Each new source code repository created in Plastic SCM will begin with a root branch named Main. Consider the code in the form of a tree with Main as the trunk of your tree from which new branches will be created.

Branches can be easily created using the interactive Branch Explorer. Simply right click on the Main branch. The menu that appears is context specific, meaning it only displays the appropriate branch actions that are available. Select option "Create child branch…" and a new branch will be created. To start working in the new branch, open the branch menu and select option "Switch workspace to this branch…" Now, any changes you make will be saved into your new branch.

The Branch Explorer is useful for displaying branch information. In addition, Branch Explorer displays label points, represented by the green lines, and changesets containing the code check-in information which are represented by the blue blocks. This is shown in the graphic above with the parallel task branches, the label "Release 10" which acts as a Baseline for our new branches, and the various changesets in each branch which show how a branch has changed over time.

Over time the codeline will change. Branch Explorer can be used to quickly view the evolution of the changes. Changes are represented by a horizontal timeline which shows both where, when and how often changes are being made — important information for managing project deadlines and coordinating with other teams such as the QA group.

The Branch Explorer offers additional usability features such as a search, for locating a branch by name, and conditional formatting. Branches can be highlighted based on their name, or other properties to indicate important information to other users much in the same way flags are used in Email's to indicate priority. For example, a red highlight could indicate a high priority task or an orange highlight could indicate a branch ready for integration, meaning that changes in the branch are ready to be merged back to the Main branch. In the above graphic a conditional format is used to highlight branches that have not yet been integrated.

Before performing any integration, best practice recommendation is to review all the changes in the branch to be merged. The quick and easy way to do this is with the Branch Explorer. Right click on the branch that contains the changes and select "Compare branch content…".

The Code Review tool will open and list all of the changes made just on that one branch. Any item in the list can be clicked on and a Differences will be performed on the item and displayed in the code review tool. Incorporating code reviews into the software development workflow is easily managed with Plastic SCM.

The Branch Explorer allows interaction with changesets. When a user right clicks on a blue block that represents a changeset, a context menu appears that will display the allowable changeset actions. A specific changeset on a branch can be simply viewed by right clicking on the blue changeset block and selecting "Show Changeset Content" option.

Merging can be triggered from the branch context menu. When a merge is completed, the branch explorer represents the event with a dashed line pointing from the source branch to the destination branch. A completed merge always results in a new changeset so that the contents of the merge can be easily viewed, compared and even subtracted.

Remember the conditional formatting that displayed highlights on branches pending integration? When a branch has been merged it no longer displays the highlight which is automatically reflected in the Branch Explorer when a merge has been completed.

As additional branches are created, changed and integrated, the Branch Explorer uses visual cues, such as the changeset blocks and dashed merge lines, to show the evolution of the codeline over time and provide insight into the state of each branch.

Double clicking on a merge line will display all of the files and directories contained in the merge.

At any point in time, e.g. a release, a label can be created to capture a baseline which will store the current state of the codeline. Labels are shown in the above graphic as the green line and a new label called "Release 11" has been added. The label position in the Branch Explorer is an indicator of both when it was created and what the label contains. We can see just by looking at the Branch Explorer that our Release 11 label will contain completed tasks from two branches.

Branch Explorer simplifies the complexity of software configuration management because additions, modifications and integration is fast and easy. Plastic SCM is designed to properly support parallel development and release management. Plastic SCM allows software developers to implement a feature-rich change and configuration management workflow which speeds development, improves software quality and secures valuable code.