SourceOffSite 5.0

Released October 28, 2009

SourceOffSite (SOS) is a remote access product for users of Microsoft Visual SourceSafe (VSS). SOS makes it easy to use Visual SourceSafe over the Internet. With SOS, you can perform most SourceSafe operations from any remote location using Internet access.

New Features in SourceOffSite 5

SourceOffSite 5 includes many new features. Some of the highlights are as follows:

Multi-threaded network redesign improves performance. The SourceOffSite Graphical User Interface (GUI) Client has been refitted with a multi-threaded architecture, which allows more throughput of network traffic and fewer operations that block the application.
Graphical User Interface overhaul. SourceOffSite now uses the Microsoft Office Fluent User Interface within the GUI Client.
File Transfer Performance optimization. SourceOffSite has been optimized to eliminate unnecessary network traffic based on certain combinations of VSS settings.
Wildcard search. SourceOffSite now lets user search for filenames via wildcard and regular expression patterns.
Pending checkout list. SourceOffSite now includes a tab showing all checkouts for the currently logged in user on a particular machine.
Custom External Applications. SourceOffSite now allows users to configure custom applications for viewing, editing, and diffing files based on file extension.
Search by label. History queries can now be performed by specifying label boundaries within the search.
Compatibility with the latest tools. SourceOffSite has been updated to run smoothly on newer operating systems such as Windows Vista and Windows 7, as well as Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio 2010.
SourceGear DiffMerge. SourceOffSite now ships with SourceGear DiffMerge 3.3, which allow more powerful options for diffing files and folders.
Improved server memory utilization. The SourceOffSite 5 Server memory handler releases resources back to the operating system in a more timely fashion, thereby running with a reduced memory footprint.
Character encodings. When coupled with Visual SourceSafe 2005, SourceOffSite lets users set their own preferences for character encodings of text files.

Bugs Fixed in SourceOffSite 5

A number of bugs were fixed in SourceOffSite 5. The following list is not comprehensive, but contains those considered to be of greatest interest to the majority of SOS users:

Sharing an entire project with compression disabled no longer results in corrupted local copies of shared files.
Disconnection from the SourceOffSite server sometimes resulted in multiple warning dialogs. The SourceOffSite client now gracefully handles server disconnects.
In certain circumstances, moving a project could cause a client crash. This particular use case now operates correctly.
SourceOffSite now remembers its maximized state between sessions.
SourceOffSite is now more aware of case sensitivity issues in various operations.
The Modified Files dialog has been redesigned to avoid a number of potential inconsistencies.
SourceOffSite has been redesigned to insure that concurrent instances of the client will not cause any problems with local cache files.

Caveats about SourceOffSite Version 5.0

SourceOffSite 5 Server requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5: Prior to 4.0, the SourceOffSite Server was a Java application and relied on the Microsoft JVM. The SOS 5 Server is a Microsoft .NET application, written in C# for the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.
No Support for Visual SourceSafe 5.0: To use SourceOffSite, you must have Visual SourceSafe 6.0 or Visual SourceSafe 2005 installed on your SourceOffSite server machine.
Cryptography: Two editions of SourceOffSite 5 are available, one that includes 128-bit cryptography and has been approved for export by the US Commerce Department, and one that includes no cryptography.

Caveats about upgrading from version 4.X

Client/Server Upgrade: SOS 5 clients can only communicate with SourceOffSite 5 servers. SOS 4.x and 5.x clients can communicate with 5.0 servers. However, some new features of SourceOffSite 5.0 may not be available when used in conjunction with older versions of the software.
Support for Side By Side Installation: Both SourceOffSite 5 Client and SourceOffSite 5 Server can be installed along side previous versions of SourceOffSite. Users can choose to run legacy versions of the client and server to suit their development needs.
No Update for the SourceOffSite Command Line Client and non-Windows Platforms: The SourceOffSite 5 Client currently contains a Graphical User Interface (GUI) client as well as an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) client used within the Microsoft family of development tools. SOS 5 does not currently contain an updated command line client. A SourceOffSite 5 command line client may be released in the future. Users requiring a CLC or non-Windows client can still use SOS Client 4.2 to access the SourceOffSite 5 Server.
Serial Numbers: Serial numbers from previous versions will not work with SOS 5.0. If you have older version serial numbers, you must upgrade your serial numbers before using SOS 5.0. Please visit csp.sourcegear.com for more information.
Encryption Keys: Encryption keys created in previous version of SourceOffSite may or may not be compatible with SOS 5.0. Encryption keys now recognize fully qualified domain names (FQDN). If the client connection must enter a FQDN to connect, a new key must be generated matching this connection string. If the client connection is a machine name only, no new key need be generated.
SourceOffSite Server Log settings: Since SourceOffSite 5 Logging went to a new file based model, any current log file settings used within SourceOffSite 4.2 will not converted to SourceOffSite 5, and must be manually configured within the SosService.exe.config file.

License and Contact Information

Technical Support: Technical support, including answers to frequently asked questions, is available from our support site at support.sourcegear.com.
License Issues: SourceOffSite is licensed per user. If you have three people who use SourceOffSite, you need to purchase three licenses: one license for each of those three people. Each user may install the SourceOffSite Client on multiple machines as needed. The SourceOffSite Server will limit the number of users to the number of licenses purchased. Please see the SourceOffSite license agreement for specific details.
Legal Notice: To use SourceOffSite, you must also be a licensed user of Visual SourceSafe. Please refer to your Microsoft SourceSafe license agreement for specific details. SourceOffSite facilitates access to a SourceSafe database from a machine where SourceSafe itself has not been installed. However, it is important to remember that SourceOffSite is a technological substitute for SourceSafe, but it is not a legal substitute. To access a SourceSafe database, you must be a licensed user of Visual SourceSafe, regardless of the means you use to obtain that access.

The SourceOffSite Server includes file logging software by the Apache Software Foundation.

The SourceOffSite Client uses The 2007 Office Fluent User Interface software from Microsoft. The 2007 Microsoft Office Fluent User Interface is subject to protection under U.S. and international intellectual property laws and is used by SourceGear under license from Microsoft.

SourceOffSite is a trademark of SourceGear LLC. Windows and SourceSafe are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Visual SourceSafe is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.