Key Features

Cross Platform

Based on Nokia’s Qt technology, Bazaar Explorer runs on all popular desktops including GNOME, KDE, Windows and Mac OS X. In each environment, it provides a native look-and-feel and adjusts its menu to meet the UI design guidelines for that platform.

Application Suites

Bazaar Explorer provides most of its functionality by calling out to mini-applications provided by “application suites”, namely the QBzr and bzr-gtk plugins. QBzr is required while bzr-gtk is optional. If both are installed, you can choose which application suite to use.

Location Views

Bazaar Explorer supports 4 kinds of Bazaar locations:

• repositories
• branches
• bound branches (also called heavyweight checkouts in Bazaar 1.x)
• checkouts.

The summary view and actions available depend on the location kind. For example, opening a repository shows the interesting locations nested within it while opening a branch shows the working tree “status” summary.

Change Management

Here’s the most commonly used recipe by Bazaar Explorer users:

1. Open a branch.
2. Change some files.
3. Select Refresh (F5) confirming the overall status.
4. Select Diff (F3) checking the changes.
5. Select Commit (F4).
6. Enter a commit message and select OK.

Remote Locations

While primarily designed for working on local branches, Bazaar Explorer lets you open remote locations, e.g. branches on Launchpad. The set of actions available is masked accordingly.

Settings Management

Bazaar Explorer provides easy access to all of Bazaar’s configuration files. Custom dialogs are provided by the various application suites for nice editing of some of these. For others, a (configurable) text editor is launched.

Troubleshooting

Bazaar Explorer provides easy access to Bazaar’s log file and the Launchpad pages for reporting bugs and asking questions about Bazaar Explorer. A diagnostic mode can also be enabled in which selecting an action simply shows what Bazaar command would actually be run, together with the options and parameters that would be passed to it.

Bookmarks

Locations that you commonly open can be saved as a bookmark. More generally, bookmarks can be added, edited and refreshed. Editing allows:

• removal of unwanted bookmarks
• organisation into folders
• placement of separators.

Repositories are particularly good to bookmark as it’s easy to navigate to branches/checkouts within them - simply double-click on the branch/checkout name.

Tools

Bazar commands, local applications and web sites can be defined as tools. Like bookmarks, tools can be added, edited and refreshed.

Accessories

Bazaar Explorer can be extended via add-ons known as accessories. Each accessory can provide new tools, bookmarks, custom editors, toolbars and more. Personal extensions are stored in your wallet.

An accessory can also be linked to a directory so that project-specific tools (e.g. links to bug trackers) only become available while working on source code for that project.