Revert: Undoing Changes

The Revert command implements an "undo change" capability for dynamic streams. It doesn't actually remove any versions from the stream or transactions from the repository; that never occurs, since it would be a violation of AccuRev's TimeSafe principle. Instead, Revert creates a new version of one or more elements in a workspace based on the stream.

Note: There is one exception to this workspace requirement: the Revert Change Package command option to continue without using a workspace, available in the StreamBrowser. (See “Revert Change Package”.)

The contents of the new version are the result of "subtracting out" a certain set of changes from the stream's current version:

•	the changes that were added to the stream in a specified promote transaction, or

•	the changes contained in a change package that is currently in the stream.

The "subtracting out" of content changes is performed by the Merge tool. Submitting a different set of versions to this tool effectively implements the reverse patch algorithm (see Reverse Patch: Removing Content Changes).

After the Revert command completes, you can verify the correctness of its work (and make further changes, if appropriate) in the workspace. Then, you can complete the "undo change to stream" process by promoting the new versions.

Note: Again, the Revert Change Package command available in the StreamBrowser (Revert Change Package) has an option to continue without using a workspace. The results of this revert are placed directly in the stream itself. However, AccuRev recommends that you still build and test these changes in an updated workspace to verify the results.

Invoking the Revert Command

There are several ways to invoke the Revert command:

•

Reverting a Transaction. Open a History Browser tab, showing the transactions for the dynamic stream where you want to perform the "undo". To do this, choose View > Streams from the GUI main menu (and, if prompted, choose the depot containing your stream). Right click your stream, and choose Show History from the context menu. Then right-click the transaction to be reverted, and choose Revert from the context menu. Only transactions whose action is promote can be reverted.

•

Reverting a Change Package. Open a Stream Issues tab, showing the issues whose change packages are in the dynamic stream where you want to perform the "undo". To do this, choose Show Issues from the context menu of any dynamic stream in the StreamBrowser. Or choose Show Diff by Issues from the context menu of a dynamic stream, then select another stream to compare it with.