Team Explorer (TE) is graphical user interface (GUI) application that acts as a client for CodePlex projects, allowing users to connect to the CodePlex Team Foundation Server.
It is essentially a version of Visual Studio with all the development features removed, providing only the necessary functionality for working with the Visual Studio Team System. The application integrates directly into the Visual Studio IDE. However, Team
Explorer also works as a stand-alone client for CodePlex project contributors that don’t have Visual Studio installed.
For additional help with using Team Explorer, see
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms181304.aspx.
!! Warning !! - If you use the Team Explorer client then it will add source control binding information into your project files. When users download your source code and try to open it in Visual Studio they will get error messages because of the
source control bindings. You can use any of the other available
source control clients as an alternative.
You can use Team Explorer as a stand-alone source control client, or if you have any version of Visual Studio installed (except the Express editions) than the Team Explorer client will install itself as an add-on which gives you full source control integration
within your Visual Studio IDE.
Here is a list of some popular software applications that can handle .img files:
This help topic shows you how to install Team Explorer from the extracted
VSTFClient.img file you downloaded from
Microsoft Download Center. As mentioned in Obtaining the Team Explorer Client, the .img file must first be extracted using a third-party tool before you can run setup. For help with extracting the .img file, see
How to extract the VSTFClient.img File.
To install Team Explorer from the extract setup files
Team Explorer is now ready to use. To run the program, click Start, point to
All Programs (or Programs from the classic Start Menu), point to
Microsoft Visual Studio, and then click Microsoft Visual Studio.
For more information about using Visual Studio Team System, see
Visual Studio Team System Resources.
You will only have permission to connect to the CodePlex Team Foundation Server using Team Explorer for a particular project if you have been added as a Coordinator or Developer of that project.
The first time you connect to a CodePlex project using Team Explorer, if it is not the default setting, you must first select
Visual Studio Team Foundation Server as source-control plug in. Once you’ve set up the connection, you will not need to repeat these steps unless you want to make changes to your connection or want to add additional team project connections.
To connect to your project in Visual Studio, use the settings on the project's Source Control tab, accessed by clicking the Visual Studio Team Explorer link.
Areas are mapped to "Components" and iterations are mapped to "Releases" in the web UI. The document repository (SharePoint) and reporting (SQL Reporting Server) functionality are not available with CodePlex.
See our documentation on
issue tracker for details on adding componenets and
releases for adding releases.
For developers that prefer managing projects from the command line, Microsoft offers tf—a powerful command–Line utility included with the Visual Studio Team System. tf includes the following features:
For a walkthrough on using the tf for source control, see
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/zthc5x3f.aspx.
The Visual Studio Team Foundation Server MSSCCI Provider enables integrated use of Team Foundation Version Control with products that don't support Team Explorer integration. Such products include the following:
To download the VSTF Server MSSCCI Provider for Version Control, visit the
Microsoft Download Center.
You may also find answers to questions about the VSTF Server MSSCCI Provider for Version Control in the
Team Foundation Server Version Control Forum.
CodePlex enables you to use the source code version control and work item tracking features of TFS. None of the other TFS features are available at this time.
CodePlex uses a custom process template that is a simplified variation of the MSF Agile process template.
Here are the process template files we use:
BasicProcessTemplate_2010.zip
In order to rename, you will need to tell the tool that you are renaming. If you're using the Visual Studio plugin, then renaming or moving something within Visual Studio automatically queues up the rename/move for the next check-in.
You can also use the command line client (tf.exe) to do renames and moves.
To troubleshoot TFS connection issues, try the following:
If you are still having trouble, try going through the “Forgot Password” link to reset your password. (Note: you need to use Forgot Password, and not the normal Change Password option). Try connecting again.
Make sure that you have selected Visual Studio Team Foundation Server for source control. To do this, go into the Visual Studio options menu and select
Visual Studio TFS as the Current source control plug-in. Then, select
Tools
Options
Source Control
Plug-in Selection.
CodePlex does not provide technical support for TFS. Please try posting your question in the TFS forum located at
http://forums.microsoft.com.
TFS tracks the source control system using changesets (so it behaves more like Subversion than CVS, for example). Those changesets can also be automatically associated with changes in work items in the item tracking database. The Visual Studio GUI for checking
into TFS makes this very simple.
See the Team Foundation Weblog for more information on branching, merging, and shelving for more information:
http://blogs.msdn.com/team_foundation/archive/2005/02/23/379179.aspx.