Tortoisesvn creating a branch and switch

Question

This might be a dumb question but I'm unable to understand:

When we create a new branch, why do we need to 'switch'? What does this 'switch' exactly do? Can't I use the whole repository as I was using earlier without bothering about switch?

Answer 1

Switch changes the association between your working copy and the path on the server. You can branch from your working copy from trunk (for maintenance) and continue hacking away - still on trunk.

Answer 2

Using switch will update your working copy to use the new branch you just created.

As an example, if you create a branch from your trunk, you will probably want to switch your working copy over to the branch you just created so that you can make edits, etc.