Create TFS reports using Excel Reporting

TFS 2010 has lot of Excel reports and a report template to use TFS Analysis services

Customizing existing Excel report

Open up the report from TFS

Here is “Build Status” Excel report

On the Pivot Table Field list, you can drag and drop fields to Report Filter/Series/Categories/Values section to change the reports look and feel

Guidance tab

There is a guidance tab in all the excel reports, it provides the detail about the report

Creating Report from Report Template

Open the Report Template from TFS

Highlight the PivotTable, the PivotTable Field List window appears

On the “Show fields related to” dropdown select the perspective you would like to report on

On the Pivot Table Field list, you can drag and drop fields to Report Filter/Series/Categories/Values section to change the reports look and feel

Adding PivotChart

Click on PivotChart menu, it shows the Chart list, pick the chart you would like to include

Creating Database connections

Enter the reporting server name

You can create connection to the whole Team System cube or individual Perspective

Click next and finish wizard to create the database connection

Changing data Source

Click on the PivotTable, the “PivotTable Tools” menu appears on the menu bar and select “Options”

On the “Change Data Source” menu select Change Data Source menu

Choose connection from the existing connections.

Creating TFS Reports using Report Builder

 Step 1: Go to Reports Site and click on “Report Builder”

Report Builder screen

Step 2: Double click on the Perspective you want to report on. It opens up Design report view

Step 3: Fill in the report title, drag and drop the fields

Step 4: Adding totals

Step 5: Adding filters. Click on Filter menu. On the Filter Data screen, drag and drop the filters

Step 6:  Executing the reports

Team Query: Filter Fields by Team Project/Process Template on TFS Web Access 2010

By default TFS Web Access 2010 shows all the fields from TFS while creating the Team query. If you have team projects created using various Process templates, you might end up creating a query using a field from incorrect process template/team project.

You can restrict the Filter fields on TFS Web Access 2010 by selecting a Team Project (Which is nearly same as process template)

Excel Reporting - Provide access to TFS Analysis Services

For excel reporting using TFS 2010 cubes (Analysis Services), the users requires read access on Analysis Services.

Here are the steps to provide access to Analysis Services.

Step 1: Connect Analysis Services using the admin account

Step 2: Go to Roles and open up the TFSWarehouseDataReader group. If you do not see one you can create one.

 

Step 3: Here is TFSWarehouseDataReader role persmission

Step 4: Open up the Membership node and add the user/NT group for access

Undo Pending Changes - Search/Query all pending changes in TFS/VS

As a CM, we get request to undo other user changes all the time, I always use these steps to search and get the pending changes

Step 1: On Visual Studio on the Source Control explorer, right click on the folder where you feel there are some pending changes and that needs to be undo. Click on the Status menu.

Step 2: It show the Find/browse window. You can click on find button to get all the pending changes from TFS.

Step 3: Once you get the pending changes, you can undo the changes.

TFS Client Cache cleanup

In many situation you might need to clean up TFS client cache so that Visual Studio shows the correct details from correct TFS server/instance. I had incidents that even though the Visual Studio says it is connected to our QA TFS server, but actual operations would go to our TFS Prod server. In this scenario I would go and clean the TFS client cache.

The TFS client cache location changes by the Windows Operation system

Windows XP

C:\Documents and Settings\<User ID>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Team Foundation\3.0\Cache

Windows 7

C:\Users\<User ID>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Team Foundation\3.0\Cache

Delete ONLY the folders from the TFS cache location, leave other setting files.

TFS Build 2010 calls Ant for Java

Java builds using Ant/Team Build 2010 can be configured easily with help of Team foundation Server build extensions power tools.

Prerequisites

We can setup Java builds using Ant scripts.

Here are the software/tools required on the Build server (Assuming TFS build has been already setup on this server).

1. Install Java JDK

2. Install ANT 1.8.x

3. Define ANT_HOME and JAVA_HOME

4. Install Team Foundation Server Build extensions power tool August 2011 (http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/2d7c8577-54b8-47ce-82a5-8649f579dcb6/)

At the client machine (Optional to verify the ant script at client machine)

1. Install Java JDK

2. Install Apache ANT 1.8.x

3. Define ANT_HOME and JAVA_HOME

4. Install Eclipse helios or higher

5. Install Team Explorer Everywhere eclipse plug-in

6. Ant script to compile the code (We can create, if this is not available)

Steps

Step 1: In Eclipse on “Team Explorer”, right click on the Builds node (on the TFS Project) and select “New build Definition”

Step 2: Create build

Step 3: Setup the build triggers. If you need CI build, choose the “Continuous Integration – Build each check-in”

Step 4: Choosing the workspace mapping.

Select the TFS source folder where you have source and the compile ant script

Step 5: Build defaults. Specify the build controller and drop location

Step 6: Creating team build proj file. Click on “Create” button

Select “MSBuild Configuration from Existing Ant Buildfile” and click next

Browse and select the ant build file and click finish

Build has been created

Step 7: Queue the build

Step 8: Build Succeeded.