How To: Copy a File from One VSS Project to Another

To COPY a file in VSS Explorer:

1.
Right-click the file in project A and hold. 2.
Drag it to project B. 3.
Drop it. 4.
Click Share and Branch.

I don't know why SourceSafe's creators chose to use Share &
Branch
 when the perfectly acceptable Copy was
available... but I can certainly guess.

For clues, I visited the original OneTree Software documentation for SourceSafe. 
In the section regarding Shared Files, I found this gem: "SourceSafe projects
are very analogous to operation system directories and folders. However, projects
have one valuable power that directories lack. Whereas every file in your operating
system exists uniquely in one directory, a SourceSafe file can exist in many different
projects at once!"

Exclamation point! As a writer, I can assure you that an exclamation point is a truly
meaningful (and telling!) entity. We don't just throw exclamation points around
in shipping docs (!) like we do in our blogs!  In fact, I challenge you
to find one exclamation point in the entire Visual Studio and .NET Framework documentation
that is used for emphasis (in text).

I believe [conspiratorial voice here] that the choice of the verb Share and
thus Share and Branch* and thus the exclamation point(!) was
the direct result of a zealous, implementation detail-blinded software development
team's attempt to differentiate and delineate its product and conceptual user model from
other applications. The subtext of this paragraph is, 'Share is not the same
as Shortcut.  SHARE DOES NOT EQUAL SHORTCUT. We're different from Windows.' 
And to pound that point home, I'm guessing that SourceSafe's creators chose to use
the Share and Branch command verb (or its equivalent*) over
the more universally understood and intuitive alternative: Copy
If my assumption is correct, this is one of the worst UI text blunders in history. 
I reserve the right to be wrong and invite your corrections, especially if you're
a member of the original SourceSafe design team (c'mon, post as Anonymous). :-)

*In early versions of SourceSafe, Branch was known as Separate.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

הודעה
זו מסופקת "כפי שהיא"
ללא כל אחריות או
חיובים, ואינה נותנת
לך זכויות כלשה.