Understanding Default and Alternate Working Folders

Make sure that everyone is logged off from the StarTeam Server and that the StarTeam Server is locked before you change the Default Working Folder. It is just as critical to perform these actions as it is when you change custom fields or do anything else that affects all users.

When a view is created, a default location is specified for its working folder. If you change the Default Working Folder, not only the path to the working folder but the path to each child folder in the view may be similarly modified – not just for you, but for everyone working with that view. Therefore, before making such changes, it is important to understand the relationship of the working folder to the StarTeam view.

Default Working Folder path

Used by everyone sharing that view, unless they have specified an Alternate Working Folder path. Only change the Default Working Folder if you want to change the path for everyone who shares the view.

Alternate Working Folder path

Lets you specify a different location for your own working folder than the Default Working Folder. If you do not want to use the Default Working Folder path, specify an Alternate Working Folder path. Do not change the Default Working Folder. If you specify an Alternate Working Folder path, it is used instead of the Default Working Folder path. The Default Working Folder path must point to a location that is physically discrete for each user, such as a drive on that user's workstation or a personal directory on a shared file server.

The working folder for the view's root folder has an absolute path (for example C:\New Product). The path used for the working folder of a child folder depends upon how the child folder was created and what changes have been made to the path since that time. Generally, the working folder for a child folder is relative to that of the view (that is, relative to the working folder used for the root folder). For example, suppose that the path to the view's working folder is C:\New Product and that the root folder has a child folder named Online Help. In this case, the path to the Online Help working folder would be"C:\New Product\Online Help. When the path to the view's working folder changes, the path to the child's working folder changes automatically.

If a new child folder is added to the view after it is created, the path to the child's working folder will usually be relative. However, if its working folder is on a different drive than the working folder for the root, its path will be absolute.