It often happens that you already have the files you need in another project in your repository, and you simply want to copy them across. You could simply copy the files and add them as described above, but that would not give you any history. And if you subsequently fix a bug in the original files, you can only merge the fix automatically if the new copy is related to the original in Subversion.

The easiest way to copy files and folders from within a working copy is to use the right drag menu. When you right drag a file or folder from one working copy to another, or even within the same folder, a context menu appears when you release the mouse.

Figure 4.28. Right drag menu for a directory under version control

Now you can copy existing versioned content to a new location, possibly renaming it at the same time.

You can also copy or move versioned files within a working copy, or between two working copies, using the familiar cut-and-paste method. Use the standard Windows Copy or Cut to copy one or more versioned items to the clipboard. If the clipboard contains such versioned items, you can then use TortoiseSVN → Paste (note: not the standard Windows Paste) to copy or move those items to the new working copy location.

You can copy files and folders from your working copy to another location in the repository using TortoiseSVN → Branch/Tag. Refer to Section 4.19.1, “Creating a Branch or Tag” to find out more.

You can locate an older version of a file or folder in the log dialog and copy it to a new location in the repository directly from the log dialog using Context menu → Create branch/tag from revision. Refer to Section 4.9.3, “Getting Additional Information” to find out more.

You can also use the repository browser to locate content you want, and copy it into your working copy directly from the repository, or copy between two locations within the repository. Refer to Section 4.24, “The Repository Browser” to find out more.

Cannot copy between repositories

Whilst you can copy or move files and folders within a repository, you cannot copy or move from one repository to another while preserving history using TortoiseSVN. Not even if the repositories live on the same server. All you can do is copy the content in its current state and add it as new content to the second repository. If you are uncertain whether two URLs on the same server refer to the same or different repositories, use the repo browser to open one URL and find out where the repository root is. If you can see both locations in one repo browser window then they are in the same repository.