🚀 First Steps in Perforce: A Beginner's Guide

Welcome to your journey with Perforce! This guide will walk you through the essential tasks you'll perform using the P4V client. Let's dive in!

📋 Table of Contents

1. Creating a Workspace
2. Managing .p4ignore Files
3. Navigating Your Workspace
4. Editing Files
5. Adding Files
6. Deleting Files
7. Working with Streams
8. Best Practices

Official Perforce Video: Perforce Helix Core Beginner’s Guide: How to Create a Workspace

🏗️ Creating Your Workspace

Before you can start working with files, you need to set up your workspace. A workspace is your personal working area where you interact with files from the Perforce server.

Steps to Create a Workspace:

1. Open P4V: Launch the Perforce Visual Client

2. Connect to the Server:

   • If not already connected, go to Connection > Connect to Server
   • Enter your server address, username, and password

3. Create a New Workspace:

   • Go to Connection > New Workspace
   • Or use the shortcut (when inside the Workspaces context window): Ctrl + N (Windows) or Cmd + N (macOS)

4. Configure Workspace Settings:

   • Name: Enter a unique name for your workspace (e.g., "Username_ProjectName_Machine")
     • It is recommended to begin all workspaces with your abc123 username
   • Root: Choose a local directory for your workspace files
   • Stream: Select the appropriate stream for your project (e.g., "//depot/main")
   • Description: Add a brief description of your workspace's purpose

5. Set Workspace View:

   • This defines which parts of the depot you want in your workspace
   • For most users, the default view based on the selected stream is sufficient

6. Advanced Options:

   • Configure options like line-ending settings or submit options as needed
     • Tick on Modtime under Advanced tab
     • Tick on Rmdir under Advanced tab

7. Create Workspace:

   • Click 'OK' to create your workspace

8. Initial Sync:

   • After creating the workspace, you'll be prompted to sync files
   • This downloads the current versions of files to your local workspace

🛠 Managing .p4ignore Files

Setting Up .p4ignore Support

1. Enable .p4ignore Support:

   • Open Command Prompt as administrator

   • Type setx P4IGNORE .p4ignore and press Enter

   • Alternative Method: Edit System Environment Variables:

     • Search your computer for an option to 'Edit the system environment variables'
     • Under 'System variables', click 'New'
     • For 'Variable name', enter P4IGNORE
     • For 'Variable value', enter .p4ignore
     • Click 'OK' on all windows to save the changes
     • Restart any open command prompts or applications for the change to take effect

2. Create a .p4ignore File:

   • In your workspace root, create a file named .p4ignore
   • Add patterns for files to ignore, for example:

# Ignore temporary files
*.tmp

# Ignore build directory
build/

# Ignore all files in temp directories
temp/**

🗺 Navigating Your Workspace

Your workspace is your local copy of files from the server. Here's how to navigate it efficiently:

👀 Viewing Your Files

1. Open the Workspace Tree tab:

   • Menu: View > Workspace Tree
   • Shortcut: Ctrl + 0 (Windows) or Cmd + 0 (macOS)

   

Official Perforce Video: Perforce Helix Core Beginner’s Guide: Submitting, Syncing, and Managing File Changes

🔄 Syncing to the Latest Version

• Right-click your workspace and choose Get Latest Revision

• Shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + G (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + G (macOS)

  

🔒 Checking Out Files

• Right-click a file and select Check Out

• Shortcut: Ctrl + E (Windows) or Cmd + E (macOS)

  

📤 Submitting Changes

1. Go to the Pending tab

2. Right-click your changelist and select Submit

3. Enter a detailed description

4. Click Submit

   

✏️ Editing Files

1. Check Out: Right-click the file and select 'Check Out'
2. Edit: Make your changes using your preferred editor
3. Submit: Right-click the edited file and select 'Submit'

📁 Adding Files

1. Create or Place Files in your workspace

2. In P4V, right-click and select Mark for Add

3. Submit the changelist to add files to the depot

   

Official Perforce Video: Perforce Helix Core Beginner’s Guide: Undoing Changes and Fixing Deleted Files

🗑 Deleting Files

1. Locate Files: In the Depot tab, find the file(s) you want to delete
2. Mark for Deletion: Right-click and choose "Delete"
3. Submit the Change:
   • Go to the Pending tab
   • Right-click the changelist and select "Submit"
   • Enter a description explaining the deletion
4. Verify: Check both the Depot tab and your local workspace to ensure the files are gone

🌊 Working with Streams

Streams are purpose-defined branches that make managing changes easier.

1. View Stream Structure:

   • Open the Stream Graph tab: View > Stream Graph or Alt + 7

2. Switch Streams:

   • Right-click your workspace, choose "Edit Workspace"
   • Select the desired stream
   • Or drag the computer icon in the Stream Graph

   

3. Merge Changes:

   • Right-click the target stream and select 'Merge/Integrate'
   • Follow prompts to resolve conflicts

   

💡 Best Practices

1. Sync Frequently: Get the latest version before starting work
2. Check Out Wisely: Only check out necessary files
3. Review Changes: Use "Revert If Unchanged" before submitting
4. Descriptive Submissions: Always provide clear commit messages
5. Communicate: Keep your team informed about significant changes
6. Regular Syncs: Update your workspace often to minimize conflicts