Here is the chat summary from todays evening chat for VSTS

 

DavidKean_MS (Moderator):

A: The Visual Studio Team System chat will begin in approx 12 minutes.

DavidKean_MS (Moderator): Welcome to the Visual Studio Team System chat! We hope you all have lots of questions because we're ready to answer! Each member will now post a blurb about them. Please submit your questions using the "Ask Experts" option.

DavidKean_MS (Moderator): My name is David Kean and I'm a Developer on the Code Analysis team. We own Managed Code Analysis (FxCop), C++ Code Analysis (PREfast), Code Analysis Policy and Code Metrics. I will also be moderating this chat.

colinth_MS (Expert): Hi, I'm Colin Thomsen and I work on the Profiler that is part of Visual Studio Team System (Developer and Suite editions).

MadhuriG_MS (Expert):

A: Hi, I am Madhuri, a tester in TeamBuild team. I would be happy to answer any questions you have on the new features of Build in Orcas.

DuncanD_MS (Expert):

A: Duncan Davenport - Program Manager with Team System Data - you can ask your Database and DBPro questions here!

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [5] Can we have a way to automatically subscribe all users to work items created/assigned to them without them having to self-subscribe? I fear I'm going to have to go straight to the Event Subscriptions table in the database for that

A: For now, you can can use the bissubscribe.exe tool. In the future we plan to make this easier. For example by making desired notifications part of the project template.

MadhuriG_MS (Expert):

Q: [7] what support will Orcas have for continuos integration?

A: There will be out of the box support for Continuous integration in Orcas, you just need to turn on the option

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: I am looking for direction as to the best practises for backing up my TFS

A: I'd recommend the TFS Operations guide: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb663036( VS.80).aspx. There's also some content in the new administrators guide.

DavidKean_MS (Moderator):

Q: [3] I was wondering if there are any changes or updates to WinForms?

A: Although I'm not on the WinForms team, I don't think any changes were made apart from targetted bug fixes in the .NET 2.0 SP. Scott Hanselman has a list of API changes on his blog available here: http://www.hanselman.com/blog/content/binary/org2. 0to2.0/APIChangesorg2.0to2.0.html.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: Is there a step by step guide to upgrade from TFS 2005 to TFS 2008?

A: Yes, If you get the TFS installation guide (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?F amilyID=FF12844F-398C-4FE9-8B0D-9E84181D9923&displ aylang=en) you'll find a link to it on the first page.

dgorena_MS (Expert): Hello everyone, my name is David Gorena and I work for Visual Studio Team Test... I will be happy to answer any questions about it

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [4] When will visual studio allow you to split regular code (not only wpf design + xaml) vertically?

A: If I understand the question, you can do it now. You can split an individual source window with the splitter on the scroll bar or two windows by dragging the document tab to the bottom.

rpotts_MS (Expert):

Q: Regarding static code analysis - is there nany utility available that will help me to convert set of definitions between FxCop and VS? And what about code analysis check in policy - can I transfer the defs from policy to FxCop and vs?

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [11] Will there be feature for build version sync between team build and my AssemblyInfo files in upcoming version of TeamBuild?

A: We don't have anything right now but there's one on CodePlex. I expect at some point we'll put something like it in the box. Check out http://www.codeplex.com/tfsbuildversionsync

MadhuriG_MS (Expert):

Q: [10] right now our build process is running with Cruise Control, nant and Subversion what would be the advantages using TFS and MSBuild instead

A: If you switch to TFS, you can get integrated build solution with TeamBuild. TeamBuild gives you the ability to push build data into the TfsWarehouse and generate reports on your builds. With TeamBuild you will be able to run tests (even NANT with some question) tests as part of your build.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [12] Will there be Windows explorer integration for the source control explorer in TFS?

A: I expect that eventually yes, but it's not something we have right now, nor something we are working on at the moment. One approach is to use TortoiseSVN with http://www.codeplex.com/SvnBridge

GertD - MSFT (Expert):

Q: [15] Is the TFS for database professionals version included into the 2008 release or do I have to buy a bundle version?

A: Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Suite contains the Database Edition functionality. No more seperate installation or download

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [13] Is there any summary of changes in API methods (if any) and behavior for TFS OM (i mean work item tracking and version control mostly; I am aware of build OM changes)

A: I don't recall putting together a list of changes. The truth is we made very few changes to the APIs.

DavidKean_MS (Moderator):

Q: [9] Regarding static code analysis - is there nany utility available that will help me to convert set of definitions between FxCop and VS? And what about code analysis check in policy - can I transfer the defs from policy to FxCop and vs?

A: By 'defs' I'm assuming you mean 'exclusions'. We do have a tool that grab exclusions from an FxCop project and converts it into global suppresions, grab it from: http://blogs.msdn.com/fxcop/archive/2006/05/19/mak ing-it-easier-to-move-from-fxcop-to-visual-studio- code-analysis-jeffrey-van-gogh.aspx. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by 'defs from policy to FxCop and VS'. Can you clarify?

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [14] Will Team explorer 2008 work on VS 2005?

A: No. You will need to use Team Explorer 2005 with VS 2005 and Team Explorer 2008 with VS 2008. You can install them side by side and both can access either a TFS 2005 or a TFS 2008 server.

MadhuriG_MS (Expert):

Q: [17] right now, it looks like the webservice that supports CI needs to be on the TFS app tier. Is there any way or will there be support in the future that will allow us to host the CI webservice on another machine?

A: Not sure I clearly understand, could you explain what you are trying to do. For TeamBuild CI to work, the AT version and Build version have to match.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [19] Are there guiadance to managing source control bindings? It always get confused more than a few times during a project.

A: I'm not aware of any. We fixed quite a few problems managing source control bindings in Team Explorer 2008.

DavidKean_MS (Moderator):

Q: [16] What's the timeframe for Code Metrics to hook into Team Build? Check-In Policies?

A: We've heard a lot of requests regarding this, and we're investigating this for a future release, however, I can't yet give you a time frame on this.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [20] if we want to switch from subversion to TFS do we have to make a hard cut in our project(loosing all history) or is there a way to migrate from svn to the TFS version control

A: One way to do it is to keep the SVN repository around for the history. www.componentsoftware.com sells an SVN converter and I believe there is a CodePlex project with one.

DuncanD_MS (Expert):

Q: [18] In VS 2005 MSMerge replication triggers are flagged as a schema update. Is there an option in VS 2008 DBPro to ignore all replication objects in a schema comparison?

A: To the best of my knowledge, the options regarding Schema Compare for Merge Replication are still the same as they were in SQL 2005. So, no, there is not.

dgorena_MS (Expert):

Q: [21] Are there any good beginner guides for people new to Team System and would like to use it?

A: Hello, msdn is a great place to begin learning about features in VSTS. There are some great books published by people who worked/work on the product, one of them is"Professional Software Testing with Visual Studio 2005 Team System" by Tom Arnold, Dominic Hopton, Andy Leonard, and Mike Frost.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [22] MS provides conversion path from VSS, ClearCase and TFS-to-TFS (using migration toolkit). Are there plans for additional converters from MS?

A: We aren't currently working on any other version control ones. We are planning another work item tracking one right now. I expect we may do more down the road but we don't have any committed plans. Mostly it depends on demand and what 3rd parties can provide.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [23] When will TFS have the same diff capabilities as VSS, specifically the ability to diff at the directory level (besides the command line)

A: We added folder diff to TFS in TFS 2008. It's better than the one in SourceSafe.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [24] In VS 2005, there were quite a few merge problems when it came to merging XAML files stored in TFS (when there were conflicts.) Any ideas if these issues have been improved? I think XML files are similar with the same files.

A: We've fixed quite a lot of merge problems. It's one of our larger areas of bug fixing. Not many of the fixes were around merging of the actual content (although a few were). Most were around merging off adds, deletes, renames, etc.

MadhuriG_MS (Expert):

Q: [28] Where could I find documentation on the different CI implementations?

A: If you are using Orcas, then you can use the CI solution we have - check http://blogs.msdn.com/buckh/archive/2007/03/14/cha nnel-9-interview-and-demo-of-orcas-team-build.aspx . Check http://blogs.msdn.com/buckh/archive/2006/08/09/mor e-continuous-integration.aspx for some approaches with VS2005

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [25] Could you guys recomend some resources/material that might help in convincing my management that we should use TFS for more then just source control, e.g. Project management etc.

A: Sam Gukenheimer's book is pretty good in talking about the broad scale value of VSTS.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [26] What about a way to easily connect a local source tree to another machine? We liked in subversion we can copy the local source tree to another test machine and it can easily get latest and checkin changes without worrying about workspace or bindings.

A: Sorry, no solution for that right now. You have to set up a workspace and do a get on each machine.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [31] wyh do i have to grant members of a project access to 3 different "tools"(reports, project, project portal) instead of just on i know there is a powertool for it but why isn't it possible to put it all in one?

A: Because they are 3 completely different systems (I know that's not a great answer). Our recommendation to people is that they set up windows groups with people in them and then grant the windows groups the appropriate permissions in TFS, WSS and Reporting Services. They adding a new user is just adding them to the right Windows group.

dgorena_MS (Expert):

Q: [30] Do you guys have a team blog?

A: If you're asking for a Team Test blog, yes we do, http://blogs.msdn.com/vstsqualitytools

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [32] What version of TFS CodePlex runs right now? Does it support both TE 2005 & 2008?

A: Codeplex is currently running TFS 2005. They are in the process of upgrading to TFS 2008. Either client should work.

DavidKean_MS (Moderator):

Q: [27] David, thanks for answering. Regarding code analysis policy - I understood that the settings for the policy are saved elsewhere (not in the project); then how it would be possible to get these definitions from the policy (or set them from project)

A: The Analyze -> Code Analysis Settings for Solution -> Replace with Check-in Policy and Merge with Check-in Policy menu items copy the Code Analysis rule settings from the policy to every project in the solution. Unfortunately, in VS 2005 and 2008 we don't have a way of getting settings from the project into the policy without manually editing them. However, in Rosario we are adding a new rulesets feature to Rosario that allows users to better manage which Code Analysis rules are turned on and off and allows these to be easily shared between projects. This will integrate with policy and by the sounds of what you are after, will do what you want.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [35] Can you point me to good doco to decide whether to create one TFS project for the team with Areas for each application, or one TFS project per application?

A: I think the best guidance we have is here: http://www.codeplex.com/BranchingGuidance/Wiki/Vie w.aspx?title=Guidance%20for%20Structuring%20Team%2 0Projects

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [36] Work item custom controls used in web client do not work in WIT in Visual Studio - what are your future plans? Will there be one version in the future (no matter client)?

A: Correct. Right now you have to do one for the web and one for the client. We currently have no plans to unify them. I picture, in the future, that some combination of XAML and Silverlight will enable us to support a single custom control model.

ak_MSFT (Expert):

Q: [21] Are there any good beginner guides for people new to Team System and would like to use it?

A: If you search for "Team system" on Amazon.com, you will find a list of titles. We also recently released a "Team Development with TFS" guide. (Link:http://www.amazon.com/Development-Visual-Stu dio-Foundation-Server/dp/0735625719/ref=sr_1_1?ie= UTF8&s=books&qid=1196901333&sr=8-1)

DavidKean_MS (Moderator):

Q: [33] what would be a reason my unread email in outlook is showing up as read?

A: Unfortunately, we don't have any experts on Outlook here at the moment - this chat is about Visual Studio Team System.

DavidKean_MS (Moderator): We're half-way through the chat - keep those questions coming!

MadhuriG_MS (Expert):

Q: [37] Currently there seems to be no visible method for automating the creation of deployment projects. It appears to be a highly manual process especially when packaging 3rd party applications. Will MSBuild be updated to provide some benefit in this area?

A: Sadly in Orcas MSBuild doesn't support deployment projects. The MSBuild team is however seeking feedback from users about features for their next release and support for diff project types is on that list. http://blogs.msdn.com/msbuild/archive/2007/11/17/h ow-would-you-spend-100-on-msbuild.aspx

DavidKean_MS (Moderator):

Q: [34] the link to the channel 9 video isn't working

A: It seems to be working on our side. Can you try copying and pasting the link directly into your browser?

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [38] How can i run a cmd prompt open in a specific directory, run an app, and then not have the cmd window close, just to wait for the next input?

A: What I do is create a desktop short cut that executes: "%SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe /K c:\dd_orcas\tools\razzle.cmd chk no_sdrefresh" and set the starting directory to what I want it to be.

ak_MSFT (Expert):

Q: [39] Is there a tool/guide to move a project from one TFS server to another?

A: What you are looking or is the "TFS to TFS Migration tool:

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [39] Is there a tool/guide to move a project from one TFS server to another?

A: There is no great way to do that. The best tool we have right now is this: http://www.codeplex.com/tfstotfsmigration

ak_MSFT (Expert):

Q: [39] Is there a tool/guide to move a project from one TFS server to another?

A: What you are looking for is the "TFS to TFS Migration tool". (http://www.codeplex.com/tfstotfsmigration). The TFS to TFS Migration tool is based on the TFS Migration and Synchronization Toolkit <http://www.codeplex.com/MigrationSyncToolkit>;. The toolkit is designed to make it faster and easier to build migration tools from TFS to other repositories. This tool provides migration of TFS work items and version control items, both with history.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [41] Since questions are light now Can you tell us a little about the visualization tools for TFS that will be coming in the future?

A: Sure. It depends on how broadly you think of visualization. We are working on 2 tools right now. The first is an improved history that includes the ability to trace through branch and merge operations. It will be great at helping answer, where did this change come from? Second, we are working on a more graphical branch/merge visualization tool that is designed to show the overall branch tree and to help answer where did this change go? or not go? In a few months, we plan to start working on some work item visualization tools that will help you navigate networks of related work items and do impact analysis, etc.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [40] Is there any support available for "TFS to TFS Migration tool". (http://www.codeplex.com/tfstotfsmigration)?

A: No phone support, just through the MSDN and CodePlex forums.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [42] There is no easy (single-click) way to to edit Work Item queries now (I mean to manually edit the WIQL query rather than using UI wizard). Did that change in VS2008 (or are there any plans in the future)?

A: Correct. No, it didn't change in TFS 2008. We talk about it every once in a while for the future but it's such a power user feature we just don't get that many requests for it. Most people ask us how to make it easier, not how to expose more capability

JoeAllan_MS (Expert):

Q: [29] Are there any plans to create a way to use master pages across applications without having a copy of the master page in each application. Master pages are great but they don't work very well in an enterprise scenario. My company has more than 250 applica

A: While there are tradeoffs that have to be made, there is an approach that allows reusing a single Master Page across multiple applications using the VirtualPathProvider. You can find more details on this approach at http://blogs.msdn.com/shahpiyush/archive/2007/03/0 9/Sharing-Master-Pages-amongst-Applications-by-Emb edding-it-in-a-Dll_2E00_.aspx.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [45] I am wondering if there will be support for nested projects (think of it like sub-sites on the web) that can be used for reporting purposes and also for organising related projects (where one developer or team may work on many projects).

A: There's not for TFS 2008. We've layed out a long term plan for projects that includes them. We will get some of it in Rosario and more of it in subsequent versions.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [43] Could you point out some good resources for best practices on using TFS for ASP.NET development

A: I'm not aware of anything. There might be something in here (http://www.codeplex.com/TFSGuide) I can't recall. Check it out. It's got lots of good guidance in it.

BHarry_MS (Expert):

Q: [46] How is the pricing of the team suite SKU worked out. It seems pretty heavy for smaller companies or for those that multi-role devs

A: The basic pricing model for VSTS 2008 didn't change. We made some small adjustments. We understand that suite is pricy for small companies. We continue to discuss how to address that problem and have some ideas for how to do that in the Rosario timeframe. For now the price is what it is. There's a ton of features in suite. We recently ran a SKU survey/study to see if there are different ways of factoring the functionality to create lower price points with some cross discipline functionality.

DavidKean_MS (Moderator): This was a great chat - thanks everyone for attending. Keep any eye out on http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/chats/default.asp x for more chats in the future.