Folders skipped when updating SVN?

Question

When updating my checked out directory with TortoiseSVN, some subfolders are listed as "Skipped" even though I know there are updates. Even if I try to update that folder alone it will say "Skipped", but still sit there and download MBs of updates.

Answer 1

I have. It generally means something was renamed or deleted in one branch and modified in another. (In your case, the repo and your working copy.) Subversion doesn't handle renames as well as I wish it did. :(

Essentially, this is a conflict -- but svn doesn't treat it like one, kind of. And I think it may behave differently in 1.6 (or maybe 1.5); what version are you using?

You'll have to go looking through the history a bit, along with your local modifications in your working copy and see what files and directories have moved around on either side. Once you've determined that, you can merge the bits and pieces together and move on.

Answer 2

Here's a scenario where you would get the "Skipped..." message upon svn update:

1. checkout a project to, say, C:\MyProject.
2. later on, you checkout a subolfer of MyProject (e.g., MyProject/Rqmts) to C:\MyProjects\Rqmts.
3. now when you run svn update on c:\MyProject, it will skip C:\MyProjects\Rqmts.

In this case, the solution is simple:

• delete the skipped folder (e.g., C:\MyProjects\Rqmts). Be careful not to svn delete (especially if you're using a svn client like subeclipse).
• run svn update on C:\MyProjects again. Folder C:\MyProjects\Rqmts will be added to your working copy.