GitHub Desktop

GitHub Desktop is one of many third party tools that can be used for accessing web pages hosted on the Artsman Cloud in a git repository. Git is a distributed version-control system. It's great at tracking who made changes to what and when.

To setup access to your specific company web pages via Git, email support@artsman.com with the full name of the employee who will be allowed to make changes to your pages, and their company email address. For security and tracking purposes, only employee specific email addresses are accepted, like "johnsmith@example.com".

To use GitHub Desktop simply download and install the program. Clone the git repository pages to your computer for editing locally. After edits are made Commit and Push to the master branch of the repository directly through GitHub Desktop.

Only previously customized web pages will appear in the Artsman Cloud git repository for your organization. If the page you wish to edit does not appear on your local machine it may not have previously been edited. You'll need to download the default responsive pages and move that desired page to the corresponding folder on your local machine before making edits. Your repository should only contain customized web pages.

Remember to download the latest responsive pages each time before you begin making edits.

 

 

Inital Setup

 

Using GitHub Desktop

Copy GitLab Repository URL

The GitLab Repository URL is needed when cloning the repository locally. The steps below should only need to be done once per repository during the initial setup.

 

Copy GitLab Repository URL

  1. In a browser navigate to https://gitlab.artsman.com

  2. Select the Standard tab
  3. Enter your Email Address and Password

    Login information is requested through the Artsman Support team. If you have not previously been provided access please email the support team. When access is granted an email will be sent directly from GitLab to your email with steps for setting a password and logging in.

  4. Click the repository you wish to clone

  5. Click the blue Clone button
  6. Click the copy button next to the Clone with HTTPS URL

This will copy the URL for the repository to your computers clipboard making it ready to paste into GitHub Desktop for cloning.

 

Cloning Repository to GitHub Desktop

Cloning a Repository to GitHub Desktop

  1. Open GitHub Desktop
  2. Click the arrow next to Current Repository to expand the menu

  3. Click the Add button

  4. Select Clone Repository...

  5. Select the URL tab at the top of the window

  6. Enter the URL copied from the git repository
  7. Select the desired location to save the pages
  8. Click the Clone button

    You may be prompted to enter the your login credentials for the GitLab repository.

The web pages are now copied to your local computer for editing. When editing new pages always make sure to use the latest version of the responsive pages to ensure the page you are working on contains all the latest features.

 

Pull changes from GitHub Desktop

It's important to always start any web page editing by Pulling changes from the existing repository. This ensures any changes made that are not currently in your local repository are pulled to your machine before you begin making edits.

Missing the step of Pulling means you may need to Rebase before completing the process of adding your changes to the repository. Rebasing a repository with conflicting changes requires a deeper understanding of git. For further information please see GitHub online documentation for assistance.

 

Pulling Changes from GitHub Desktop

  1. Open GitHub Desktop

    GitHub Desktop is great at picking up when new pages are available in a repository. Changes are often detected within moments of opening the program and notifications can be seen in the main display.

  2. Click the Pull Origin button to pull changes to your local repository

 

Any changes previously waiting to be pulled will now be in the folder on your local machine. The web pages are ready to be edited.

 

Committing changes to GitHub Desktop

Once web pages have been editing locally they need to be Committed before they are Pushed to the Artsman cloud repository. This allows you to add select changes while continuing to make edits.

 

Committing Changes to GitHub Desktop

  1. Ensure pages that have completed edits are selected

  2. Enter a title and details for the commit

  3. Click the Commit to master button

 

These changes are now ready to be pushed to the repository.

 

Push Changes to GitHub Desktop

Pushing changes moves the pages up to the Artsman git repository. Only pages that have been Committed can be Pushed. Once the pages have been pushed they run through a series of tests before they are available to be accessed by the web listener. To see edits following the test process you many need to clear the cache on the web listener.

 

Pushing Changes to GitHub Desktop

  1. Click the Push origin button

 

Changes have now been added to the online repository. Most changes will appear online within moments of editing. Items that are more deeply cached may require a clear cache and occasionally a restart of the Theatre Manager server. If you do not see your changes after clear the cache in Theatre Manager please contact the support team assistance.