Using Subversion for graphic design files and other binary assets
Last Updated on Monday, 25 January 2010 09:32 Written by Anatoly Paraev Monday, 25 January 2010 11:25
Historically version control systems such as Subversion have mostly been used by programmers for source code management.
However the concept of version control is obviously useful for more than just source code - any digital assets that are modified more than once will benifit from being version-controlled. And Subverion is one of the best tools for the job. The features that make SVN a great tool for binary assets are:
- proper handling of binary data: unlike CVS and many distributed version control systems, SVN handles binary files very efficiently. It only stores and transmits the difference between versions, so it's perfectly suitable for any binary assets such as images, documents, photos and so on.
- centralized architecture: distributed systems are great for text files that can be modified in multiple places and then easily merged, but in the case of binary files it's better to limit modifications to one place only as merging generally does not work on binary files
- support for file locks: centralized architecture also allows for centralized file locks that prevent modifications in multiple locations, so they are crucial for binary files
- huge existing installation base: lots of web agencies and creative teams already use Subversion for source code, so designers and other non-technical team members can start using Subversion repositories straight away, without the need to set up one or to purchase an additional server.
Our company PixelNovel is working hard to get graphic designers to use and love Subversion.
To help creative people to start benefiting from Subversion we at PixelNovel build SVN clients that are as easy to understand and use as possible.
Currently our main product is Timeline - a Subversion plug-in for Photoshop. In Timeline, we have taken a number of steps to make Subversion designer-friendly:
- simplified initial set-up: the recommended way to start working with Subversion is to import all project files into a repository and then to check them out into a different location called working copy. We found that these steps put off a lot of designers - importing a huge design project (which may contain gigabytes of data) can be quite time consuming. Duplicating all project files also seemed unattractive for the same reasons. So we simplified the initial set-up in Timeline. Timeline users don't need to import their files into a repository and then check them out into a different location to create a working copy. In Timeline we just convert the existing project folder into a working copy. This helps us to avoid importing and duplicating all the files.
- visual feedback: another thing that we do in Timeline - we display previews of each version of graphic files. This gives our users a visual feedback of what was changed in this version. For many creative minds it works much better than text comments:
Displaying previews of each version works better than text comments for graphic files
- integration into graphic software and familiar look-and-feel: our subversion client works as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and has a user interface that resembles Photoshop - this makes it easier for designers to understand how Timeline works.
Integrating Timeline into Photoshop makes it easier to use for graphic designers
We are also working on the plug-ins for other design software packages, and we hope that more and more creative professionals will start appreciating the power and beauty of Subversion.
Comments (3)
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written by Anatoly Paraev, January 25, 2010
We will think about it, though I'm not sure if CorelDraw has any SDK for plug-in development.
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Thanks.