With Assembla SVN, users have the ability to lock a file after checking it out from Assembla SVN within the web app. This helps reduce merge request issues and allows for smooth commits back to the repo. Users can also see who has locked a file and break or steal locks all from the web app. Users need to make sure to unlock the file once they’ve finished working on it.
Viewing locks at the file level
Assembla includes a column which displays a grey padlock if a file is locked. Hovering over the lock gives you a pop-up that shows the time the file was locked as well as the locking message submitted by the user who locked that file. Hovering over the users’ icons show the profile card of the user who locked the file.
Users can lock multiple files at once by selecting those files with the check box to the right of the screen, clicking Actions at the top of the column, and selecting Lock from the dropdown menu. Additionally, users can bulk unlock, steal, or break locks in the same way.
Clicking a locked file allows a user to view the file as well as its locked status and the user(s) who locked it. However, it is not possible to steal or break locks from within the file itself.
Viewing locks at the folder level
You can lock all of the unlocked files in the directory at once by selecting Lock files in directory.
Modifying locks
There are several ways to modify the locks protecting your files. The simplest and safest way is to talk to the owner of the lock and ask them to unlock the file when they are done with it. However, there are also other ways to remove the lock from a file you want to access.
It’s also possible to lock a file in your working copy if it is already locked by another user:
$ svn lock tree.jpg
svn: warning: W160035: Path '/tree.jpg is already locked by user 'sally' in filesystem '/var/svn/repos/db'
$ svn lock --force tree.jpg
'tree.jpg' locked by user 'harry'.
Stealing locks
Stealing a lock, as the name suggests, allows one user to remove the lock from a file and then immediately lock it again in their own name.
You can steal a lock by simply clicking the menu icon to the right of the file, and then selecting Steal lock or Steal files in directory lock from the dropdown menu.
Breaking locks
Breaking a lock allows a user to unlock a file that was not locked by them.
You can break a lock by clicking the menu icon to the right of the file, and selecting Break lock or Break files in directory lock from the dropdown menu.
Addressing multiple users
When multiple users lock a folder or file, multiple icons appear to the right of the lock icon. You can view additional users by hovering over the +n icon.
Lock activity logs in the stream
All locking and unlocking actions are logged in the stream. You can adjust these actions through the filter SVN actions at the bottom of the filter list.
Additionally, users can receive locking alerts from events in the stream. There are two settings for this action:
Follow the URL <spaces/SPACE_NAME/admin/alert_settings> and select Change Email Alerts for New Team Members. You can adjust the notification frequency for SVN actions.
Follow the URL </user/edit/email_notification>. You then can select the notification frequency for SVN actions near the bottom of the page.
Have questions? Email us at support@assembla.com