Remove svn external dependencies, and integrate the current revisions into my repo

Question

One repository that mine has been depending on decided to delete the folders that my externals were set to. The next time that I tried updating my repository, TortoiseSVN would complain that the affected externals could not be found at their URL. I can still get them by setting the revision of each external to what it was before they were deleted. It seems like the purpose of using externals (pulling remote updates) is now defeated, and I'd like to integrate the individual externalized files into my own repo.

How can I remove the external properties, and then check in the relevant files into my own repository? Trying to remove the external properties from the top folder, checking out the changes, then updating will cause the previous external folders (and their files) to be removed from my repository.

Answer 1

The easiest way will be to:

1. svn propdel your svn:external definitions.
2. svn commit this, and svn up
3. svn export <external@rev>
4. svn add …
5. svn commit

Answer 2

If you want to be able to change those files then yes, you have to have them in some repository, and that repository may as well be your very same. To remove externals just delete svn:externals property. Folders will not be automatically deleted, which is good, because now you can just add files in these folders, like they are any other files.

If you don't actually need to change those files you can still have your externals, but you have to "peg" them to latest revision where they were still available.