Most projects start with a prototyping phase or are based on skeleton code generated by an IDE such as Xcode or Eclipse and will have existing files that need to be placed under version control.
In order to place your project under version control you will need to import your existing files and folders into your Subversion repository:
Use the repository browser to locate and select the folder into which your files should be imported.
Select the File > Import… menu item.
Alternatively, either right-click on the receiving folder and select Import… from the action menu, or click the Import button in the toolbar:
A standard file panel is displayed. Select the file or folder to import and click the Import... button.
The Import Files and Folders window is displayed.
You can specify a different name for the imported file or folder in the Import As field.
You can optionally check out a working copy immediately after the import completes.
Do this by selecting Check out to same location… or Check out working copy into new folder from the popup list in the After Import section as appropriate.
Click the Import button.
You will be prompted for a log message. Optionally enter text describing why you are importing the files before clicking Commit.
The resultant repository revision will be visible in the repository's transcript following successful completion of the import.
Be aware that Subversion will import all files which do not match the global ignore list.
As a result you should be careful to remove all temporary files which should not be placed under version control (such as those generated by compilers and linkers) from your project before proceeding with the import.
You can also drag a file or folder from the Finder to import it. The dragged item will be imported into the folder onto which it was dropped.
Hold down the Option (⌥) key to display additional import options when you drop a file or folder onto the repository browser.
Once you have imported your files you will need to check out a working copy before you can edit them.