web-ide.md

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Contribute using Gitlab Web IDE

This shows how to use Gitlab Web IDE to add or edit a howto-card:

Before you start, please make sure that you have the correct access rights to edit the repository.

Note: If you do not have the rights to edit the repository, you can either ask for permissions by contacting the repository maintainers, or use your own copy of the repository (called a fork). Please follow these instructions to obtain your copy (fork). You can then mirror the fork automatically to keep in sync.

A clear difference between editing a file in a git-tracked repository compared to a live document is that you can make an edit directly, and then suggesting the change. You can make this edit on your own version (called a branch), and then request to merge your changes into the main repository (through opening a merge request).

Select the development version (branch)

Before making an edit, please follow the instructions in the README.md file. Often, a standard development scheme is followed. For instance, there is a master branch (usually referred to as the stable version of the repository) and a develop branch (the unstable development version of the repository). There can also be lots of other versions in the same repository. In order to select the development version (develop branch), click on the drop-down menu and select develop

The page will refresh and show the repository contents. On the top left of the page, you can see that the develop branch has been selected.

Open the web editor (Web IDE)

You can now open the web editor (integrated development environment or IDE) by clicking on the Web IDE button:

Now, you can make changes to the file you wish. As an example, we will make a change to the file privacy_policy.md. Select the file privacy_policy.md from the list on the left.

Now, edit the file the way you want. For instance. we add a line with test in the first section:

Note: You can see a green line on the left side of it, indicating that a new line has been added. The vertical line turns blue if a line is edited.

Committing your change

As already mentioned, a change has to be proposed, and will then be reviewed. The system used is through merge requests. Now, as you have edited the file, you can see that on the top left corner of the window, a blue circle with a number appeared on the Source Control button:

The number of commits are indicated in the blue circle on the Source Control button.

Note: There is no Save button. You save your work by committing changes.

When clicking on Commit..., the page changes to display the changes made:

You can see that a green line has been added on the right column. The left column displays the original file (of the develop branch).

On the top left corner, you can see a form for committing the change. Here, you have to select Commit to new branch by clicking on the down arrow button. This is important.

Once you click on the Commit to new branch button, type the name of your new branch and press Enter to accept or Escape to cancel.

You can also add a specific commit message to label the change properly. The name of the branch is generated automatically. You can, if you want, change it as well.

Then, select Start a new request when you are ready to start the submission process and hit the Commit button.

Submitting your merge request

After creating the commit, the following pop-up window on the bottom right corner of your screen is going to indicate you that your changes have been commited. Click on the blue Create MR button to start your Merge Request.

You will be directed to the New merge request page. This page allows you to merge your changes with the target branch.

Please make sure that you see that you are proposing to merge your branch (version) into the develop branch. You can change your target branch by clicking on the Change branches button. This is shown at the top of the page:

You can then fill our the merge request submission form and select, for instance, an Assignee.

Good practice is to select Delete source branch when merge request is accepted.

Under Changes, you can see the added line:

All that is left now is to submit the merge request by clicking on Create merge request. That is it.