Tag: integration

TFS Windows Shell Extensions

On By jesferIn TFS, TroubleshootingLeave a comment

So, here is the short review of TFS Windows Shell Extensions in Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server Power Tools.

Me and a couple of colleagues installed it… and it is actually quite nice. Now that I have it installed I dont think I want to work without it Ler You get all the basic TFS source control related actions in the explorer window, no more, no less. The name is still a few letters too long for my liking Ler med tungan ute

One of my colleagues ran into some trouble with TFS Windows Shell Extensions though. The icon overlays in explorer did not show up properly. Turns out there was a “simple” explanation…

“Windows Shell has a hard limit of 15 registered Icon Overlays and reserves 4 for its own use. If you do not see your TFS controlled files and folders displayed with these overlays but the context menus are displaying correctly you may have run into this limit. The only workaround is to uninstall one of the applications that is using the available slots or disabling its shell integration.”

No big deal, as long as you know which application to uninstall…

TFS and Explorer integration

On By jesferIn TFSLeave a comment

Lately I’ve had a few TFS users complain to me that the TFS client (aka Team Explorer+Visual Studio) lacks the explorer integration you get with TortoiseSVN. Now, I’ve never felt the need for this feature but decided to do some research. And guess what? You CAN get explorer integration with TFS! In several different ways! Ler

I have not tried any of them (yet) but I’d recommend the power tools… mainly because it is Microsoft and they’ll eventually steamroll the competition (except maybe SvnBridge). Just pay attention to this small but important part of the “instructions” on the download page:

“Please note that the TFS Windows Shell Extensions are not installed by default. Choose Custom when prompted at installation to add the tool to the installed components.”

If I’m not too busy I’ll write up a short review of the TFS Windows Shell Extension in Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server Power Tools. Jeez… Microsoft, you relly need a shorter name for these tools!