Within our company, we frequently utilize numerous VC files in our daily operations. To streamline access and enhance version control, we are looking to create a dedicated folder in Git or another version-controlled resource. This centralized repository will facilitate the convenient retrieval of all assets.
I attempted to link the Git repository to Visual Components’ sources by specifying the path, but unfortunately, encountered difficulties.
You can either add a local file system folder, or you need a HTTPS file server.
Adding a special folder like a mapped network drive or Dropbox etc. is also possible but you may run into issues.
VC automatically detects changes in the file system sources (if the correct OS events are provided), but content of HTTP sources are only checked at startup or if user chooses to refresh the source(s).
A HTTP server source needs a catalog.xml file which describes all the models in that source and their metadata. You can check how the legacy library sources have been set up (click Options on that Sources screen) and download the catalog.xml and the vcmx models it refers to also with a normal web browser.
You could of course generate the catalog.xml automatically upon request using server-side scripting and the URLs it refers to can also be served in any way you wish.
A major obstacle to setting up your own HTTP server is that to collect the metadata for the catalog.xml you will need to use VC itself. Preferably IModelMetadata in .NET API or Item objects from the eCat database.
