Pop-up dialog with option to pull when creating branch at a branch tip
I have several team members who infrequently make contributions to our team's Git repository.
The branching workflow we use means that they will almost always create a new branch for their contributions.
A continually reoccurring issue is that they do not remember to do a pull before they create their new branch, because they contribute so infrequently.
This obviously leads to people working on outdated code and has also caused a fair number of messy merge conflicts.
So it would be very nice if SmartGit had an optional feature to remind such users that their branches might be out of date when they are creating a local branch at a branch tip.
If the user...
- right-clicks a branch tip in the 'Graph' pane, picks 'Check Out', selects 'Create local branch' in the pop-up dialog, and clicks the 'Checkout' button
- or, right-clicks 'Local Branches' in the 'Branches' pane, picks 'Add Branch...', enters a new name in the pop-up dialog, and then clicks the 'Add Branch & Checkout' or 'Add Branch' buttons'
- or, opens the 'Branch' menu, picks 'Add Branch...', enters a new name in the pop-up dialog, and then clicks the 'Add Branch & Checkout' or 'Add Branch' buttons'
- or, presses F7, picks 'Add Branch...', enters a new name in the pop-up dialog, and then clicks the 'Add Branch & Checkout' or 'Add Branch' buttons'
...then a second pop-up dialog appears like this (where More Options is the same as the 'Pull' pop-up dialog):
I am imagining that 'Edit' > 'Preferences' would have a settings checkbox somewhere like 'Show pop-up dialog for optional pull before creating branch at a branch tip'.
Checking 'Don't show again (always Use Local)' would ensure that preference is unchecked.
This reminder pop-up dialog would be a massive help for infrequent contributors.
Customer support service by UserEcho
Hello Marc and Thomas,
I do not know if you get some type of notification for replies on older topics.
So this might going out into the ether, but do either of you have any feedback for me on the likelihood of my request being implemented?
I see that it has been several months since any suggestions were accepted and implemented.
So I am left wondering if there is interest in my idea, but it is just waiting for an appropriate point in the development schedule to be incorporated, or if my request never had any hope of being accepted.
I would appreciate any feedback you could provide.
And thank you either way.
ATM I would consider the likelihood of implementing quite low as the request seems to be very specific for your workflow.
Yes I can see how that might be the case.
I have seen this happen with many people new to Git--during my time getting my EE degree, and now, working as a test engineer.
So in my mind, it seems like a common enough pitfall for beginners that a decent number of people might appreciate this feature.
Particularly those who only code on occasion, but are not really employed as programmers, as is fairly common in integration/system testing for embedded systems and PLC hardware.
I do not have a great feel for SmartGit's customer base.
At my job site, SmartGit seems to be used more as a way to keep things simple and minimize the need to learn the inner workings of Git on teams that are primarily composed of engineers and technicians.
Perhaps it is instead mainly targeting power users who are looking to save time versus trying to manage large projects through the CLI.
Whatever the case, I appreciate your consideration and taking the time to give me your honest feedback.
It seems as though I will need to do some more investigation about why this has been such a common issue on our team; then brainstorm about possible changes to our workflow or other strategies to help mitigate the problem.
Maybe instead of creating branches, you should take a look at SmartGit's Standard window and its Feature commands.
Will look into that. Thanks!