NetBeans IDE automatically tries to identify the location of the Subversion executable file by using the $PATH system variable on your computer. Depending on your platform however, or whether you installed the Subversion client to a different location, it may be necessary to specify the path to the executable file explicitly.

By default, the Subversion executable file is installed in the /usr/bin or /usr/local/bin/ folder on UNIX and OS X machines, and in C:\Program Files\Subversion\bin\ (or C:\Program Files\CollabNet Subversion\bin\) for Windows.

On *nix-based machines, you can verify the location of the Subversion executable by typing which svn into a terminal window. On Windows machines, you can perform a system-wide search for svn.exe.

To set the path to the Subversion executable file in the IDE:

Before invoking Subversion actions from the IDE, make sure you have access to a Subversion repository. The IDE does not provide support for creating Subversion repositories as this is not a frequently used action (In a production environment a repository is only created once, after the design of the repository layout has been determined.) and moreover it requires administrative commands.

If you would like to experiment with the IDE’s support using a local repository, you can create one using the svnadmin tool, which is included in the Subversion client software.

To create a Subversion repository on your computer, use svnadmin create. From a command-line prompt, type in the following:

For more information, see: http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.1/ch05s02.html.

If you already have a Subversion versioned project which you have been working with outside of the IDE, you can open it in the IDE and versioning features will automatically become available to you. The IDE scans your open projects and if they contain .svn directories, file status and context-sensitive support automatically becomes active for Subversion versioned projects.

If you want to connect to a remote repository from the IDE, then check out files and immediately begin working with them, do the following:

Depending on the protocol you are using, you may need to enter other information, such as username and password (e.g. for http://, https://, or svn://), or in the case of svn+ssh://, you must supply the command to establish the external tunnel.

For more help with svn+ssh, see: How do I set up SSH with Subversion?

Alternately, you can import a project you have been working on in the IDE to a remote repository, then continue to work on it in the IDE after it has become synchronized.

To import a project to a repository:

Upon clicking Finish, the IDE uploads the project files to the repository and the Output window opens to display the progress.

When you open a versioned file in the IDE’s Source Editor, you can view real-time changes occurring to your file as you modify it against your previously checked-out base version from the repository. As you work, the IDE uses color encoding in the Source Editor’s margins to convey the following information:

The Source Editor’s left margin shows changes occurring on a line-by-line basis. When you modify a given line, changes are immediately shown in the left margin.

You can click on a color grouping in the margin to call versioning commands. For example, the screen capture below left shows widgets available to you when clicking a red icon, indicating that lines have been removed from your local copy.

The Source Editor’s right margin provides you with an overview that displays changes made to your file as a whole, from top to bottom. Color encoding is generated immediately when you make changes to your file.

Note that you can click on a specific point within the margin to bring your inline cursor immediately to that location in the file. To view the number of lines affected, hover your mouse over the colored icons in the right margin:

When you are working in the Projects (Ctrl-1 on Windows/Cmd-1 on OS X), Files (Ctrl-2 on Windows/Cmd-2 on OS X), Favorites (Ctrl-3 on Windows/Cmd-3 on OS X), or Versioning windows, the IDE provides several visual features that aid in viewing status information about your files. In the example below, notice how the badge (e.g. ), color of the file name, and adjacent status label, all coincide with each other to provide you with a simple but effective way to keep track of versioning information on your files:

Badges, color coding, file status labels, and perhaps most importantly, the Versioning window all contribute to your ability to effectively view and manage and versioning information in the IDE.

Comparing file revisions is a common task when working with versioned projects. The IDE enables you to compare revisions by using the Diff command, which is available from the right-click menu of a selected item (Subversion > Diff), as well as from the Versioning window. In the Versioning window, you can perform diffs by either double-clicking a listed file, otherwise you can click the Diff All icon () located in the toolbar at the top.

When you perform a diff, a graphical Diff Viewer opens for the selected file(s) and revisions in the IDE’s main window. The Diff Viewer displays two copies in side-by-side panels. The more current copy appears on the right side, so if you are comparing a repository revision against your working copy, the working copy displays in the right panel:

The Diff Viewer makes use of the same color encoding used elsewhere to display version control changes. In the screen capture displayed above, the green block indicates content that has been added to the more current revision. The red block indicates that content from the earlier revision has been removed from the later. Blue indicates that changes have occurred within the highlighted line(s).

Also, when performing a diff on a group of files, such as on a project, package, or folder, or when clicking Diff All (), you can switch between diffs by clicking files listed in the upper region of the Diff Viewer.

The Diff Viewer also provides you with the following functionality:

NetBeans IDE enables you to merge changes between repository revisions and your local working copy. You can specify a range of revisions to merge. You can even merge a range of revisions from two separate repository folders.

The following scenario describes a common use-case: You have checked out the trunk version on a folder named JavaApp, and now want to merge your copy with a branch. For demonstrative purposes, your repository layout contains a branches folder used to contain all branched files:

You can perform updates by choosing Subversion > Update from the right-click menu of any versioned item in the Projects, Files, or Favorites windows. When working directly from the Versioning window, you need only right-click a listed file and choose Update.

To perform an update on all source files, you can click the Update All icon (), which displays in the toolbars located at the top of both the Versioning Window, as well as the Diff Viewer. Any changes that may have occurred in the repository are displayed in the Versioning Output window.

When you perform an update or a commit, the IDE’s Subversion support compares your files with repository sources to make sure that other changes have not already occurred in the same locations. When your previous checkout (or update) no longer matches the repository HEAD (i.e. most current revision), and the changes that you applied to your local working copy coincide with areas in the HEAD that have also changed, your update or commit results in a conflict.

As indicated in Badges and Color Coding, conflicts are displayed in the IDE with red text and are accompanied by a red badge () when viewed in the Projects, Files, or Favorites windows. When working in the Versioning window, conflicts are also indicated by a file’s status:

Any conflicts that arise must be resolved before you commit files to the repository. You can resolve conflicts in the IDE using the Merge Conflicts Resolver. The Merge Conflicts Resolver provides an intuitive interface that enables you to address individual conflicts sequentially while viewing merged output as you make changes. You can access the Merge Conflicts Resolver on a file that is in conflict by right-clicking that file and choosing Subversion > Resolve Conflicts.

The Merge Conflicts Resolver displays the two conflicting revisions side-by-side in the top pane, with the conflicting areas highlighted. The lower pane depicts the file as it appears while merges for individual conflicts between the two revisions occur:

You resolve a conflict by accepting one of the two revisions displayed in the top pane. Click the Accept button of the revision you want to accept. The IDE merges the accepted revision with the source file, and you can immediately see the results of the merge in the bottom pane of the Merge Conflicts Resolver. Once all conflicts are resolved, click OK to exit the Merge Conflicts Resolver and save the modified file. The conflict badge is removed and you can now commit the modified file to the repository.

After editing source files, performing an update and resolving any conflicts, you commit files from your local working copy to the repository. The IDE enables you to call the commit command in the following ways:

The Commit dialog opens, displaying files that are about to be committed to the repository:

The Commit dialog lists:

From the Commit dialog, it is possible to specify whether to exclude individual files from the commit. To do so, click the Commit Action column of a selected file and choose Exclude from Commit from the drop-down list. Similarly, when new files are included, you can specify the MIME type by choosing Add as Binary or Add as Text from the drop-down list.

To perform the commit: