Thank you for the answers Lutz and Craig,0

If the binaries are not stored they need to be regenerated when you check out a branch, but only if the associated text file changes during the checkout. Do you know a trick to automate this step? Perhaps git has a hook that makes this easy.

Another approach is described in an article that explains how to make Git preserve specific files while merging. This way you can store VFP binary files and keep git from trying to merge them during a merge operation. It also avoids having to regenerate them. The article is https://medium.com/@porteneuve/how-to-make-git-preserve-specific-files-while-merging-18c92343826b#.25075jakz It requires you to indicate a process that does nothing and returns errorlevel 0. I found that a VFP exe works fine.

Alex

>I'm with Craig. Exclude all binaries except that not transformed. Fernandos code works like a spell, no need to store those binaries.
>
>I generate the *.??2 files and the binaries with my tool you find at VFPX. (I dislike binary creation on every checkout / merge / pull. Also it gives an extra layer of security. Also sometimes it's much easier to check old changes against the current version.). There are other posible ways.
>
>To force git to include only usefull files might be a big deal. I've decided to go the other way around. I only include what i like to see in the repo.
>Below is an example for .gitignore to include only that.
>
>

>#note .gitignore works in a the-last-line-wins fashion. So you exclude stuff you have included after it was excluded.
>#exclude general (this means nothing included)
>*.*
>
>#include what we need
>#include general
>#dbx data
>!*.dbf
>!*.cdx
>!*.fpt
>
>!*.dbc
>!*.dc[tx]
>
>#grafics
>!*.bmp
>!*.msk
>!*.ico
>!*.cdr
>!*.cur
>
>#programms
>!*.prg
>!*.fpw
>
>#header
>!*.h
>
>#libs (transformed by FoxBin2prg) [still excluded]
>#!*.vc[xt]
>#!*.pj[xt]
>#!*.fr[xt]
>#!*.mn[xt]
>#!*.sc[xt]
>#!*.lb[xt]
>
>#include FoxBin2prg related stuff
>!*.vc2
>!*.pj2
>!*.fr2
>!*.mn2
>!*.sc2
>!*.lb2
>#!*.d[bc]2
>
>#include special
>#default git
>!*.gitignore
>!/desktop.ini
>
>#diverse
>!*.reg
>!/FoxBin2prg.cfg
>
>#exclude special
>foxuser_9.*
>_command.prg
>*ref.*
>debug*.*
>Sicherungskopie*.*
>include/projsub.h
>
>#exclude special folders at all
>default/
>temp/
>tmp/
>
>bin2txt.*
>
>#but include from there because I do need it :(
>!debuglib.vc2
>!debuglib.*.vc2
>