INFO: End of Line Character Settings for Visual SourceSafe

The MS-DOS (including WINDOWS), UNIX, and Macintosh operating systems all use different characters to designate the end of a line within a text file.

• MS-DOS and WINDOWS: Use a Carriage Return/Line Feed combination (CR/LF).
• UNIX: Uses a Line Feed only (LF).
• MAC: Uses a Carriage Return only (CR).

Visual SourceSafe always stores files internally using the CR/LF character combination. This means that when you are working with a Macintosh or UNIX operating system, SourceSafe has to translate the CR/LF combination into the appropriate End-Of-Line character (EOL) when you get or check out a file. SourceSafe also has to translate the EOL character back into the CR/LF combination when you check the file back in.

SourceSafe is designed this way so that UNIX, Macintosh, and PC users can all check the same files in and out and always see the file displayed correctly.

Visual SourceSafe translates the CR/LF characters into the appropriate EOL character when you get or check out a file. It changes the EOL character back into a CR/LF combination when you check the file back in.

It's important to notice that in this one instance, SourceSafe alters the contents of your text file. While this type of change is necessary for text files, it would cause unpredictable results for binary files. Therefore, this operation is never performed on a binary file.

You can change this default behavior by adding the EOL switch in the user's Ss.ini file. You can set the EOL variable to either an "r" (Carriage Return), "n" (Line Feed), or "rn" (Carriage Return/Line Feed). For example: This forces SourceSafe to translate the CR/LF combination into a line feed when you get or check out a file.

You can also accomplish this by using the -g switch from the command line. The syntax is as follows: For Example: This forces SourceSafe to translate the CR/LF combination into a carriage return when you get or check out a file.