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I have a directory with the following, which I'm trying to check into Subversion:

foo.html
foo.html --> index.html

That is to say, index.html is a symlink to foo.html. (Yes, I know this is silly, but we have to do it because reasons.)

foo.html is checked in as

http://svn.example.org/source/svn_repos/myproject/branches/1.0/foo.html

I'm trying to replace the symlink with an external. After deleting the symlink, I've tried both of the following:

svn propset svn:externals "foo.html index.html"
svn propset svn:externals "./foo.html index.html"

but on an update both produce

svn: warning: W125002: Unrecognized format for the relative external URL

According to a literal reading of the documentation ("Relative to the URL of the directory on which the svn:externals property is set"), I tried

svn propset svn:externals "../foo.html index.html"

but on an update, this (unsurprisingly) produces:

svn: warning: W170000: URL 'http://svn.example.org/source/svn_repos/myproject/branches/foo.html' 
    at revision 12345 doesn't exist

Finally, I tried this --

svn propset svn:externals "../1.0/foo.html index.html"

-- which does work, but doesn't actually do what I want, insofar as, next time I do an svn copy to create say a 1.1 branch, branches/1.1/index.html is going to still (mistakenly) point to branches/1.0/foo.html.

Is there a syntax that will actually get me a relative path to the current directory, or is this just not possible?

David Moles
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1 Answers1

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It's just not possible. Read the manual about SVN Externals Definition and you'll see that what you're trying to do is not present in what can be done with externals. Externals are not symbolic links.

JonS
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  • While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. – GuilhE Aug 11 '15 at 00:26
  • I did answer the question. The link is for further reference. – JonS Aug 12 '15 at 19:21