create Branches When you are working in Git, you can create branches. See Creating Branches.
Switch Branches If you have created more than one branch, you can switch to the branch you want to work with. You will see the files associated with the selected branch, and new commits will be sent to the selected branch. By default, the master branch is selected. See Switching Branches.
Publish Branches If you have created a branch, you can publish it, which means to copy it to the remote repository. This lets you push to and pull from that branch. See Publishing Branches.

If another writer on the team wants to get a remote branch that someone else has published and add it locally, they can do the following: (1) Create a new branch locally with the same name as the remote branch; (2) pull the branch from the remote repository.
Delete Branches If you no longer need a branch, you can delete it. This also deletes any commits on that branch. See Deleting Branches.
Merge Branches There are times where you may have to merge branches into a common branch. See Merging Branches.
View and Modify Network Settings You can view and modify your current source control network settings without having to close Lingo. You can make changes to several settings, including SSL configurations, HTTP proxy options, and cookies. See Modifying Network Settings—Git.
Create or Edit Ignore File If you bind a project to Git outside of Lingo (i.e., you do not use Lingo's interface to do the binding), you should make sure that you have a .gitignore file. You can add the .gitignore file by selecting an option in the Source Control Explorer or Project Properties dialog. Once you have a project containing a .gitignore file, the button in the interface changes to "Edit Ignore File," so that you can open the file to make edits to it. See Adding and Editing an Ignore File.

If Using Perforce Helix Core

Bind If you want to add your project to source control so other users can access it, you need to connect the project to your source control tool. This process is called "binding" the project to source control. See Binding a Project to Perforce Helix Core.
Unbind Provider If you no longer need your project connected to source control, you can remove the connection by "unbinding" the provider. See Unbinding a Perforce Helix Core Provider.
Disable Provider If you do not want to see the source control interface elements in Lingo, you can disable the provider. This does not mean you cannot use source control. As long as the provider is still bound to the project, you can perform source control tasks in a third-party tool outside of Lingo. See Disabling a Perforce Helix Core Provider.
Import Project from Source Control If you have a project in Helix Core, you can import it to Lingo so you can edit it. See Importing a Project From Perforce Helix Core.
View Pending Changes When you make changes to your project in Lingo, you can see the files you have changed in the Pending Changes pane. You can also include or exclude changes if you do not want to submit all of your files at once. See Viewing Files That are Checked Out—Perforce Helix Core.
Submit When you are finished working on a file, you can return it to source control. This overwrites the existing copy in source control and creates a backup of the file in the source control tool. See Submitting Source Control Files—Perforce Helix Core.

If Using Apache Subversion

Bind This means to connect your project to Apache Subversion. After doing this, you can then take advantage of all the automated source control tasks (such as commit, revert, update, and so on). See Binding a Project to Subversion.
Unbind Provider If you no longer need your project connected to source control, you can remove the connection by "unbinding" the provider. See Unbinding a Subversion Provider.
Disable Provider If you do not want to see the source control interface elements in Lingo, you can disable the provider. This does not mean you cannot use source control. As long as the provider is still bound to the project, you can perform source control tasks in a third-party tool outside of Lingo. See Disabling a Subversion Provider.
Import Project from Source Control If you have a project in Subversion, you can import it to Lingo so you can edit it. See Importing a Project From Subversion.
View Pending Changes When you make changes to your project in Lingo, you can see the files you have changed in the Pending Changes pane. You can also include or exclude changes if you do not want to commit all of your files at once. See Viewing Modified Files—Subversion.
Commit When you are finished editing files, you can commit them to source control. Committing a file overwrites the old copy of the file in the source control database with the new one from your local machine. So even if others will not be working on that file, it is a good idea to periodically commit files so that you have a backup in source control. See Committing Source Control Files—Subversion.
Lock If you want to prevent other users from committing your files, you can lock the file. See Locking a File—Subversion.
Unlock If you are finished working on a file and want to allow other users to commit it, you can unlock the file. See Unlocking a File—Subversion.
View and Modify Network Settings You can view and modify your current source control network settings without having to close Lingo. You can make changes to several settings, including SSL, HTTP proxy, and caching options. See Modifying Network Settings—Subversion.

If Using Microsoft Team Foundation Server

Bind If you want to add your project to source control so other users can access it, you need to connect the project to your source control tool. This process is called "binding" the project to source control. See Binding a Project to Microsoft Team Foundation Server.
Unbind Provider If you no longer need your project connected to source control, you can remove the connection by "unbinding" the provider. See Unbinding a Team Foundation Server Provider.
Disable Provider If you do not want to see the source control interface elements in Lingo, you can disable the provider. This does not mean you cannot use source control. As long as the provider is still bound to the project, you can perform source control tasks in a third-party tool outside of Lingo. See Disabling a Team Foundation Server Provider.
Import Project from Source Control If you have a project in Team Foundation Server, you can import it to Lingo so you can edit it. See Importing a Project From Team Foundation Server.
View Pending Changes When you make changes to your project in Lingo, you can see the files you have changed in the Pending Changes pane. You can also include or exclude changes if you do not want to check in all of your files at once. See .Viewing Files That are Checked Out—Team Foundation Server
Check In When you are finished working on a file, you can check it in it to source control. This overwrites the existing copy in source control and creates a backup of the file in the source control tool. See Checking In Source Control Files—Team Foundation Server.
Undo Check Out If you do not want to keep changes to a file, you can undo the check out. and restore the file to the state it was in the last time it was checked into source control. See Undoing a Checkout of Source Control Files—Team Foundation Server.

Navigation Buttons in the Title Bar

	Lets you move the window pane from its docked position to another location in the interface. Simply click on this area and drag the window pane to the new location.
	Opens a drop-down menu with commands for moving and resizing the window pane. Close Closes the window pane. Dock Attaches the window pane to the interface if it is floating. Auto Hide "Pins" the window pane to the side of the interface so that you have more room for your workspace. You can show the window pane by hovering over the thin bar on the side of the interface. If you select this option again, the window pane returns to its previous state (no longer "pinned" to the side of the interface). Float Detaches the window pane from the application so that it becomes a free-floating element in the interface. Standard Tabs (Top) Arranges window panes so that traditional tabs are displayed at the top. Standard Tabs (Bottom) Arranges window panes so that traditional tabs are displayed at the bottom. Accordion Tabs Arranges window panes so that they are stacked with accordion tabs.
	"Pins" the window pane to the side of the interface so that you have more room for your workspace. You can show the window pane by hovering over the thin bar on the side of the interface. If you select this option again, the window pane returns to its previous state (no longer "pinned" to the side of the interface).
	Closes the window pane.

Buttons and Sections

Following are explanations of the different buttons and sections in the Source Control Explorer.

Navigation

	Open the last pane in a previously viewed sequence.
	Open the next pane in a previously viewed sequence.
	Refresh the Source Control Explorer.
	Return to the Home pane.

Home Page View

Pending Changes	Opens the Pending Changes pane.
Branches	Opens the Branches pane. This pane is only available if you are using Git.
Settings	Opens the Settings pane.
Import Project	Opens the Import Project from Source Control Wizard dialog. See Importing a Project from Source Control.
Network Settings	Opens the Network settings dialog. This option is only available is you are using Git or Subversion. See Modifying Network Settings.

Branches View

Note The Branches view is only available if you are using Git for your binding.

Published Branches	Shows available published branches (i.e., branches that have been added to the remote repository). See Publishing Branches.
Unpublished Branches	Shows available unpublished branches (i.e., branches that have not been added to the remote repository). See Publishing Branches.
Publish Branch	Publish the selected branch (i.e., add it to the remote repository). See Publishing Branches.
Select Branch	Switch to the selected branch. See Switching Branches.
Delete Branch	Delete the selected branch. Deleting the branch also deletes any commits on that branch. See Deleting Branches.
Create Branch	Create a new local branch. See Creating Branches.
Merge Branch	Merge another branch with the active branch. See Merging Branches.

Pending Changes View

Comment	Add a comment to the commit/submit/check in. You can view the comment in the file's history. See Viewing the History of Source Control Files.
Commit Included Submit Included Check In Included	Send your local files to source control. The terminology on this button changes depending on the source control provider you are using.
Included Changes	The files in this section will be included in the next commit/submit/check in. You can right-click any file or folder to add it to the Excluded Changes section.
Excluded Changes	The files in this section will be excluded from the next commit/submit/check in. You can right-click any file or folder to add it to the Included Changes section.

Settings View

Provider Name	View the source control provider you are using for your project.
Database	View the source control database where your project is bound.
Database Folder	View the source control database folder where your project is bound.
Remotes	Displays the remote repository, and lets you add or remove one.
Disable Provider	If you do not want to see the source control interface elements in Lingo, you can disable the provider. This does not mean you cannot use source control. As long as the provider is still bound to the project, you can perform source control tasks in a third-party tool outside of Lingo. See Unbinding or Disabling a Source Control Provider From a Project.
Unbind Provider	If you no longer need your project connected to source control, you can remove the connection by "unbinding" the provider. See Unbinding or Disabling a Source Control Provider From a Project.
Create or Edit Ignore File	If you bind a project to Git outside of Lingo (i.e., you do not use Lingo's interface to do the binding), you should make sure that you have a .gitignore file. You can add the .gitignore file by selecting an option in the Source Control Explorer or Project Properties dialog. Once you have a project containing a .gitignore file, the button in the interface changes to "Edit Ignore File," so that you can open the file to make edits to it. See Adding and Editing an Ignore File.

What’s Noteworthy?

Note The labels that appear in the Source Control Explorer will vary depending on the source control provider you are using. For information specific to your source control provider, see Source Control.