Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) Blog - by Neno Loje : For Developers

Customizing the folders and file extensions automatically excluded

neno — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:21:29 GMT

When adding items to source control a list of excluded folders as well as file extensions is shown. You can customize those defaults in the registry.

Matthew Mitrik has the details:

If the add operation is successfully completed, the list will be saved to the registry.

Order of finding masks to filter:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\[Version]\TeamFoundation\SourceControl\AddOptions\ExcludeMasks
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\[Version]\TeamFoundation\SourceControl\AddOptions\ExcludeMasks

(Thanks to Rich and Matt)

Setup up an e-mail notification on other user's check-ins

neno — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 02:19:19 GMT

Open Alerts Editor (required TFS Power Tools to be installed locally).
Create new alert.
Choose “Check-In of a specific file happens”:
Enter a name for the alert subscription, the destination e-mail address, desired team project name ($/Teamproject), if applicable, as well as your account name (to be excluded).
The “Filter Expression” (2nd tab) looks now similar to:

'Artifacts/Artifact[starts-with(translate(@ServerItem, "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ", "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"), "$/playground")]' <> null AND "Committer" <> 'TFS\neno'

How to revert changes checked into TFS Version Control

neno — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:55:49 GMT

Objective

We did some changes to a file and now want to revert to an older version of that same file. In the concrete scenario we added a method called "Multiply" with changeset 8 and want to go back to the version of changeset 7.

Step-By-Step guide using the UI

Step 1: Get the version of the file you want to revert to into your workspace

Note: verify that the file really contains the version you expect and want to revert back to!

Step 2: Check out the file for editing

Note: You can freely specify a lock here to make sure none else checks in a new version of the file you are just trying to revert

Step 3: Check in the change you just made

Your check-in will generate a version conflict:

This conflict has to appear so that you don't accidently check in old stuff. You now have to confirm that you really want to override the version that is currently checked in with the older version in your workspace.

The conflict is now resolved:

The check-in was aborted due to the conflicts:

Step 4: Check-in again

Note: If you accidently reverted back to an old version you can use the same steps to open a newer version and upload this as the very latest version again.

Total: 20 clicks.

Alternative using the command-line tools (less clicks)

Instead of 20+ clicks you might think about automating these steps using TF.exe – and are down to 5 commands.

tf get MyClass.cs /version:C8
tf checkout MyClass.cs
tf checkin /noprompt /validate
tf resolve /auto:AcceptYours
tf checkin /comment:"Reverting to older version!" /noprompt

Here's ready to use batch file, which takes two parameters:

%1: Name of the file you want to revert.
%2: Version of the file, e.g. if changeset number when C7 stands for changeset 7

Although we use command line commands the check in dialog will pop up to allow us to specify check-in comments, notes and associate work items.

Download: RevertScript.zip

Using TFS to develop custom SharePoint applications

neno — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:52:24 GMT

Using Team Foundation Server to Develop Custom SharePoint Products and Technologies Applications

Summary: Use Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server to support SharePoint application development, and provide an integrated development environment and single source code repository for process activities, integrated progress reporting, and team roles. (12 printed pages)

Author: Microsoft Corporation, September 2008

Link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc948982.aspx

Updated: revised versino of this blog post.

Version Control Tip: Excluding specific files from multiple checkout

neno — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:34:11 GMT

Question:

Can I define a file name, not only a file type (extension), if multiple checkout is allowed for the whole Team Foundation Server?

Answer:

Yes, that is possible, although the UI shows "file extensions" and displays it in a way that you might think that it's not supported.

As a result you can specify that *.cs files in general do support multiple checkout but a certain file called "specific.cs" follows exclusive-checkout logic.

Enjoy!

-Neno

Facts about Running Builds in Parallel with Team Build

neno — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:57:02 GMT

TeamBuild

can build one build definition from a single Team Project at a time.
can build multiple build definitions from different Team Project.

MSBuild

has the capability to use multiple CPUs to build projects in parallel and therefore speed up your builds.
This multiproc feature can be leveraged in your Team Builds.

Thanks Grant for pointing out those facts.

Documentation: Team Foundation Server SDK (online version)

neno — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 13:55:34 GMT

From the contents:

Team Foundation Server Extensibility

Team Foundation Server SDK Architecture

How to: Run Team Foundation Server SDK Samples

Team Foundation Core Services

Work Item Tracking Extensibility

Source Control Extensibility

Data Warehouse Extensibility

Reference for Team Foundation Server SDK

Link: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb130146(VS.80).aspx

How code churn is calculated in TFS 2005/2008

neno — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 13:51:28 GMT

Code churn [1] in TFS 2005 and TFS 2008 is calculated using a very simple algorithm: inserted + changed + deleted lines [2].

This is done independently of the contents of the line, which means that everything - incl. comments, blank lines, etc. - is counted.

[1] http://blogs.msdn.com/mohamedg/archive/2007/12/04/code-churn.aspx

[2] http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms244698(VS.80).aspx

Some Code Analysis Rules gone in Visual Studio 2008

neno — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:15:47 GMT

I was very sad to hear that a few beloved rules were removed from code analysis (aka FxCop) in Visual Studio 2008. Here’s a list of the removed rules:

Removed due to removal of data flow engine:

CA1062 ValidateArgumentsOfPublicMethods
CA1303 DoNotPassLiteralsAsLocalizedParameters
CA2100 ReviewSqlQueriesForSecurityVulnerabilities
CA2202 DoNotDisposeObjectsMultipleTimes
CA2204 LiteralsShouldBeSpelledCorrectly
CA2215 DisposeMethodsShouldCallBaseClassDispose
CA2241 ProvideCorrectArgumentsToFormattingMethods
CA2000 DisposeObjectsBeforeLosingScope

Removed due to high noise or no longer applicable analysis:

CA1807 AvoidUnnecessaryStringCreation
CA1817 DoNotCallPropertiesThatCloneValuesInLoops
CA1818 DoNotConcatenateStringsInsideLoops

Analysis in this rule was moved to IdentifiersShouldBeCasedCorrectly:

CA1705 LongAcronymsShouldBePascalCased
CA1706 ShortAcronymsShouldBeUppercase

Analysis in this rule was moved to IdentifiersShouldNotContainTypeNames:

CA1718 AvoidLanguageSpecificTypeNamesInParameters

Analysis in this rule was moved to OverrideLinkDemandsShouldBeIdenticalToBase:

CA2110 SecureGetObjectDataOverrides

For more information why those rules were moved or removed see this explaining post over on the Code Analysis Team Blog as well as this feedback on Microsoft Connect.

Check-In is slow when using exclusive check-out?

neno — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 12:53:00 GMT

It’s still hot: Microsoft released a fix for slow check-in’s if you’re using exclusive check-out feature yesterday:

FIX: The check-in process may be very slow when you use the Source Control feature in Visual Studio 2005 Team System

How to remove someone else's workspace in TFS

neno — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:59:27 GMT

A customer asked:

“During my vacation my collegue was working on my machine and mapped the solution file to D:\Projects. Now I returned and wanted to map the solution to that folder as well, which obviously doesn’t work since it is already mapped.

How can I get rid of the workspace that my collegue has on my machine? (Since he won’t be working on my machine anymore it can be freely deleted.)”

First of all: you obviously need to be either the owner of the workspace or have the Administer workspaces permission on the Team Foundation Server to perform this.

Deleting a workspace using the command line

The command is:

tf workspace /delete [/server:servername] workspacename[;workspaceowner]

Source: MSDN

Deleting a workspace using GUI

If you prefer a rich UI you can use the free Team Foundation Sidekicks tool by Attrice Corp.

Listing version control changes with check-in comments using TFS

neno — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 16:36:34 GMT

You can easily query for changes on a team project or a specified version control folder underneath and display them in a list with the check-in comments.

By using Team System Web Access (TSWA):

Note: I’m showing this first because the dialog is very comfortable, e.g. you can filter by user or time range.

In TSWA on the “Source” tab, right-click any folder (team project folder or sub-folder) and select “Find Changesets”.
In the “Find Changesets” dialog, select the desired filter criteria and confirm with “Find” to generate a list of changesets with check-in comments.

By using Visual Studio Team Explorer:

In Team Explorer under “Source Control”, right-click any folder and choose “View History” from the context menu.
The “History” window is shown with a list of all changesets (again with check-in comments) of the folder and sub-folders, which – as far as I know – cannot be filtered further.

By using Team Foundation Sidekicks (a free tool by Attrice):

Start Team Foundation Sidekicks and open the History Sidekick by clicking on the third toolbar button (the clock with an arrow on it).
On the left side, select a folder by clicking on it.
On the right side in the “History” tab you will see the changes with an option to filter them by user.

Use SnagIt to capure your screen and create a new Work Item quickly

neno — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 23:06:36 GMT

Capturing screenshots and new bugs quickly is a everyday task for software developers and testers.

The default Work Item form does not handle this scenario very efficiently, i.e. you have to click too many times until the new bug is created.

One nice solution comes out of TechSmith, the creators of the popular SnagIt screen capture tool. As Betsy Weber announced it they made a New “SnagIt Output for Microsoft Visual Studio Team System” [1] available which lets you create new Work Items with screenshots attached or update existing ones with ease.

Let’s try how it looks like…

You take a capture of your screen using SnagIt.
You use one of SnagIt’s diverse editing functions to make clear what’s the problem is (e.g. arrows, or text).
You click the new “Team System” bottom in the toolbar and select “New Work Item” if there is no work item existing already.
You supply connection information to your Team Foundation Server as well as which type of work item you want to create, what the name of the attached file and the associated comment should be.
After hitting “Create” you get the well-known Work Item form where you could supply more details on the bug.
Alternatively you can also add the screenshot to an already existing work item by hitting “Update Work Item” from the Team System toolbar menu.
This let’s you search for the bug and updating it’s attachments.
In either way the result is a nicely attached screenshot in your work item.

You can also watch a video [2] by TechSmith of the new output in Action.

[1] http://visuallounge.techsmith.com/2007/05/new_snagit_output_for_microsoft_visual_studio_team_system.html

[2] http://video.techsmith.com/snagit/accessories/teamsystem/enu/teamsystem.html

PRB: Nothing happens when trying to create new Performance Session in VSTE/SD

neno — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 21:22:18 GMT

You want to create a new performance session, therefor click on the corresponding menu item and NOTHING HAPPENS?

This behavior happens when the Performance Add-In got disabled somehow. To re-enable it try running:

devenv /ResetSkipPkgs

If this doesn’t solve your problem Dave Lubash from the Visual Studio team recommends in his post on the MSDN forums to

repeat it after doing: devenv /ResetAddin and devenv /ResetSettings.

Good luck!

Tags: Performance+Tools

Upgrade your Team Suite 2005 with Team Edition for Database Professionals

neno — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 10:11:21 GMT

You have the Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite installed – containing the Architect, Developer and Tester role. If you haven’t done so you can upgrade your installation (trial or full version) free of charge with the Team Edition for Database Professionals in two steps.

Install Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals (Add-On) on top of your current Team Suite installation. (Download it from here.)
Install the updated MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2005 (ships as part of Team Edition for Database Professionals)
Re-apply Service Pack 1 (yes, this will take ages…).
Optionally install Service Release 1 (currently available as a CTP pre-release version).
Verify the installation was successful by looking at Help|About.

[Web Tests] Debugging Web Tests

neno — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 14:05:02 GMT

Did you know that you can debug web tests you created with Visual Studio 2005 Team System?

Instructions:

Place breakpoints in your ASP.NET code you want to test.
Run ASP.NET website (with debug enabled and debugger attached).
Run Web Tests (rightclick the test project in Solution Explorer: Debug » Create new instance, if it's in the same solution file).

Screenshot:

Screenshot: A Web Test during a Debug session

For more detailed information over the debugging of Web Tests take a look at this excellent post [2] by Sean Lumley.

[1] http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms243172(VS.80).aspx

[2] http://blogs.msdn.com/slumley/pages/how-to-debug-a-web-test.aspx

Download: Team Foundation Power Tool v1.2

neno — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:56:27 GMT

The Power Tools are always a must-have download. Although they are 'officially unspported' they give you funcionality upfront that is probably going to be in the next version of Visual Studio.

New and added features include:

Team Foundation Server Power Tool Commands (tfpt.exe) - A command-line tool with enhanced functionality for Team Foundation Version Control with graphical user interfaces for some commands.
Process Template Editor - A tool integrated with Visual Studio for authoring custom work item types and some of the associated process template components.
Check-In Policy Pack - A set of handy check-in policies to address needs customers have expressed. These include Custom Path Policy, Forbidden Patterns Policy, Changeset Comments Policy, and Work Item Query Policy.
Test Tools Build Task - A tool that allows running unit tests by simply specifying the DLLs, or by specifying a file name pattern in TfsBuild.proj, instead of using .vsmdi files to specify tests to run.

Team Foundation Power Toys (v1.1 - September 2006)

neno — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 11:17:00 GMT

Team Foundation Power Toys is a collection of productivity tools for Team Foundation Server. Borne from practical experience using Team Foundation Server, they are a mix of command-line and Visual Studio integrated tools for users of version control and work item tracking.

[Download here]