Flownex Version Control with GIT Client

Flownex 2024 has added version control in the form of a Git Client. In Git, all versions of a project and related files are stored in either a local or a remote repository (aka “repo”). This benefits the user as we are able to revert to older versions of a project merge changes made by multiple users, create branches within a design, and capture all changes in a log. The repository can also function as a form of backup.

Accessing the Git Client

There are two ways to access Flownex’ Git client. We can either navigate directly to the executable: C:\Program Files\Flownex SE X.X.X.XXXX\GitClient.exe, or we can open the Git client from the Flownex GUI itself.

To open the GIT client we will want to navigate to the configuration tab in the Flownex GUI and click on “Open Git Client”.

Prerequisites for Setting Up a Local Git Repository

Before we can begin storing versions of our project we want to create a repository. The first thing we must do is specify the Local Repository Credentials found in the settings tab.

The Flownex Git utility automatically records modifications and changes made to a network model. Through the Command History settings, we can omit certain user actions from the recording. Typical exclusions include:

• “Open page”
• “Deselect all”
• “Select”
• “Close page”

There is further reading on the settings customizations in section 24.1 of the Flownex General User Manual.

Creating a Git Repository

We will want to define our repository directory location in the Path or Repository field found near the top of the Git Client GUI. In this example I use the location E:\Tech Tips\5.31.2024.

If a valid Git repo does not already exist at this location we will click “Create” to make one. A new repo with a master branch will be created and an initial commit will also be performed when we click create.

Committing Changes to Git Repository

Once we’ve defined our GIT repo location we can create and commit the current version of our Flownex network. This can be done by clicking “Save and Commit” in the Flownex GUI in the Configuration Ribbon.

This will save our project and open the Git client. We should see the command history for any changes since the previous commit. At this point we can add any notes and commit our changes to the Git repository. Then we should click “Commit” to save.

Note that if we haven’t already defined our user credentials (found in the Settings tab of the Git Client GUI), we will get an error when trying to commit or create the repository.

Reverting to an Older Version

Through the Git client it is now quite simple to roll back to a previous version of a project.

To roll back to an older version of a project we should first ensure that the Flownex project in question is closed. Next, we will launch the standalone Flownex Git Client

We will need to navigate to our Git repo and then we can simply right-click on the version of the project which we’re reverting to and select “Revert to this Version”.

All changes after the selected version will be reverted without changing affecting the Git log. In this case, I can re-open the project and will see that the inlet pipe length has reverted to it’s original 100 m length.

Additional Operations

Other actions and operations available through the Git Client are described below. We can find more detailed information on these in section 24.2 and 24.3 of the Flownex General User Manual.

• Export this Version
  • Used to export a copy of a selected version of a project.
• Create and Switch to Branch
  • Used to create new version branches within a given master.
• Switching between Branches
  • Users are able to switch between branches for a given project.
• Merging Branches
  • This action will merge changes captured from separate branches into a specified “To” branch.
• Add Remote and Push
  • This function will push existing local repo branches to a remote repo.
• Clone
  • Used to copy a remote repo to a local location.
• Fetch and Merge (Pull)
  • Retrieves changes from a remote repo after a clone or previous fetch.
• Push
  • Updates all locally made changes to the remote repo.
• Track Remote Branches as Local
  • This option allows for tracking a non-master branch from a cloned or fetched remote repo.

Thanks for reading through this blog post, we hope you found some information that was helpful. If you would like to learn more about Flownex version control you can do so on our website here.

Have other questions or looking for a quote? Contact us or call (480)813-4884 to get in touch with one of our engineering experts today.