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I'm doing a checkout from a rather large remote repository ( ~ 5 GB ). However, in some cases, the client already has some if not all of those files on this local computer, but those files are unmanaged ( in no repository of any kind ). Is there any way to minimize the amount of files to download for the client?

Note that I use a client written in C# using SharpSVN. The answer doesn't need to show how to do it in C# using SharpSVN (altho that would be ideal), I'm fine with the bare subversion commands, I'm just pointing it out in case it matters.

Thanks in advance for any answers.

Stuffy
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    If they're unmanaged, how would SVN even know how/when/why to trust the local file? I suspect the answer is a cold, hard, No. – DonBoitnott Mar 13 '14 at 15:33
  • If thats really the case, what would be a better version management system to deal with such scenarios? – Stuffy Mar 13 '14 at 15:36
  • I've only used SVN, so I can't really comment on others specifically. But it seems to me that for integrity's sake, they should all demand such control. I wonder if part of your problem is that you have such a large single repository. Why not smaller ones that you can check out individually? – DonBoitnott Mar 13 '14 at 15:38
  • possible duplicate of [How to convert an existing directory to an Svn WC w/o replacing local files?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/861005/how-to-convert-an-existing-directory-to-an-svn-wc-w-o-replacing-local-files) – sleske Mar 13 '14 at 15:39
  • @sleske I already saw the question you posted. But the problem stated there is exactly the opposite of mine. – Stuffy Mar 13 '14 at 15:46
  • @Stuffy: I think it *is* the same problem: The question says "The host I'm checking out to already has a complete copy of the data in the repository[...]the files weren't checked out directly from the repo" Your question: "the client already has some if not all of those files on this local computer". – sleske Mar 13 '14 at 16:18

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No, as any version control system would need to check out the controlled copies to check if any existing, non controlled file should be used instead of its versioned counterpart.

Moreover, what criteria should it use to perform such a choice? Prefer the newest file? What if your Subversion server and the client machine are not synchronized or if files are copied in such a way as to lose their original timestamp?

The best solution would be to ensure that your client files are put under version control; if that is not possible check everything out and compare the resulting working copy with your client files with a tool such as WinMerge or Meld.

Nicola Musatti
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